Program offers high school students from the Campinas region interdisciplinary experience in science
Registration is open until March 30 for the 2026 Learning Workshops program, an extension project of the Ilum School of Science at the Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM). This initiative targets students in public and private high schools in the city of Campinas, São Paulo and the surrounding area, offering a hands-on immersion in the world of science and technology.
The Knowledge Workshops promote interaction between the young participants and undergraduate students at Ilum, who plan and carry out the activities under the supervision of their professors. There are 30 slots available, and the workshops will be held on 16 Saturday mornings from April 11 to November 7 of this year.
According to Ana Carolina de Mattos Zeri, an educator at Ilum responsible for the Learning Workshops program, the project plays a central role in the academic and social development of the participants. “The main objective of the Learning Workshops is to offer an environment for the Ilum students’ curriculum extension activities, in such a way that contributes to the education of high school students,” she noted.
The experience is also strategic for the Ilum undergraduates. “It is a unique opportunity for the students at Ilum, since they learn so much by teaching. And for the high school students, it is a dive into interdisciplinary science and a chance to learn more about Ilum and the research done at CNPEM,” she added.
The activities are developed by the Ilum students during the school year, and involve experiments and activities on themes like the interaction between light and materials, molecular biology, robotics and sensors. “The experiments are based on topics suggested by our students, and the high schoolers are active participants in the hands-on activities, which are always guided by the Ilum staff,” explains Zeri.
Participants are selected after analysis of their academic transcripts. The students chosen to participate will be announced April 6, and will receive transport assistance and a certificate of participation as long as they attend at least 70% of the workshops.
Event: 2026 Knowledge Workshops
Registration period: March 2–30, 2026
Participants announced: April 6, 2026
Workshop dates: April 11 to November 7, 2026
Target audience: students at public and private high schools in Campinas and surrounding region
Link to register:
https://pages.cnpem.br/oficinasdoconhecimento/
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).
