Champions of the Rio de Janeiro Mathematics Olympiad receive travel kits for Disney and NASA.

The kit contains items such as thermal shirts, t-shirts, jackets, socks, sneakers, a suitcase, a backpack, and a water bottle - Beth Santos/Rio City Hall

The mayor of Rio, Eduardo Paes, and the municipal secretary of Education, Renan Ferreirinha, delivered, this Wednesday (January 7th), the travel kits to the 44 winning students of the Carioca Mathematics Olympiad (OCM). The students will depart on the 17th for Orlando, Florida, in the United States, where they will visit Disney parks and NASA, the American space agency.

Created in 2021, the OCM is a pioneering initiative in Brazilian public education networks, organized by the Municipal Department of Education in partnership with the National Institute of Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA). In five editions, 264 students have been awarded the trip, and the competition has already accumulated more than 1,6 million entries.

– It's important that we encourage children. Our mathematics olympiad is second only to the national olympiad in Brazil, which shows the success of both and how capable they are of mobilizing our students with something that is very important. Here are those who won and who will serve as inspiration for other students – said Eduardo Paes, during the ceremony for the delivery of the kits at Parque Glória Maria (Parque das Ruínas), in Santa Teresa.

The students received a kit with essential items for the trip, including thermal shirts, t-shirts, jackets, socks, sneakers, a suitcase, a backpack, and a water bottle. The kit for the girls also included sanitary pads donated by the Livres para Estudar program.

"This is a very special trip. We're talking about children from all corners of Rio de Janeiro, from the favelas of the West Zone, the suburbs, the South Zone, the central region, who studied, did well on a math test, and won the trip through their knowledge. This is very powerful; it sends a very clear message that studying is worthwhile here in Rio. We see many students in our network who start studying more and dreaming of professions they never dreamed of before after experiencing a trip like this," said Renan Ferreirinha.

Dreams realized through study.

Aimed at students from the 2nd to the 9th grade of the municipal elementary school system, the OCM (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad) aims to stimulate learning in mathematics, identify talents, and promote healthy competition. For many students, the award represents the fulfillment of a dream.

Laura Lima de Oliveira, a 12-year-old resident of the Ponto Chic community in Padre Miguel, dreamed and drew, at the beginning of 2025, the moment she would win the medal. She invested in her studies during vacations and weekends. She asked her father to bring her study materials and promised that, in 2026, she would go to Disney. Now, the student who passed to the eighth grade will take the trip for the first time.

"I have very high expectations for this trip. I expected to win because I studied a lot. I had participated in the Olympiad before, but this was the first time I won. I've always studied a lot, and that brought me closer to mathematics. On this trip, I hope to have a lot of fun and learn about other cultures. My friends who have already gone said it's a wonderful trip," said Laura, who studies at the Roberto Simonsen Municipal School in Padre Miguel, the same school her parents Fábio and Priscila attended.

First place in the state of Rio and 71st nationally in the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools (OBMEP) in 2025, 13-year-old Miguel Rogério won the trip for the second time in the OCM. A student at the José do Patrocínio Municipal School in Irajá, he will move on to the eighth grade in 2026.

– I have high expectations for this trip. I hope to go on the rides I couldn't go on last year because of the lines. I believe it will be better than in 2025. Math is my favorite subject, I think I'll study engineering in college – declared Miguel, who lives in Morro do Juramento, in Vicente de Carvalho.

Investment in mathematics

Since April 2024, IMPA has offered an undergraduate course in Rio de Janeiro. The City Hall, in partnership with the Federal Government and the institute, inaugurated the Faculty of Mathematics – IMPA Tech in Porto Maravalley, in the Port Zone. The course is 100% free for selected students throughout Brazil.