Spending your vacation developing research projects at the University may seem boring to some, but not to the 160 students who participated in the 17th edition of the Science and Art on Vacation Program, which ended last Friday (1). Amid laughter and applause, high school students from 65 public schools were overflowing with enthusiasm about their experience at Unicamp. “We were not treated just as public school students, or as low-income people, but as students, who have dreams and goals. You encouraged us and showed us that, when we have a dream, there are no barriers that can stop us from realizing it”, said Daniel Greque de Oliveira, class speaker during the closing ceremony of the Programa, held in the auditorium of the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM) at Unicamp.

Promoted by the Dean of Research (PRP) at Unicamp, in the months of January and July of each year, the program allows students from the public schools of Campinas and the region, Limeira and Piracicaba to develop activities alongside the University's teachers and researchers. In this edition, 54 projects were offered, including workshops, monitored visits and junior scientific initiation. “The partnership with Campinas City Hall, especially with the Department of Education, is fundamental. Without the support of the teaching boards and professors, this event would not be possible”, stated the dean of research, Munir Skaf.

The climate of enthusiasm was reinforced this year by the affirmative policies and expansion of entry forms carried out last year by Unicamp. “This University must be occupied by you. You win and the University wins. You grow with Unicamp and it grows with you”, emphasized Laís Polizello Lira, representative of the monitors, in her speech.

Unicamp's general coordinator, Teresa Atvars, highlighted the impact that the Program has on students' worldview. “You experienced another environment, different and challenging, which is the world of science. You leave here with another type of experience. Surely, when they eat ice cream, they will eat ice cream in another way,” she joked, referring to the workshop on the chemistry of ice cream that was part of the program. “When we learn, we start to see the world and things in a different way. Sometimes, in a more distressing way, because we know it could have been different. But, in many cases, it also allows us to interfere, do things differently and do things better. The essential mission of the public university is to help make things different through you,” she added.

Also present at the closing were the municipal secretary of culture, Claudiney Carrasco, and the pedagogical advisor of the municipal department of education, Flavia Martins Guimarães, as well as representatives of the regional education boards. After the ceremony, the professor at the Institute of Mathematics, Statistics and Computing (IMECC) and advisor to the Permanent Commission for Unicamp Entrance Exams (Comvest), presented to the students the main changes to the Unicamp Entrance Examination, highlighting the new forms of admission. The lecture was followed by a poster session, where the research carried out during the Program was exposed.







