[{"jcr:title":"Computer Science student experiences University Culture in Illinois","cq:tags_0":"area-de-conhecimento:ciência-da-computação","cq:tags_1":"area-de-conhecimento:tecnologia","cq:tags_2":"tipos-de-conteudo:acontece-no-insper/internacional","cq:tags_3":"tipos-de-conteudo:pesquisa-na-graduação"},{"richText":"During the summer program in the United States, Rafaela Afférri participated in a research project on computing education and fulfilled her dream of spending a season abroad","authorDate":"16/12/2025 13h35","author":"Leandro Steiw","madeBy":"Por","tag":"area-de-conhecimento:ciência-da-computação","title":"Computer science student experiences university culture in Illinois","variant":"imagecolor"},{"jcr:title":"transparente - turquesa - vermelho"},{"themeName":"transparente - turquesa - vermelho"},{"containerType":"containerTwo"},{"jcr:title":"Grid Container Section","layout":"responsiveGrid"},{"text":"The two-month summer program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the United States fulfilled a long-standing desire of student Rafaela Afférri de Oliveira, who is in her sixth semester of Computer Science at Insper. During high school, she cherished the possibility of studying abroad, excited by the mix of influences from films, series, and music that portray North American university culture. Additionally, she knew that many universities in that country are international references in academic production and market-ready education. When applying to Insper for the 2023 entrance exam, Rafaela noticed that the school maintained partnerships with foreign universities. At the beginning of the program, she discovered the exchange program with the Grainger College of Engineering at the University of Illinois, for which she applied last year. “I prefer studying at Insper because I can meet people, walk through the halls, see familiar faces, and know who is doing what at the university,” says Rafaela. Just for comparison, 60,000 students circulated through the Urbana-Champaign campus this year, a number bigger than the population of 90% of Brazilian municipalities. The decision of the young woman from Sorocaba, in the interior of São Paulo, to stay in Brazil proved correct over time. “It was an incredible experience being in Illinois, as I realized the distance from home, not seeing my parents and friends from Brazil frequently, might weigh too much on me, as I can [be with them] now,” she states. In Illinois, Rafaela worked with Professor Yael Gertner, who researches the topic of teaching in Computer Science and coordinates career incentive programs in the area for high school students in the United States. In the summer program, the Insper student helped produce a questionnaire on teaching computing, to be applied to university students who have already studied the content of proof by mathematical induction. According to Rafaela, over the next three years, the study will attempt to assess the difficulties of graduates and propose ways to enhance learning still based on memorization. Rafaela recalls the task: “We conducted a literature review on proof by mathematical induction and read several scientific articles on what had already been done in other areas of knowledge that could relate to our research. We looked closely at articles in physics and education, which present this challenge in teaching complex and theoretical topics. I stayed there until the stage where we set up the interview. In future phases, mini-classes about the content will be conducted. Students will be tested with similar exercises before and after the mini-class to observe, based on the answers to these exercises, how their understanding has changed.” Interestingly, proof by mathematical induction was one of the subjects that challenged Rafaela in the course Logic and Discrete Mathematics during her junior year in Computer Science. “For me, it came at the right moment,” she says. “Students have considerable difficulty studying mathematics. In the exchange research, I needed to discover how to teach something that I had struggled to learn. It was interesting to see this contrast because I ended up diving deeper into the subject, understanding it much better as I was looking at it every day. I mentioned this to Professor Yael. I think I could also contribute with my student perspective and present some different insights for our discussions.” At Insper, Rafaela completed her report in 2024 for the Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciação Científica (PIBIC), in which she reviewed the literature on global actions focusing on reducing gender inequality in the area of Software Engineering. Upon returning to Brazil, she joined the Insper group that won the Brex Challenge in November. A month later, she presented her Capstone project, which corresponds to the final project, and is already doing her first internship in the profession. At this pace, she expects to graduate by the end of 2026. A little help in classes Another experience in Illinois was remarkable: besides education research, Yael Gertner was helping to organize a summer program for high school students, equivalent to the Brazilian high school. One of these classes related to professions, including Computer Science. The professor invited Rafaela and Vinícius Rodrigues de Freitas, another Insper student who was in the summer program, to help teach these classes. “I really enjoy teaching, so it was great to participate and discover how we teach certain topics and make them interesting for students,” she states. The season in the United States turned a dream into reality, for which Rafaela had dedicated great effort over the past few years. “The city of Urbana-Champaign is wonderful,” she says. “It's delightful to walk around there; everything is well-lit and maintained. You feel very safe.” Insper students who participated in the exchange in July and August this year stayed in the same dorm, which created or strengthened bonds among Brazilians. “For example, in the research, there was a student from India doing his Ph.D. in Illinois,” recounts Rafaela. “I was able to meet new people and, at the same time, feel some of this comfort from home, being with the Insper crew. Moreover, there were colleagues from Insper that I didn't know yet, so I managed to build friendships that returned to Brazil and continue until today.” In her free time, Rafaela joined the exchange students on a trip organized by the university to Chicago, where she took a boat tour showing the city's historic architecture. It was there that she tried the famous Chicago deep-dish pizza. In a park in Urbana-Champaign, she watched fireworks celebrating the United States' Independence Day on July 4th. “A small-town event, with people sitting on the grass, on top of blankets, watching the fireworks,” she says. “I went twice to a craft and food market with local producers. I even bought some super tasty dehydrated strawberries, which I had never seen in Brazil.” In these places, as Rafaela observes, much of the local consumption and behavior culture is expressed. All this experience returned in the luggage."},{"jcr:title":"Rafaela Afférri (center) with other Insper students at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign","alt":"Rafaela Afférri (center) with other Insper students at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign"}]