Scientific Initiation from the beginning of the university trajectory is one of the differences of the professionals, Unicamp's Higher Interdisciplinary Training Program, which annually receives the best students from public schools in the region. Deeply integrating teaching and research, in an interdisciplinary and plural way, the Program aims to provide comprehensive and critical training, which introduces new students to the diverse possibilities offered by the University. The 3rd Profis Scientific Exhibition presented, this Monday (3), the results of 80 researches carried out in the areas of health, exact, technological, human, biological and arts. But, above all, it highlighted the richness of the experience lived by the students during the two years of the Program.
“This exhibition clearly indicates the diversity of Profis students, how much they can produce and also reflects a little on the diversity of our university as a whole”, stated rector Marcelo Knobel, while seeing the posters displayed in the Basic Cycle and listening to the explanations of students.
the variety of the themes of the works, which range from the “literary styles that attract Profis students” to very specific laboratory investigations, caught the attention of dean of undergraduate studies, Eliana Amaral. For her, the MProfis Scientific Oyster It is an opportunity to see the breadth of experiences that students have in the Program.
Eliana Amaral emphasizes the interdisciplinary character of Profis, which values comprehensive knowledge and the formation of skills. “One of the skills that students at university have to develop is the ability to reason scientifically. Not only to produce science, but to be a critic of the science that is produced and of its profession. During these two years at Profis, this ability to analyze and criticize is developed in students. This is clear in the works on display,” she said.
According to Mariana Nery, coordinator of Profis, despite being the results of a first contact with scientific research, the exhibition presents excellent results and even generates publications in indexed journals. Furthermore, the coordinator emphasizes that the exhibition presents the beginning of a work. “The work doesn’t end here. When they enter graduation. The tendency is for them to begin their scientific initiation much earlier than their colleagues who entered via the entrance exam. According to statistics, this path makes it much more likely that they will pursue the scientific field,” she said.
In addition to developing the research itself, which can be guided by any professor at the university, Profis students take courses focused on Scientific Initiation. The subjects are taught by the course coordinator and include classes on the scientific method, report writing, how to think about a question, what science is, how to disseminate science, among others. “Many of the projects are proposed by themselves. They have this experience of thinking about a question, looking for a teacher and doing all the work using the scientific method. They enter graduation with much more consolidated experience in the scientific area than their colleagues”, reported Mariana Nery.
The experience of research before choosing an undergraduate course also provides, according to Nery, deeper contact with the various disciplines and careers offered by the University. “This contact allows them to learn more about the area where they want to go and make a much more conscious decision about the course they want to follow”, he emphasized.
