02/09/2016
Text and images: Luiz Paulo Juttel – Ascom ISD
Why do students choose the IIN-ELS Master in Neuroengineering?
The month of August marked the beginning of the activities of the sixth class of the Master's in Neuroengineering promoted by Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience (IIN-ELS), unit that integrates the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD). The new class has eight students from three different regions of Brazil: northeast, southeast and mid-west. Since the beginning of the course activities in 2013, 32 master's students have already participated in the disciplines and started research projects.
On the first day of class, the new students spoke about the motivations that led them to enroll in the IIN-ELS master's degree. These include professional aspirations, ranging from an interest in becoming researchers and university professors to qualifications for the development of components and equipment in the area of neurorehabilitation.
Some, however, brought other reasons to the discussion. São Paulo doctor Margarete Vieira Faria, for example, was interested in the innovative nature and social responsibility present in the initiative. In addition to being the first Neuroengineering course in South America, the IIN-ELS master's degree is located in the municipality of Macaíba-RN, in the metropolitan region of Natal. The municipality is not part of the Center-South axis, which concentrates the main postgraduate programs in neurosciences in Brazil, and has low levels of human development, in addition to weaknesses in the areas of education, health and public safety. IIN-ELS works in synergy with other ISD units and government bodies to promote social transformation in the region through the development of science and education.
Camille Reátegui Silva, from Goiás, a one-year graduate in Automation Engineering, reported that she watched a television report about the work of neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis when she was eleven years old. “I was enchanted by that research and that was what I wanted to do. Then, in my undergraduate thesis I worked with a neuroscience professor and today I am here. In many renowned universities, people think you are innocent or dreamy when you talk about this social aspect, but here it happens in practice”, comments Silva.
Students entering the sixth class of the Master’s in Neuroengineering at IIN-ELS:
- Camille Reátegui Silva – Control and Automation Engineering (PUC-GO);
- Patrícia Mayara Moura da Silva – Physiotherapy (UFRN);
- Marcela de Angelis Vigas Pereira – Physiotherapy (UNEB);
- Luan Garcia Costa de Oliveira – Electrical Engineering (UFRN);
- Adrielly Karine de Oliveira Melo Ferreira – Psychology (UnP);
- Margarete Vieira Faria – Medicine (FIPA);
- José Nelson Badziak Junior – Civil Engineering (UnP);
- Perceu Pezzotta Sobrinho – Biological Sciences (IFSP-SRQ).
