19/02/2019

Luize D'Urso, winner of seven gold medals at OBMEP, is interviewed on Futura.

If you study for the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad exams, the ENEM (National High School Exam) becomes easier. This assessment by Luize D'urso, a 22-year-old from Rio de Janeiro with a bachelor's degree in Mathematics and seven gold medals in the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools), as well as medalists in the OBM (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad) and international competitions, was corroborated by the coordinator of the Unicamp (University of Campinas) entrance exam, José Alves de Freitas, on the program Conexão , on Canal Futura.

Luize and Freitas, along with Luiz Eduardo Leão, manager of Educational Technologies at Senai, were interviewed in this month's edition of the program. The topic under discussion was access to university through knowledge olympiads, an initiative adopted for the first time this year by Unicamp. Of the 76 students admitted in the institution's first round, the OBMEP award winners secured the largest number of places: 20. If we also consider the OBM, the total rises to 23 .

Regarding the new admission process, Luize observed that studying for the Mathematics Olympiads requires a great deal of dedication, lasts a long period of time – from elementary to high school and sometimes even beyond, in the case of those who wish to participate in university Olympiads – and impacts disciplines as a whole. It would, therefore, be a good way to assess the knowledge of future graduates.

“After I started participating in the Math Olympiad, my grades in other subjects also improved, even though my level of dedication to them decreased. Because you learn to see things in a new way, with more reasoning. You are able to absorb knowledge better, you learn to receive content and to show that you know that content,” said Luize.

Freitas observed that the students, medalists in scientific competitions, already enter with a "differentiated profile" and possess a good level of knowledge not only in the specific disciplines of the Olympiads in which they were awarded. "They also have excellent performance in other areas," he stated, adding that their curricula were evaluated in the selection process.

According to him, the institution considered the new admission process a "very positive" experience. So much so that, in the not-too-distant future, the number of places offered could reach 170, or 10% of those available in STEM fields, the predominant theme in knowledge olympiads held in the country.

During the interview, gender diversity in mathematics was also addressed. For Luize, creator of the Mathematics for Girls project, the reasons for the low female representation are still being studied, but the lack of encouragement at home and at school contributes to the current situation.

According to Freitas, only 12 of the 76 students admitted in the first round to Unicamp are girls, who had better grades and medals than the men. "They have less participation, but where they are involved, their performance is superior, at least in the sample we had here."

For those who want to know more about Luize's project, which offers free math classes on Saturdays for girls interested in math olympiads, simply visit the project's Facebook page .