Petrobras and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) have entered into a partnership to provide 1,500 scientific research bursaries for Black female students throughout the three years of upper secondary education. Petrobras will invest approximately R$ 32 million in the scheme, which is intended to increase the participation of Black and mixed-race young women in careers connected to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
The programme will support girls attending mainstream upper secondary schools who are experiencing social vulnerability. It aims to encourage a new generation of talent for research linked to the development of Brazil’s oil, gas and energy industry.
The project will be monitored through indicators including school attendance, academic performance, productivity and dropout rates. These measures are designed to assess the initiative’s educational and scientific effects on the students’ development.
Project aims to increase the presence of Black women in STEM
The Inspiração Project was created in response to an assessment of the challenges affecting STEM education in Brazil. These include learning difficulties, school dropout and limited student participation in courses regarded as crucial to innovation and technological development.
Selected students will receive a monthly support bursary of R$ 550 while completing upper secondary education. During the programme, they will be expected to create a CV on the Lattes Platform, produce scientific papers and present their work each year.
CNPq will issue a call for universities interested in carrying out research associated with the project’s themes. The proposed research strands must align with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda.
Planned subjects include innovation, sustainable energy production, technologies for the energy industry, solutions that improve people’s lives, and the ways the planet changes over time.
Initiative could reach communities near Petrobras facilities
According to Petrobras, the Inspiração Project could benefit more than 700 communities located close to the company’s facilities, across 141 municipalities in 16 Brazilian states.
The scheme also forms part of a research project by Petrobras’ Research Centre examining the engagement and inclusion of young people in STEM careers. The study is intended to propose an inclusion policy for young people facing social vulnerability as part of initiatives relating to the Just Energy Transition.
The intention is to identify actions that can tackle inequalities also reflected in the company’s own workforce.
Among Petrobras employees in STEM careers, 87% are men. Of all professionals working in these fields, 32.75% identify themselves as Black or mixed-race. Among women, 1.19% are Black and 3.38% are mixed-race, totalling 4.57%.
Brazil faces challenges in science and technology education
STEM fields are viewed as essential to innovation, productivity and economic competitiveness. Figures from the National Institute for Educational Studies and Research (Inep) show that, despite improved access to education, Brazil continues to face issues involving learning quality, dropout rates and the training of enough professionals to meet the demands of digital transformation.
Results from the 2022 Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa) placed Brazil 65th in Mathematics and 61st in Science among the 81 countries assessed.
The data show that 73% of Brazilian students assessed performed below the basic level in Mathematics, while 55% did not reach the basic level in Science. Fewer than 3% achieved the highest levels in Mathematics, and fewer than 6% did so in Science.
Technical and higher education also face challenges. Among Brazilian graduates, 15.6% complete courses related to STEM fields, placing the country 47th out of 48 countries analysed.
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