Lula launches Impa graduation with best mathematics – 04/02/2024 – Education

Impa (Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics) launched this Tuesday (2), in Rio de Janeiro, Impa Tech, a degree specialized in technology and innovation, in a ceremony attended by President Lula (PT).

Founded in 1952, Impa is a reference teaching unit in mathematics financed by the ministries of Education and Science, Technology and Innovation. The recently launched Impa Tech plans to train specialized professionals for the information sciences and technology job market.

The course will last four years, with two stages. In the first, students will be enrolled in a basic cycle of one and a half years. Then, they will be able to choose between four emphases, mathematics, computer science, data science and physics. The course is free and will have accommodation for people over 18 years of age.

In his speech, Lula defended investments in higher education: “We want our young people to be masters here, doctors here, because Brazil wants to stop being a poor country. We will be the size of our ability to govern, the size of our dream.”

The course was launched in the port area, in a warehouse named Porto Maravalley by the city council. The proposal for the space, whose construction is still in progress, is to be the headquarters of consolidated technology companies and startups, in addition to housing Impa Tech.

The name is a derivation of Porto Maravilha, a housing and revitalization project started in 2011, during the second term of mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD) with support from the federal government. Porto Maravilha did not progress as expected due to impasses in transfers from Caixa Econômica Federal to the city hall.

“We want to become the capital of innovation in Latin America,” said the mayor. “We hope that the funding guarantee made by the federal government can be increased by rich Brazilians, investing in these kids who come from all corners of Brazil.”

Impa’s master’s and doctoral program is renowned. From there came mathematician Artur Avila, who in 2014, at the age of 35, received the Fields Medal, popularly known as the “Nobel of Mathematics”. He was the first winner from Latin America.

Impa Tech’s inaugural class takes place on Wednesday (3). The selection process for the first class, made up of young people from different states of the country, allocated 80% of the places to one hundred students with the best performances in different knowledge Olympiads, such as the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad and the Brazilian Physics Olympiad.

The institute’s plan is to have 100 new students per year. The federal government budget allocated to the course is R$55.9 million over four years. The resources, according to Impa, will be used to hire teachers, staff and pay scholarships to students.

The works carried out at Porto Maravalley, the warehouse that houses the college and will also house companies and start-ups, were paid for by the city hall, at a cost of over R$30 million. The space is divided so that each company occupies a sector.