The 40 students admitted through Ilum’s 2026 selection process began their journey in the Bachelor of Science and Technology program last Monday, March 2nd. The date also marked the start of the academic year at Ilum School of Science, with the presence of students from the second- and third-year classes.
The incoming students were welcomed by the School’s director, Adalberto Fazzio, and the coordinator of Student Support and Retention, Ivia Minelli. “This is the fifth class we have welcomed to Ilum since its creation. We are very excited because we have significant diversity, with students from all regions of the country and gender equality, which has always been a hallmark of the school. The year 2026 will still hold other significant achievements for the institution, which means we have a lot of work ahead of us”, says Fazzio.
In the morning, the new students received information about Ilum’s teaching model, academic routine, general rules, and technical guidelines. In the week prior to the start of classes, the students had already been welcomed by the School for accommodation in the residences and received the first materials for their academic journey.
Originally from João Pessoa (PB), Jéssika Ferreira da Nóbrega lived with her family in Brasília before joining Ilum. She arrived in Campinas five days before the start of classes, guided by information from alumni and students of the school. “We came with high expectations, because Ilum and CNPEM carry such prestigious names, but everything is even better, if that’s possible. Especially the spectroscopy, which I’m fascinated by, it’s breathtaking. It’s magical to find people who experience science in the same way I hope to experience it”, she says.
In the afternoon, first-semester students had their first contact with senior students, who organized various integration activities, such as the symbolic adoption of newcomers, with the aim of facilitating adaptation to the academic environment, the city of Campinas, and the region where they will be living and studying from this new cycle onwards.
Youth is a hallmark of the class admitted in the 2026 selection process: the average age is approximately 18 years and three months. Another highlight is the diversity of the group, composed of students from all five regions of Brazil.
Among the 40 new students is Carlos Gabriel de Oliveira Campos, who traveled approximately 3,300 kilometers from Boa Vista (RR) to Campinas to begin the academic year at Ilum. Coming from a public school, this is his first time in the city. He highlights the school’s unique features as motivation for his choice: “In addition to its infrastructure, with access to CNPEM and other aspects that differentiate Ilum from other institutions in Brazil, the highly specialized faculty demonstrates the professors’ excellence. The interdisciplinary nature of the program and the humanities field help to contextualize the world we live in, in addition to providing support that facilitates student retention and focus on studies”, he explains.
During the first week of classes, students also gain access to the CNPEM campus and all the infrastructure they will use from the first semester of the course onward.
Good luck to the new students! May it be a journey full of knowledge.
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).
