Open laboratories, students explaining experiments, and entire families circulating through the spaces of Ilum School of Science. That was Ilum Open Doors (IPA), one of the most important events on the calendar of the School, which is part of CNPEM and offers a bachelor’s degree in Science and Technology. During the morning and afternoon periods, the institution received more than 160 visitors interested in learning more about the training program in science, technology, and innovation.
The program featured activities from different areas of knowledge, highlighting the interdisciplinarity and practices developed in Ilum’s daily work. Led by the students themselves, the visitors explored equipment, experiments, and projects that demonstrate how chemistry, physics, biology, computer science, and the humanities connect in the students’ education.
According to Professor Vinícius Francisco Wasques, the event organizer, the overall assessment is positive. “We received many families, many potential students, young people interested in science as a whole. It was a success, both due to the involvement of students, teachers and staff”, he assesses. According to him, the engagement drew attention: “Everyone was very engaged, from children to parents. This shows interest in science.”
Between curiosity and the dream of studying at Ilum
One of these visitors was Felipe Lumazini, 15 years old, a resident of Cotia and a first-year high school student at an Etec (technical school). Interested in machine learning, chemistry, and biology, he came across Ilum about a year ago while researching colleges that combined these subjects. Last year, he visited CNPEM’s Ciência Aberta, where he found the School building, and this time he signed up in advance for IPA.
For Felipe, what made the event stand out was the way the students presented the content. “They explain it in a way that’s easy to understand, but they don’t lose sight of the core of the issue,” he said. The student has already researched the selection process and does not hide his determination: “I already told my parents: I’m going to apply to study at Ilum. I’ll do everything I can to get in.”
His father, William Lumazini, accompanied him and was also impressed by the students’ demeanor. “You see that they don’t memorize what they explain, they speak from personal knowledge. For me, it’s a sign that the group here really enjoys studying”, he says.
For families who live far away, like his, the student support structure weighs on the decision. While talking to a student at the school entrance, William learned about the housing and support offered. “As a father, I will continue to be able to get on with my life and have my child in a safe place to study and progress”, he says.
2027 Selection Process is now open for applications
Applications for the 2027 Ilum Selection Process are open until 6 PM on December 15, exclusively through the website ilum.cnpem.br. There are 40 places available for the Bachelor’s degree in Science and Technology, which lasts three years, and at least 50% of them (20 places) are reserved for students from public schools. Those who have already completed high school or are in their final year are eligible to apply.
The selection process is carried out in two stages. The first one considers the 2025 or 2026 Enem score. The 250 highest-ranked candidates are invited for a remote, one-on-one interview. The final grade is the sum of the two stages. All information and possible calendar changes are published on the School’s website.
About the Ilum School of Science
Ilum offers a free undergraduate degree program that utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to train scientists and professionals in science and technology. With an innovative educational model, the three-year full-time bachelor program offers courses that connect life sciences, materials science, data science, artificial intelligence, and the humanities in order to prepare researchers to work in an ethical and collaborative manner in the search for solutions to the global challenges of the twenty-first century. The Ilum School of Science is funded by the Brazilian Ministry of Education (MEC) and is part of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) in Campinas, São Paulo, a social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MCTI). Ilum’s educational mission offers early contact with experimental activities, in teaching labs at the school as well as at CNPEM, in projects carried out together with researchers.
About CNPEM
The Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM) is home to a state-of-the-art, multi-user and multidisciplinary scientific environment and works on different fronts within the Brazilian National System for Science, Technology and Innovation. A social organization overseen by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI), CNPEM is driven by research that impacts the areas of health, energy, renewable materials, and sustainability. It is responsible for Sirius, the largest assembly of scientific equipment constructed in the country, and is currently constructing Project Orion, a laboratory complex for advanced pathogen research. Highly specialized science and engineering teams, sophisticated infrastructure open to the scientific community, strategic lines of investigation, innovative projects involving the productive sector, and training for researchers and students are the pillars of this institution that is unique in Brazil and able to serve as a bridge between knowledge and innovation. CNPEM’s research and development activities are carried out through its four National Laboratories: Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), Biorenewables (LNBR), as well as its Technology Unit (DAT) and the Ilum School of Science — an undergraduate program in Science and Technology supported by the Ministry of Education (MEC).
