OBMEP awards gold medals to 683 students from across the country.

The Brazilian Public School Mathematics Olympiad (OBMEP), the country's largest scientific olympiad, which brings together more than 18.5 million participants, will hold its National Award Ceremony on Monday (30) in Rio de Janeiro. In total, 683 students from all Brazilian states and the Federal District will receive the gold medal in the competition, promoted by the Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA). The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Luciana Santos, the Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, and the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes, will participate in the ceremony.

“For 20 years, OBMEP has reached almost the entire national territory, identifying talents and encouraging a love of learning mathematics. The Olympiad is increasingly being used as a selection criterion by universities. At IMPA Tech, IMPA's undergraduate program, 80% of the places are for medalists from knowledge olympiads. And this is a trend that will grow over the years due to the quality of students graduating from OBMEP,” says Marcelo Viana, general director of IMPA.

This is the case of Mateus Mundstock Mendes de Carvalho, who left the city of Rio Paranaíba, in Minas Gerais, to study at IMPA Tech, Rio de Janeiro. At the ceremony, he will receive the 7th gold medal of the Olympiad. “The OBMEP was what propelled my entire academic career. I came from a school in the countryside and never dreamed of achievements of this kind,” he said.

National medalists in the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools) also have the opportunity to participate in the PIC (Junior Scientific Initiation Program), which offers advanced mathematics classes. Students from public schools who are part of the program receive a monthly scholarship of R$ 300, granted by the CNPq (National Council for Scientific and Technological Development).

Held annually, the awards ceremony is carefully prepared by the OBMEP team to provide an unforgettable experience for students from the 6th grade of elementary school to the 3rd year of high school. In addition to the gold medal presentation ceremony, students participate in a special program that includes a welcome dinner, prize draws, a games room, and an inspiring lecture with IMPA project scientist Lucas Nissenbaum.

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