Federal University of ABC

UFABC first dean was the former dean from UNICAMP, professor Hermano Tavares, whose term lasted from 2005 until 2007.[12]

Tavares was succeeded by the former president of the Brazilian Space Agency, professor Luiz Bevilacqua, who was his vice-rector and chair of the committee of implementation of the university.[13]

For health reasons, Bevilacqua resigned in mid-2008, and was succeeded by the former president of the Brazilian Society of Physics, professor Adalberto Fazzio.[14][15]

In January 2010, President Lula appointed the former dean of research of the UNICAMP and professor of USP, Helio Waldman to hold the post of rector of UFABC for the next four years.[16][17]

• The French newspaper Le Monde published an article that highlights the fact that it is the first Brazilian university to rely on 100% of professors with doctorates.[18]
• Writing in the Mexican Gnoseogénesis, the doctor José Luis Morán López of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México highlights the pleasant surprise of the creation of UFABC and its interdisciplinary project created by 25 Brazilian scientists.[19]
• The portal of the Methodist University of São Paulo published an article on the inauguration of one of the blocks UFABC made by the then-president of the Republic, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva where it talks about the goal of leaving the UFABC among the 100 best universities in the world, for example, ahead of the Brazilian university USP that was in 138th position among the best universities in the world.[20]
• Writing in the Portal Luis Nassif, Adalberto Fazzio (professor, USP) and Armando Z. Milioni (associate professor, ITA), highlight the six interdisciplinary axes at AFABC and the fact that less than 50% of the subjects that make up student grades are compulsory.[21]
• During the presentation of the seminar "Interdisciplinarity", held in April 2009, a professor of Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), doctor Alaor Clark commented that he considers the UFABC the most advanced interdisciplinary project in Brazil and in the world.[22]
• In a presentation to the Center of Physics of Porto (Portugal), the professor doctor Daniel Zanetti de Florio cites the fact that UFABC have an innovative educational project based on Bologna Process.[23]
• In an article in the newspaper Diário do Grande ABC by the then-dean of research in UFABC, Helio Waldman comments that the newly created UFABC was born in an advanced stage for the 20th century and achieved in a few years the development in research that universities such as USP and Unicamp, for example, took decades to build. The article is constructed from the result of a notice that shows the UFABC in the first time of Brazilian universities in nanotechnology.[24]
• Another article published in the Diário do Grande ABC by professor Armando Zeferino Milioni (ITA) said the creation of the Masters and Doctorate of UFABC and highlights its qualified staff.[25]

There are three types of disciplines at UFABC, mandatory, limited option and free. The type of any given discipline is different for each course, meaning that the same discipline might be of one type on a course, but of other type on another. Mandatory disciplines are the ones required by a course in order to finish it. For computer science students, Databases discipline required, so for the computer science course, it is mandatory. Limited option disciplines are meant to enhance the student's knowledge on a certain field of study. Molecular evolution, for example, is a limited option discipline for Biology students. Free disciplines are all disciplines that don't fit in either one of the previous categories. LIBRAS is a free discipline on all non-licentiate courses.

The fact that the curriculum has no fixed order introduces some disadvantages, for example, one professor may apply harder exams than the others, creating a disparity between grades on the same discipline. Some, however, are "unified", meaning that the same exams and evaluations will be applied to all students, preventing that disparity. Excluding Quantum Physics and Structure of Matter, all Physics related disciplines are unified.

Different disciplines have different evaluation systems. One may have three, two, one or no exams at all (in this case, the evaluation is made via a project developed by the student). There may also be a student project and one or two exams.

Students who get a lower than C grade have the option to do one last exam, which is sometimes referred to as "recovery exam", that can increase their grade up to a C. If one gets an F and doesn't do well on the recovery exam, they will have to redo the discipline.

At UFABC, all undergrad students have four coefficients. They are the ${\displaystyle CR}$, the ${\displaystyle CA}$, the ${\displaystyle CP_{k}}$ and the ${\displaystyle I_{k}}$.

It represents how well the student is doing at the disciplines. As mentioned, it is the equivalent of the GPA. It can be calculated by the following formula:

$${\displaystyle CR=\textstyle {\frac {\textstyle \sum _{k=1}^{NC}C_{i}\cdot f(N_{i})\displaystyle }{\textstyle \sum _{k=1}^{NC}C_{i}\displaystyle }}\displaystyle }$$

Where ${\displaystyle NC}$ is the number of completed disciplines, ${\displaystyle N_{i}}$ is the grade on that discipline, ${\displaystyle C_{i}}$ is the discipline's credits and ${\displaystyle f(N_{i})}$ is:

${\displaystyle f(A)=4,f(B)=3,f(C)=2,f(D)=1}$ and ${\displaystyle f(F)=0}$.

