Festival of knowledge. This is how the 18th edition of the Unicamp Open Doors Program – UPA 2023, held this Saturday (19), came to an end. Throughout the day, more than 36 thousand people passed through the Barão Geraldo campus, in Campinas. Families and students from different regions of the country were able to visit the University's faculties, institutes and spaces, in addition to checking out experiments, research, technologies and projects that make Unicamp one of the best universities in Latin America.
The event began at 9 am with an opening held in the schools' reception space. The moment was attended by Unicamp directors, including the rector, Antonio Meirelles, the general coordinator, Maria Luiza Moretti, pro-rectors, directors of units and bodies, as well as relatives of Zeferino Vaz, founder and first rector of Unicamp. Sérgio Vaz, Zeferino's son, and André Barella, great-grandson, participated in the opening sharing their joy in seeing the patriarch's work remain for so many years. “I’m very happy to see the seed that my father planted”, celebrated Vaz.
"Zeferino preserved academic freedom, bringing important thinkers who marked the country's history, creating this force that generates ideas, knowledge, science, technology, in an innovative way”, commented Meirelles. For the rector, today Unicamp remains a reference in the defense of democracy and academic freedom. “This marked the history of Unicamp and also marked the history of the country. These were values that remained at the University and became stronger”, he highlighted.
Read article about tribute to Zeferino Vaz
"Once again, the Unicamp Open Doors program was a success”, celebrated Maria Luiza Moretti, president of the Organizing Committee of UPA 2023. "We had the pleasure of welcoming thousands of students who discovered the full potential of Unicamp to gerar science and knowledge that transform society in every way. We close this year's event with the certainty that visitors who passed through Unicamp throughout the day - young people, teachers and families – leadsram home for a bit spirit which makes Unicamp one of the best universities in the world country,” he added.
Saturday of knowledge and arts
To get to know Unicamp's faculties and institutes, visitors were able to take five different routes, each of them destined for a region of the campus. The attractions held in central spaces, such as the “Cesar Lattes” Central Library (BCCL) and the Arena Theater, remained crowded throughout the day. At 11:30 am, the team from the Executive Secretariat for Communication (SEC) aired a special program, live, lasting almost two hours, in which interviews were presented with professors and students about university life and the Unicamp 2024 Entrance Exam. Who passed by the library, you can also check out the presentation by representatives from Unicamp bodies and participate in conversations with former students, in addition to checking out cultural attractions from the Confúcio Institute and the exhibition “Em Visita”, by visual artists Helô Sanvoy and Sérgio Adriano H, at Gaia Space.
Vitória Marques and Gabriel Procópio, both 16 years old, took the opportunity to see the exhibition, which addresses issues of a political and identity nature. The political action of Unicamp students was an aspect that caught the attention of Marques, a young resident of Mococa (SP). “I thought the political engagement of students through collectives and academic centers was really cool. You can also see a lot of diversity among people, through the graffiti on the walls”, commented Marques. The two were also impressed by the dimensions of the Barão Geraldo campus. “It’s all very beautiful and very big! I would easily get lost here”, joked Procópio, resident of Arceburgo (MG).
Praça do Ciclo Básico, the central point of the campus, was taken over by cultural attractions. At Teatro de Arena, ensembles from the Center for Integration, Documentation and Cultural Diffusion (Ciddic) and the Student Artist Program entertained young people with good music. Friends Sarah Pacce,16, and Ana Júlia Silva,16, from São Pedro (SP), took advantage of the presentations to rest after an intense morning and, in addition to the knowledge gained from the visit, they will take home books received at the Institute of Philosophy and Human Sciences (IFCH). “We are loving everything here at Unicamp, we are in love with the campus. We have more affinity with the Human Sciences and are very interested in the area. So far, the History course has been the one we liked the most”, said Sarah.
Samba fans were able to enjoy the Permanent Commission for Entrance Exams (Comvest), which this year highlighted the inclusion of Cartola's songs among the literary works nominated for the Unicamp 2024 Entrance Exam. A group of students from Escola Estadual Vitor Meirelles, in Campinas, entertained visitors with interpretations of the songs. The initiative came from professor Maria Luiza Fernandes, who runs the institution's reading room. “We seek to encourage students to always know the works of literature that are required in major entrance exams, such as Unicamp and USP. When I saw that the Unicamp test would cover songs by Cartola, I thought it was an opportunity to involve them even more in this universe of Brazilian music, of our classical singers”, she explained. According to the teacher, the project was a way to introduce the composer's songs and address the history of samba. “Bringing the students to play at UPA was also an incentive for other colleagues, so that they could also come and participate.”
Generations at party
At colleges and institutes, it wasn't just high school students and entrance exam students who took advantage of the program. UPA 2023 was also a special event for families to realize how much science is included in everyday life. This is the case of those who went through the Chemistry Institute (IQ) and were able to learn about the technologies used by criminal experts in the search for signs of toxic substances. At the Institute of Biology (IB), one of the laboratories presented the production cycle and energy potential of agave, a typical species from the Brazilian Northeast.
Professor Sebastião Moreira came to accompany his students, from the Santa Clara do Lago State School, in Hortolândia (SP), and brought his wife, Vera Lúcia. “We highly encourage students to come visit Unicamp, so that they have a general knowledge of the university and want to enroll in one of the higher education courses, so that they can make a difference in the future”, he said. Even though he teaches Arts, he took the opportunity to learn a little Botany, an area in which he is very interested. “I really like plants, people even joke that I took the wrong course, that I should have studied Biology or Agronomy.”
The children were also able to have fun with scientific games and the exhibition of cars from the Formula SAE teams at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (FEM). This is the case of Sophia Moreira, 9 years old, who came from São Paulo with her mother, Maria Aparecida Oliveira, to visit the university of her older brother, Felipe Pires, an Electrical Engineering student. “I really like cars, but I prefer motorcycles. In the heat, it’s good to feel the wind on your face”, declared the determined girl, who is already risking saying what she wants for the future: “I want to be a chemical engineer!”
"My son joined Unicamp this year, it was a dream for the whole family, and I came at his invitation to visit the university”, said Maria Aparecida, who was enchanted by the family atmosphere of the campus. “We already know about several projects, everything is wonderful. It’s good to see young people engaged in these initiatives and so many students from different places, from all over the interior, delving into new knowledge.”
UPA 2023 ended at 17pm. According to the Campus Experience Secretariat (SVC), there were no records of traffic accidents, thefts, robberies or complaints during the event. There were five records of assistance provided by the Internal Health Care Vehicle (Vidas) service and 15 by Unimed ambulances. All cases were resolved on site or referred to health services.
Watch the program presented live by the SEC team.
Check out more images of the movement in the morning:
