Presentation/History of PPG

The Master's degree in Modeling and Optimization has an essential role in developing new technologies. Nowadays, mathematical models, advanced simulations, and sophisticated computational developments are used extensively in scientific research in general. The aim of the PPGMO is to train professionals to work in research development in the area of modeling and optimization, for mathematical and computational model processing. In addition to providing students with the opportunity to obtain a degree in exact sciences deepening their knowledge in the area, which allows them to achieve a standard of scientific or technical-professional competence, the university also offers an environment and resources suitable for developing scientific research.

The first motivation for creating an interdisciplinary master's degree lies in the fact that Catalão is in a region where there are not many master's programs in technological and interdisciplinary areas, which, alongside the growth of the regional industry, is already a relevant justification to strengthen research in the region and thereby decentralize research in Brazil.

The program's interdisciplinarity can be seen by the interaction between faculty members from different lines of research, as well as interdisciplinary education ensured by the different courses offered to students on the program.

It is common to find interdisciplinary problems in the areas of mathematics, engineering or computing, due to the need for computing techniques and mathematical formulations in their solution. This is also a constant in the industrial sector, where the specialist becomes part of a team managed by a professional with general training who needs to know several facets of the problem encountered. There is a significant demand for postgraduate courses and research in this area with an interdisciplinary focus, as well as the demand for general practitioners, which is becoming increasingly greater in the most diverse productive sectors.

It was in order to meet this demand, at the first level, that the Industrial Mathematics Course was created, and now, at a more advanced level, the PPGMO. It is worth pointing out the diverse performance characteristics of the PPGMO faculty members, where educators from different areas are expected to work together in order to solve a given problem more efficiently.