The Graduate Program in Neuroengineering at the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD), the first recognized by the Ministry of Education (MEC) in this area of knowledge in Brazil, will have an increase in the number of scholarships granted to students in 2021. The master's program receives scholarships from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes), through the Support Program for Graduate Studies at Private Educational Institutions (PROSUP). The number of scholarships available in the program increased from 5 to 7.

This expansion is due to the change in the model for granting scholarships and tuition fees for stricto sensu postgraduate programs, that is, those that award masters and doctorates in the various areas of knowledge in which they are included. Since 2020, the granting of scholarships or assistance for payment of tuition fees within the scope of postgraduate development programs has prioritized courses offered in municipalities with lower human development indices and with better results in the postgraduate evaluation.

In the case of ISD, the fact that the teaching, research and extension activities of the master's degree take place at the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience (IIN-ELS), in the rural area of the municipality of Macaíba (RN), was the main factor that contributed to the increase in scholarships awarded.

Located in the Greater Natal area, Macaíba was for years one of the municipalities with the lowest Human Development Index (HDI) rates in Rio Grande do Norte, one of the factors that influenced the decision to install the ISD in the region, with the aim of transforming this reality. In the 2000s, according to the Atlas of Human Development in Brazilian Metropolitan Regions, Macaíba's Municipal Human Development Index (MHDI) was classified as “very low”. Ten years later, the municipality raised the category from “very low” to “low”. Part of the ISD's mission is to contribute to further raising this index through education, science and health services for the municipality's population.

Scholarships

Worth R$1,500, the scholarships are an important tool to ensure the permanence of students who are exclusively dedicated to postgraduate studies. This is the case of master's student Cláudio Júnior, a biomedical scientist from Caruaru (PE), who moved to Rio Grande do Norte to pursue a Master's degree in Neuroengineering at the Santos Dumont Institute. “My situation, like that of other students here, is that of people who came from other cities and states just to pursue a master's degree at the Institute. So, this scholarship is extremely important to help us stay, since many do not have the support of their parents and the program requires a lot of dedication and attention,” he says. To secure the scholarship, students must be exclusively dedicated to postgraduate studies and write biannual reports that prove their involvement in the institution's research, teaching and outreach activities.

Coordinator of the Master's Degree in Neuroengineering at ISD, professor and researcher Abner Rodrigues Neto emphasizes that the increase is welcome given the increase in the number of candidates for the program every six months. “This was good for us because our demand is increasing over time. In the last selection process, more than 10 students were accepted. So, with the increase in applications, it is important to also look at scholarships. The increase in the weight of the HDI of the municipality where the program is located was important for us, as we are outside the urban area developing a master's program that has as one of its objectives to also impact the creation of technological solutions in the area of neuroengineering that reach this population”, emphasizes the coordinator.