Graduation ceremony for Bachelor’s degrees in Science and Technology will take place on Friday (9) at CNPEM
Ilum School of Science will hold the graduation ceremony for the second cohort of its Bachelor’s degree in Science and Technology on Friday (9) at 4:00 p.m. The ceremony will take place in the reception area of Sirius, at CNPEM (Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials), in Campinas, São Paulo, and will bring together students, family members, researchers, and authorities from the scientific community. Of the 40 students who entered the program in 2023, 35 are completing the course—the lowest dropout rate among science programs in the country. This significant figure reflects the educational model adopted by the institution, which offers students free, comprehensive education, including benefits such as housing, meals, and transportation.
In addition to the graduation ceremony, the event will feature the presentation of the Paulo Gontijo Prize for Future Scientists, which recognizes outstanding student projects developed in the final year of the program. The award highlights interdisciplinary scientific production and the training of professionals capable of investigating and proposing solutions to contemporary challenges with social impact.
The graduates developed scientific projects in pairs using CNPEM’s infrastructure, integrating areas of knowledge such as Life Sciences, Materials Sciences, Data Science, and the Humanities. After an internal evaluation process, six finalist projects were selected and submitted to an external review committee composed of five renowned researchers from different fields, who selected the award-winning works.
Two projects were chosen to receive a medal recognizing their scientific contribution, and each received a prize of R$10,000. One of the winning projects investigated the characteristics of Amazonian dark earth (terra preta), combining experimental techniques and computational analyses to understand factors related to soil fertility.
With an approach unprecedented in the scientific literature, the other awarded study analyzed the toxic effects of cigarette butt waste residues on aquatic organisms, using zebrafish—a freshwater fish frequently used in research due to having about 70% of its genes similar to those of humans and its rapid reproduction compared to other animal models. The committee also granted an honorable mention to a theoretical-computational project on the influence of natural molecules on enzymes related to methane gas production in cattle.
According to Professor Valéria Spolon Marangoni, Ilum’s Research and Laboratories Coordinator, the quality of the projects reflects the scientific maturity achieved by students throughout their undergraduate studies. “They presented very well-structured questions, high methodological rigor, and interdisciplinarity developed in a natural way. This caught the attention of all external evaluators and demonstrates that students graduate prepared to face complex scientific challenges,” she notes.
Valéria also emphasized that students stood out for integrating different areas of knowledge to address the proposed questions. “Interdisciplinarity does not appear as something forced, but as part of the students’ way of thinking. Seeing this reflected in the final projects confirms that Ilum’s educational model is fulfilling its role,” she adds.
The Paulo Gontijo Prize for Future Scientists is the result of a partnership between Ilum, CNPEM, and the Paulo Gontijo Institute, which for nearly two decades has supported initiatives focused on scientific research and the training of researchers. The award reinforces the institutions’ commitment to valuing science, excellence in education, and innovation in Brazil.
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).