It is similar to the CR, however, if a student takes the same discipline multiple times, only the one with the higher grade will be accounted. It is calculated using the following formula:

$${\displaystyle CA={\frac {\sum _{k=1}^{ND}CR_{i}\cdot f(MC_{i})}{\sum _{k=1}^{ND}CR_{i}}}}$$

Where ${\displaystyle ND}$ is the number of different disciplines taken by the student, ${\displaystyle CR_{i}}$ is the number of credits on that discipline ${\displaystyle MC_{i}}$is the greatest grade on that discipline. ${\displaystyle f(MC_{i})}$ is:

${\displaystyle f(A)=4,f(B)=3,f(C)=2,f(D)=1}$ and ${\displaystyle f(F)=0}$.

Represents the ratio between the approved disciplines' credits on a course ${\displaystyle k}$ and the total of credits on that course. It grows as the student finishes disciplines according to their category (mandatory, limited option and free). When it reaches 1, it means that student has finished all the required credits on that course ${\displaystyle k}$. Its formula is:

$${\displaystyle CP_{k}={\frac {n_{man}^{k}+min[(N_{lim}^{k}+N_{free}^{k}),n_{lim}^{k}+min(n_{free}^{k},N_{free}^{k})]}{NC_{k}}}}$$

Where:

• ${\displaystyle n_{man}^{k}}$ is the number of approved credits on the mandatory disciplines;
• ${\displaystyle n_{lim}^{k}}$ is the number of approved credits on the limited option disciplines;
• ${\displaystyle n_{free}^{k}}$ is the number of approved credits on the free disciplines;
• ${\displaystyle N_{man}^{k}}$ is the total number of required credits on mandatory disciplines for the course ${\displaystyle k}$;
• ${\displaystyle N_{lim}^{k}}$is the total number of required credits on limited option disciplines for the course ${\displaystyle k}$;
• ${\displaystyle N_{free}^{k}}$is the suggested number of credits on free disciplines for the course ${\displaystyle k}$.

It combines the ${\displaystyle CP_{k}}$, the ${\displaystyle CR}$ and the number of periods a student has studied on the university. The calculation is as follows:

$${\displaystyle I_{k}=(0,07\cdot CR)+(0,63\cdot CPk)+(0,005\cdot T)}$$

Bachelor of Science and Technology is a general course that teaches the foundation on mathematics, physics, biology, chemistry and computer science, while giving a slight introduction on human sciences. The idea behind that is to have students working with interdisciplinary subjects via a methodology that encourages an investigative approach to situations and stimulates scientific research and production.[29]

Examples of subjects studied are:

• Classical mechanics
• Thermodinamics
• Electromagnetism
• Quantum mechanics
• Epistemology
• Interactions between science and society
• Calculus
• Basic programming
• Origins and evolution of life
• Basic chemistry

The course takes a total of 2,400 hours of study to be completed.

Lockers for students in a corridor of UFABC

The Bachelor of Science and Humanities is a course of general science. The initiation in Natural Science, Formal, Social, and Philosophy is through lectures with participation in research groups, under the supervision of a senior researcher.[30]

The course also takes 2,400 hours to finish.

After completing either the BC&T or the BC&H, the student can choose up to two specific degrees to pursue. Students that graduate on BC&T have the following options:

• Santo André's campus:
  • Biology (Graduation or Licentiate)
  • Chemistry (Graduation or Licentiate)
  • Computer Science
  • Mathematics (Graduation or Licentiate)
  • Physics (Graduation or Licentiate)
  • Environmental engineering
  • Energy engineering
  • Information engineering
  • Mechatronics
  • Materials science
• São Bernardo's campus:
  • Neuroscience
  • Aerospace engineering
  • Biomedical engineering
  • Engineering management

Students that graduate on BC&H, can choose between (all of them at São Bernardo's campus):

• Economics
• Philosophy (Graduation or Licentiate)
• Spatial planning
• Public policies
• International relations

One of the laboratories in materials science from UFABC.

Teaching laboratory

For science projects the institution created the PDPD program ("Researching Since The First Day" or "Pesquisando Desde o Primeiro Dia" in Portuguese), where first-year students participate in research projects funded by the institution and supervised by doctors.[53]

Besides this program, students from other university years participate in undergraduate research programs with funding from organs such as the Institutional Program of Scientific Initiation, PIC-UFABC and PIBIC-UFABC, financed with resources from the UFABC. There is also the PIBIC-CNPq, financed by CNPq and PIBIC-Affirmative Action a pilot program launched and funded in UFABC by CNPq that provides scholarships for research by undergraduate students who entered the university system by affirmative actions (social quota). Students can also obtain research grants from organs such as Fapesp.[54]

The university has instituted a Scholarship Assistance - Events, which finances the participation of its students in extracurricular activities such as presentation of scientific work (e.g. work of graduate students approved at international conferences[55]) and going to technological events such as the Campus Party.

