29/04/2022

IMPA's Olympic Girls have a fun day at the institute.

Games, lectures, conversations and a good dose of inspiration. The participants of the IMPA Olympic Girls program enjoyed a lively program during a visit to IMPA, on the afternoon of this Friday (29). This was the first external activity of the Mondays edition of the program, which seeks to encourage the participation of girls between 14 and 17 years old in mathematics olympiads and in the field of exact sciences in general, with the aim of increasing the female presence in areas such as mathematics, computing and engineering.

In her lecture, Diana Sasaki Nobrega, a professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics at the Institute of Mathematics and Statistics of the State University of Rio de Janeiro (IME/UERJ), spoke about her academic journey, which, like for the students present, began in public schools in Rio de Janeiro.

“During my basic education, I felt a great lack of contact with this universe of research and science; I didn't have the opportunity that the IMPA Girls' Olympics program is giving to these students. It's important to encourage them and allow them to get to know universities, research centers, and scientists. All of this is very enriching,” stated the researcher, recognized by the For Women in Science Program, a partnership between L'Oréal, UNESCO, and the Brazilian Academy of Sciences (ABC).

In the spacious reading room of IMPA, the students were able to enjoy playful activities involving mathematics, developed by the groups " Se Jogando na Matemática " (Getting Into Mathematics) , from the Federal Fluminense University (UFF), and " Jogos e Matemática" (Games and Mathematics ) , from the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (Unirio).

“Games are how I can understand math in practice, and since elementary school, they haven't been used that often. It's really cool to be able to learn the subject this way, with interactive and different games, designed by people who really understand teaching,” commented 15-year-old student Wendy Viana.

IMPA's Director-General, Marcelo Viana, accompanied the students during the day's activities. "I am very proud to participate in this project. Your presence here makes all the effort and dedication worthwhile," commented Viana.

For Letícia Rangel, coordinator of the IMPA Girls' Olympics program and retired professor from the UFRJ Application School, the visit was a success. “It was perfect. It’s wonderful to see that the spirit of the project is all here, everyone gathered and comfortable. You could feel the students' enthusiasm, they interacted a lot with the activities. And Professor Diana's lecture was also very inspiring,” she said.

This opinion was shared by 14-year-old student Ana Beatriz Machado. “When the topic is science, I don’t usually see many women talking about it on TV. It’s always men. This lecture showed me that women also do these things, and it’s an activity that interests me. It’s great to see that women have managed to get there,” the student shared.

About the IMPA Girls' Olympics

The second edition of the IMPA Girls' Olympics program is present in 10 schools in different regions of Rio de Janeiro and in Niterói, and includes teachers from all five universities in Rio de Janeiro that offer degrees in mathematics: UERJ, Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), Unirio, UFF, and UFRJ.

The program is developed in each participating school under the responsibility of a teacher from the unit and with the supervision of a mathematics undergraduate or a graduate student in the field of exact sciences.

Other activities planned for this edition, supported by Faperj (Rio de Janeiro State Research Support Foundation), include laboratories, discussion groups, panels, Olympiad challenges, and workshops in mathematics, computing, and robotics, as well as debates on gender issues.