Armour College of Engineering Hosts World's Largest Contingency of Brazilian Students In Immersive Summer Research Program
Brazilian undergraduate students in the top two percent at their home institutions were selected and supported by their government to study and perform research in the United States as part of the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program (BSMP). This past summer, Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) hosted the largest contingency of BSMP students of any university in the world. From a pool of 3,000 outstanding applicants, 424 BSMP engineering students were accepted into the IIT Armour College Summer Undergraduate Engineering Research Immersion Program alone. Over the course of 10 weeks, these students performed research under the guidance of over 70 engineering faculty and researchers.
The IIT Summer Engineering Research Immersion Program offered experiential learning through faculty mentored research and practical engineering training, as part of the distinctive and comprehensive Armour College of Engineering Research and Development program for undergraduates (Armour R&D). Research and development opportunities include biomedical engineering and health technology, engineering processes and product development, hardware, software, and communications, energy, water, transportation and sustainability, facilities, operations and project management, civil and construction engineering, engineering materials. Through these research opportunities, students have access to all facilities at the University including state-of-the-art engineering research laboratories, instructional laboratories and facilities, fabrication and design studios, and the campus at large.
BSMP Students Working in the Lab
“It is gratifying to see how the BSMP students are benefiting from their academic training at IIT,” said Consul General Paulo Camargo. “The Engineering Program has created meaningful research opportunities that will allow the students to go home to Brazil with an innovative perspective on engineering lab work".
“IIT attracts students from all over the world. In addition to educating students to be technically proficient, analytical thinkers, we also seek to inspire them to innovate. The Summer Engineering Research Immersion Program provides students with unique knowledge to make a positive and immediate impact on the continuation of their engineering studies, and subsequent contribution to Brazil,” explained Natacha DePaola, Carol and Ed Kaplan Armour Dean of Engineering.
The program culminated at the Armour R&D Expo on Wednesday, July 8 in the IIT McCormick Tribune Campus Center. There, these exceptional students were able to showcase their research results to Armour Faculty and Alumni, IIT Administration, industry partners, and members of the Brazilian Consulate of Chicago.
