On Tuesday (03 , Ilum School of Science received a visit from Inácio Arruda, Secretary of Science and Technology for Social Development of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. Interested in getting to know CNPEM’s faculty teaching proposal and infrastructure up close, Arruda was received by Ilum’s director Adalberto Fazzio. The secretary praised the contribution of the Bachelor’s degree in Science and Technology to the training of young people who will play a fundamental role in the development of research and the country’s scientific environment.

“It is a very beautiful, very integrated school, which offers a lot of quality and special training. It shows that we have the capacity to greatly improve scientific education in Brazil”, said Arruda, who visited laboratories that have cutting-edge equipment, used by students throughout the course. The visit was also accompanied by Ilum’s academic coordinator, Nelson Studart, by the Research and Laboratories coordinator, Valéria Spolon Marangoni, and by the School’s teachers.

Another high point of the visit was the interaction with the students, when the secretary highlighted the diversity of accents and representation of cultures from different regions of the country in the classroom. Ilum’s degree — which also offers benefits such as accommodation and meals — currently has young people enrolled from Brazil’s five regions. To ensure an inclusive and diverse study environment, the institution allocates half of its places to public school students.

After learning details about the pedagogical project, activities and having access to the School’s entire infrastructure, Arruda spoke about his impressions: “I left very enthusiastic. Of course we want a School like this in every corner of the country. Let’s perfect what we have and then we’ll replicate it. The main job of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Technology is to replicate what is functioning, that works and improves the training of the Brazilian people in the area of ​​Science and, above all, in the scientific education of the Brazilian people.”

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. It is responsible for operating the Brazilian Synchrotron Light (LNLS), Biosciences (LNBio), Nanotechnology (LNNano), and Biorenewables (LNBR) National Laboratories, as well as the Ilum School of Science, which offers a bachelor’s degree program in science and technology with support from the Ministry of Education (MEC).

About Ilum

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.