The Permanent Committee for Strategic Actions and Policies for Gender Equity of CAPES (Ordinance 215, of July 10, 2024) guides procedures and actions to improve the process of inclusion of diverse people who should be guides for Institutions, Postgraduate Programs and Area Coordinations.
Affirmative action is an inclusion and democratization policy that aims to combat social, ethnic-racial, gender, sexual, and religious discrimination and inequality, with the goal of promoting substantive equality for historically and socially excluded and discriminated groups. Law No. 14,723 sanctioned in November 2023 inaugurated a new phase of affirmative action policies in Postgraduate Studies in Brazil.
Affirmative action policies for the inclusion of black, mixed-race, indigenous, and quilombola people, and people with disabilities, highlight diversity as important for the interdisciplinary development of science, technology, and innovation in our country.
Since its creation, the Santos Dumont Institute has encouraged the admission of people with disabilities, Black people, and Indigenous people to its postgraduate programs.
However, this reservation of places was not regulated, with no definition of a minimum number of places for each group.
On June 1, 2024, an ordinance signed by the Director-General of ISD, Reginaldo Freitas Júnior, approved the Affirmative Action Policy in the Postgraduate Program in Neuroengineering, resulting in Ordinance No. 25.
The Policy aims to promote inclusion and equal access to the PPGN for quilombola, black, brown, indigenous, or disabled people, in addition to establishing standards for the implementation of affirmative actions in postgraduate selection process announcements.
Thus, in each notice, 20% of the vacancies are reserved for candidates who self-declare as black, brown, indigenous and quilombola and 20% for people with disabilities.
In this sense, this is a fundamental step in the construction of a more democratic higher education capable of contributing to tackling the various inequalities present in Brazilian society.
Actions and Mechanisms for Student Access and Permanence at ISD
Internal Accessibility Committee – CIA ISD
The Santos Dumont Institute's Internal Accessibility Committee (CIA ISD) was created in 2022 to plan, propose, advise, and monitor initiatives aimed at promoting inclusion and accessibility within the institution. Its work reinforces the ISD's commitment to equity, valuing diversity, and guaranteeing the rights of people with disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, reduced mobility, and other specific learning and developmental conditions.
CIA ISD's mission is to foster institutional policies and practices that ensure accessibility in its multiple dimensions—attitudinal, architectural, communicational, digital, methodological, instrumental, and programmatic—in all areas of teaching, research, outreach, and services. It also provides guidance to professionals and students, prevents and combats all forms of discrimination, and promotes inclusive environments that foster the full and equal participation of all.
The committee is comprised of representatives from various sectors of the Institute, including faculty, students, preceptors, people with disabilities, and management, as well as external consultants appointed by the General Management. Its composition reflects the diversity required to build collective and sustainable accessibility solutions.
Scholarship Regulations – PPGN
O PPGN Scholarship Regulations for Low-Income Individuals defines the criteria and procedures for granting scholarships to students who demonstrate a vulnerable socioeconomic situation. It establishes the documentary requirements, the means of income verification, and priority criteria, ensuring that resources are distributed fairly and transparently. The initiative aims to promote student access to and retention in graduate programs.
The regulations also establish the rights and responsibilities of scholarship recipients, as well as mechanisms for monitoring, reviewing, and potentially canceling the scholarship in the event of noncompliance with its rules. This ensures that the grant is effective and sustainable, while also encouraging commitment to scientific, social, and institutional development. The scholarship policy reflects the institutional principle of equity, valuing opportunities for people in vulnerable situations.
Actions aimed at promoting diversity and interculturality
Move La América
Organized by the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), the Move La América Program aims to complement the internationalization efforts of Brazilian Higher Education Institutions. The initiative seeks to attract students affiliated with foreign education and research institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, strengthening Postgraduate Programs (PPG) and promoting the creation of an international institutional environment.
