07/12/2023

IMPA Tech plans exchange programs between universities.

A week after opening applications for IMPA Tech, IMPA's first undergraduate course, the institute's director-general, Marcelo Viana, and project scientist Lucas Nissenbaum participated in a webinar on YouTube to clarify the main questions from students. More than 100 people interested in the Bachelor's degree in Mathematics of Technology and Innovation participated in the meeting. In the live stream, Viana confirmed to the audience IMPA Tech's intention to offer the possibility of exchange programs with international universities.

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“We do want to have partnerships, especially with leading institutions abroad. I am not, in any way, excluding the best Brazilian institutions, but IMPA Tech's ambitions are international. We are already in preliminary discussions about mechanisms that would allow us to offer exchange programs to some students with outstanding performance, with the best institutions in the United States and Europe that have similar characteristics to IMPA Tech,” said Viana.

The webinar also clarified doubts about the curriculum of the new course. Lucas Nissenbaum explained that the degree was planned to offer three hours of theoretical classes complemented by four hours of tutoring.

“We will follow IMPA’s current three-semester model: one of them is the Summer semester, which is a more intense and shorter period. During this period, the student will have two subjects where they will delve deeply into the study, but without spending the entire semester. For the beginning of the course, we have chosen subjects that will develop a very good basic knowledge of mathematics, with subjects such as calculus, linear algebra, and many others. In addition to learning this mathematics in a very rigorous way, the student will have access to subjects such as introduction to probability, introduction to data science, programming, and physics. With these subjects, the student will learn a little more about their area of interest, and after this year, they will already have an idea of which area they want to pursue.”

Viana and Nissenbaum emphasized that the degree program was designed for students who enjoy mathematics and technology. The course will be in-person and based at Porto Maravalley, a technology hub developed by the Rio de Janeiro city government. In addition to IMPA Tech, the location will house startups and technology companies. Students accepted into the program will have access to student housing (available only to those over 18 years of age), food assistance, and financial aid. The webinar about IMPA Tech is available on IMPA's YouTube channel. Check it out here!