In total, the free higher-education institution of CNPEM registered 2,279 applicants, most of them students from public schools
Ilum School of Science, the college of the Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials (CNPEM), recorded a 53% increase in the number of applicants for its 2026 Bachelor’s degree in Science and Technology selection process. Offering free education and extensive support to its students—including housing, meals, and transportation, as well as a notebook and access to the Center’s state-of-the-art laboratories—the institution received 2,279 applications this year, compared to 1,488 last year. Most applicants come from public schools across the country.
Among the registered candidates, 66.6% completed high school in the public education system. One of Ilum’s distinguishing features compared to other higher-education institutions is the comprehensive support offered to students, which contributes to low dropout rates in the Bachelor’s program in Science and Technology. In the previous year, demand was already high, with 61.6% of applicants coming from public schools. Gender balance among applicants is also evident, with 51.5% male and 48.5% female candidates.
With these distinguishing features, Ilum’s selection process now shows an applicant-to-seat ratio comparable to that of Brazil’s most prestigious public universities. Competition is intense, with 56.9 candidates per available spot. Those who enroll at Ilum begin an academic career focused on comprehensive, technical, and humanistic education, aimed at preparing scientists to face future challenges.
“Since its conception, Ilum was designed to offer comprehensive education and all the necessary support so that students can focus exclusively on their studies and academic development. Here, every incoming student is known by name, which makes them feel comfortable staying on the path of knowledge. As a result, the retention rate of the first two graduating cohorts is above 80%, an impressive figure for Brazilian higher education,” says Ilum’s director, Adalberto Fazzio.
Ilum’s selection process also follows a distinctive format. After registering through an application form, the student’s score on the National High School Exam (Enem) is considered. The 250 highest-ranked candidates in the Enem will be invited later this month to individual remote interviews, from which 40 students will be selected for the academic year. The list of admitted students will be announced on February 2, and classes will begin on March 2.
Throughout the three-year undergraduate program, students remain at the institution full-time, with more than half of the workload dedicated to practical activities at Ilum and in CNPEM’s laboratories. The faculty also works on a full-time basis, closely following students’ academic trajectories. Students additionally receive psychological support and English language instruction.
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).