The campus of Santo André has equipment such as[56][57] Atomic force microscopy and Tunneling, Circular dichroism, Elemental Analysis, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy of High Resolution, Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, Gas chromatograph, Atomic Emission Spectroscopy, Infrared spectroscopy, Potentiostat / Galvanostat, Centrifuge Refrigerated Superspeed, Absorption Spectroscopy and Atomic Emission For Multicomponent Analysis, Gas Chromatography-Mass Detector, Liquid Chromatography System, Modular Electrochemical Microscope, Spectroscopy of Fluorescence, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Dynamic Mechanical Analyzer, Differential scanning calorimetry, Thermogravimetric Analysis, Optical microscope, High performance liquid chromatography Coupled With Mass spectrometry With Mass Detector, Scanning electron microscope, X-ray crystallography, wind tunnel and supersonic wind tunnel.

In addition, UFABC has two networks of high-performance computers. The Chromo UFABC went into operation in June 2007 and is a project financed by FAPESP and CNPq, and the Bull Novascale UFABC is a project funded by CAPES.[40]

The library website provides services such as queries to the collection, and renewal of loans of books. Also available are a list of acquisitions in recent months and the articles published on scientific journals by researchers of the UFABC. In addition, the library website is integrated to Twitter via Twitter @AnyWhere allowing interaction among the users of the system.[58]

The university has abolished the system of "departments" and "schools" that exist in other universities. In UFABC, all professors are bound to one of three major Centres Interdisciplinary:[65]

• CMCC - Center of Mathematics, Computing and Cognition
• CECS - Center of Engineering, Modelling and Applied Social Sciences
• CCNH - Centre for Natural Sciences and Humanities

Besides these, professors may be associated with the Interdisciplinary Centers linked to the rectory of UFABC:[65]

• NCSC - Center for Cognition and Complex Systems
• NCTS - Center for Science, Technology and Society

There are organs like the President's Office, Office of International Affairs, Center for Information Technology and Center for Technological Innovation, in addition to several secretaries and numerous research groups.[65]

Santo André's Campus of the UFABC has six blocks, a total of 96409.03 square meters of built area in the headquarters campus of the university. The design of the campus of Santo André was by Libeskindllovet Architects S/S Ltda. and the construction work was in charge of the Constructor Augusto Velloso SA.[66]

Besides these main blocks located between the Avenida dos Estados and Avenida Santa Adelia, in Santo André city, the UFABC has a building with teaching laboratory, computer rooms and classrooms on Avenida Altântica, in Valparaíso neighborhood, and an administrative headquarters at Rua Catequese, in Jardim neighborhood, both in Santo André.[67] The university has acquired a large piece of land to the other side of the Avenida dos Estados (across from the current headquarters) to build new research laboratories and support to engineering.[68]

On 25 August 2009 President Lula, accompanied by first lady Marisa Leticia, the Minister of Education, Fernando Haddad, the mayor of Sao Bernardo do Campo, Luiz Marinho, the deputy mayor, Frank Aguiar, and the Senator of the state of São Paulo, Aloisio Mercadante, laid the foundation stone of the campus of UFABC the city of São Bernardo do Campo. The campus of São Bernardo do Campo UFABC has six blocks.

The project is designed by Benno Perelmutter Architecture and Planning S/C Ltda.

Besides these six blocks, UFABC has a building with teaching laboratory, computer rooms and classrooms located in downtown São Bernardo do Campo, in the former headquarters of the College Salete named Block Sigma.[69]

On 11 September 2006, the first class entered the Federal University of ABC. In 2007 a group of students began the Athletic UFABC, starting the Academic Athletic Association XI September (Portuguese: Associação Atlética Acadêmica XI de Setembro), AXIS, whose name was chosen in homage to the days of the first class.[77]

AXIS is now a student representation recognized by UFABC formed by an elected board and that represents all athletes of the university. The Athletics (AXIS) of UFABC supports sports at the university, and conducts the selection of athletes for the leagues in which they participate.

The campuses of UFABC have sports fields, swimming pools, gyms and sports courts.[79][80] Furthermore, AXIS has agreements with SESI (Social Service of Industry) of Santo André and with Santo André's Club Bochófilo for the use of sport facilities of these sites by the students of the institution.

AXIS works closely with the DCE (Central Directory of Students) of UFABC organizing parties, sponsoring the travel of athletes, performing the manufacture and sale of customized sports equipment (such as shirts, kimonos, swimming caps,[81] etc.), and providing training and transportation for the athletes to participate in tournaments and doing extra activities such as mountaineering, abseiling[82] and internal tournaments.

Groups linked to Athletic's UFABC are Cheerleaders, the Infantry (responsible for the UFABC's fanfare in sports tournaments) and the Martial Arts Group, who train practitioners of Karate, Kung Fu, Tae Kwon Do and other martial arts.