26/04/2024

'Incredible experience', say students at Hilbert's Hotel.

Flávia Jakeline, a resident of Serrita, a city located in the interior of Pernambuco, more than 500 km from the capital Recife, and a medalist in the Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad (OBMEP), endured a 19-hour journey to participate for the first time in the Hilbert Hotel (HH) Meeting, which this year took place in Natal (RN). The event brought together 165 students from all over Brazil who excelled in the Junior Scientific Initiation Program (PIC) for five days of immersion in mathematical content. For Flávia, participating in the HH was the fulfillment of a dream.

“In 2021, when I started taking the OBMEP exam, I already knew about Hilbert's Hotel and really wanted to participate. So, I'm very happy to be here. It was totally worth it. It's even better than I thought. It's like a big full-time school. The classes are incredible. The way the teachers present the topics is brilliant,” said the student, a student at the Aura Sampaio High School of Reference.

Besides learning a lot and making new friends, Flávia says that HH provided her with her second airplane trip. The first took place in June of last year, when the student left the city of Serrita for Florianópolis to participate in the OBMEP National Award Ceremony. Flávia, who is 16 years old, already has two medals in the Olympiad: one gold and two silver.

Jhonatan Kallil Bernabe, 17, who lives in the city of Ji-Paraná, Rondônia, also described the event as "an incredible experience." A student at the Gonçalves Dias State School, he is participating in the HH for the second time and says he is very grateful for the opportunities he received. "Since this is my last year, I already miss the event, the trips, and all the experiences I had. I will take all these people I met with me. They helped me a lot and showed me that all the effort I put into the OBMEP was rewarded."

Lethicia Possamai, a student at Luiz Tramontin School in Forquilhinha, a municipality in Santa Catarina, is also participating in Hilbert's Hotel for the second time. For her, the meeting met her expectations. “The event offers an incredible theoretical load. I think much of my medal last year was influenced by the event, as the meeting made me want to understand mathematics more deeply. I've always participated in the online modality of the PIC and it's great to meet some colleagues. I am very grateful to the entire network of opportunities that OBMEP represents,” said the 17-year-old student, who has already won an honorable mention, two bronze medals, and one silver medal in the Olympiad.

9th Hilbert Hotel Meeting

Hilbert's Hotel is a gathering, now in its 9th edition, dedicated to students who excelled in the PIC (Junior Scientific Initiation Program ), which offers advanced mathematics classes for Olympiad medalists. Promoted by IMPA , the initiative brought together 13 university professors from different regions of the country to discuss topics in the mathematical universe and encourage young people to dedicate themselves to improving their studies. This year, the event took place in Natal (RN) and had 165 students in attendance.

For four days, boys and girls from the 6th grade of elementary school to the 3rd year of high school participated in games, classes, lectures, and were challenged to solve the "Problem of the Day." The best solutions were presented to their classmates and teachers.

“Encrypted Messages: Let's Play at Encrypting?”, “An Introduction to Infection Graphs”, “Black Holes: What are they and what secrets of the universe do they hold?”, “Mathematical Magic: Tricks and a Little More” were some of the lectures that took place throughout the week.

As with every edition, participants are selected by the PIC coordinators from each region of Brazil. The goal is to broaden the participants' scientific knowledge and prepare them for future professional and academic performance.