To this end, the program offers scholarships in the form of sandwich master's and doctorate degrees in Brazil, with a focus on internships, research, extension activities and, occasionally, courses in Postgraduate Programs (PPG) at Brazilian Higher Education Institutions (IES).
The Santos Dumont Institute is one of the participating institutions, offering master's degree opportunities to international postgraduate students from Latin America and the Caribbean.
Accessibility research
The ISD offers accessibility and assistive technologies to ensure access, retention, and learning for people with disabilities. In this regard, we conduct research on assistive technologies for real-world application in an interdisciplinary manner and with the active participation of stakeholders.
Software Patents and Registrations
– SOUSA, CBS ; SILVA, JCG ; BORGES, LHB ; DANTAS, PMS ; Morya, Edgard . Slider for people with motor disabilities. 2025, Brazil. Registration number: BR1020250148900, INPI – National Institute of Industrial Property. Filing: July 18, 2025
– FERNANDES, JPB ; DANTAS, TLFS ; NETTO, SPN ; DANTAS, MJB ; Morya, Edgard . iVR Boccia. 2021. Registration number: BR512021001709-9, registration date: 07/22/2021, title: “iVR Boccia”, INPI – National Institute of Industrial Property.
– SILVA, JCG ; FERREIRA, PG ; SILVA, VC ; BORGES, LHB ; BRASIL, FL ; Morya, Edgard . Data acquisition system for wheelchair training roller. 2023. Registration number: BR512023003862-8, registration date: 04/13/2023, INPI – National Institute of Industrial Property.
– COSTA, AB; CABRAL, BGAT; Morya, Edgard ; CAMPOS, FRF; GALVAO, FRO ; SILVA, JCG; BORGES, LHB ; DANTAS, PMS Wheelchair control simulator. 2024.Patent: Computer Program. Registration number: BR512024003250-9, registration date: 08/12/2024, Registration institution: INPI – National Institute of Industrial Property.
– BARBOSA, MT ; RATHKE, CL ; Morya, Edgard ; DO ESPÍRITO SANTO, CAROLINE CUNHA ; SILVA, JCG ; CAMPOS, FRF ; CABRAL, BGAT ; DANTAS, AFOA ; DANTAS, PMS Performance improvement system for para-athletes in shot put events with computer vision. 2024. Registration number: 512024004266-0, registration date: 10/11/2024, Registration institution: INPI – National Institute of Industrial Property.
– SILVA, JCG; FERREIRA, PG; SILVA, VC; BORGES, LHB ; Morya, Edgard ; COSTA, AB ; CABRAL, BGAT; DANTAS, PMS . Interactive training system for wheelchair users. 2024. Registration number: 512024004515-5, registration date: 08/20/2024, title: “Interactive training system for wheelchair users”, Registration institution: INPI – National Institute of Industrial Property.
Quilombola Girls and Women in Exact Sciences Project (CNPQ No. 31/2023)
The project aims to encourage the training of girls and women for careers in exact sciences, engineering and computing, through an action to encourage the vocational interest of female high school and higher education students in the Quilombola community.
Target audience: Quilombola Girls and Women for junior scientific initiation (eighth and ninth grade of Elementary School and High School in public schools), scientific initiation (in undergraduate courses in the areas of Exact Sciences, Engineering and Computing), Junior Post-doctorate and Higher Education Technical Support.
Opportunities
With the aim of strengthening the presence of quilombola women in the academic and scientific environment, the Santos Dumont Institute launched two calls for proposals:
Support Scholarship for Quilombola Women: aims to provide financial and institutional support to quilombola women in the development phase of research activities, collaborating with their insertion and permanence in postgraduate programs;
Junior Postdoctoral Fellowship for Quilombola Women: aims to foster the scientific careers of newly graduated quilombola women, offering them the conditions to develop highly relevant projects with financial support and institutional structure.
Both calls seek to promote affirmative action that expands diversity in the academic environment. Admission criteria, deadlines, and procedures are available at the links below:
