14/01/2025

OCM champions win a trip to Disney.

The top one hundred students in the Rio de Janeiro Mathematics Olympiad (OCM) received, this Tuesday (14), in Rio de Janeiro, travel kits to visit Disney and NASA, in the United States. The group will depart for Orlando, Florida, on January 20. The trip is an initiative of the Rio de Janeiro city hall to reward students who excel in the scientific competition, which was created in 2021. The OCM is organized by the Municipal Department of Education and has the support of IMPA. In the four editions held, the Olympiad has already had more than 1.42 million participants. Read more: IMPA Tech students participate in the IMPA Summer School IMPA receives more than 150 people in two workshops In Folha, Viana revisits Plato's 'Myth of the Cave' “We have been partners since the first edition of the OCM, helping in the preparation of the OCM exam. Since I became director of IMPA, we wanted to extend the OBMEP to the early years of elementary school. We lacked a bit of courage because we knew we had to learn a different language to communicate the questions in an accessible way for children of this age group. And it was the experience with the OCM that gave us the conviction that we could do it,” highlighted the general director of IMPA, Marcelo Viana, referring to the creation of the OBMEP Children's Olympiad, aimed at students from the 2nd to the 5th year of elementary school, in 2022.

Foto: Fábio Motta/Prefeitura do Rio

For the trip, the students received, in addition to the passport with an American visa, a kit that includes clothes, sneakers, a suitcase and a backpack. The awards ceremony took place at the Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club in Urca. “This is transformative in the lives of these children. Having the Mathematics Olympiad already encourages positive and healthy competition. Furthermore, we have another challenge: the opportunity to go to Disney and NASA, to see other places and learn how to build a different world. For us, it is a joy to give this award,” stated the mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes. The goal of the OCM is to stimulate learning in mathematics, engage and identify talent, and promote healthy competition among students in the public school system. The Olympiad is open to all students enrolled in municipal schools who are in grades 2 through 9 of elementary school. “We are sending the message that studying is worthwhile. We want our children to be able to bet on the path of education. Here we have the math champions of Rio de Janeiro. They will meet Mickey Mouse and the spaceship. It's the children of Complexo do Alemão, Vidigal, the West Zone, from any corner of our city, understanding that the path of education is the best bet they can make. We are positioning Rio as the great capital of mathematics in our country,” said the Secretary of Education, Renan Ferreirinha. OCM History: In 2021, the first edition of the OCM had the participation of more than 200,000 students from Rio's municipal schools. In the following year's edition, the number doubled: more than 400,000 students were present. In 2023, 420,000 students participated in the competition. And, in 2024, there were approximately 400,000 students. “This award represents the culmination of hard work, of studying late into the night to take the exam. It’s a huge achievement for me. Since I was little, I’ve loved math, I’ve always enjoyed doing calculations. I always wanted to win, but I never expected I would succeed. It will be the first time I’ve taken an international trip. At NASA, I hope to enter an antigravity room, and at Disney, I hope for a show, to see the castle, something I’ve always wanted to do,” said Geovan Brito, 15, a resident of Mangueira and accepted into the first year of high school at the José Veríssimo Municipal School in Rocha. Specific math classes
To further stimulate and develop interest in mathematics, in May 2023, the first Olympic Class was created, bringing together students who had excellent results in the first editions of the Olympiads for special mathematics classes. The goal is to prepare these students, who demonstrated aptitude in the Olympiad, for other major competitions, such as the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools). Also read: PIC students say goodbye to 2024 with lectures and workshops; IMPA develops algorithm to optimize oil extraction.