GRACE ICMC-USP

What GRACE ICMC-USP does

GRACE ICMC-USP (Grupo de Alunas de Ciências Exatas) is a volunteer-driven academic extension project of the Instituto de Ciências Matemáticas e de Computação (ICMC) at the University of São Paulo, headquartered in São Carlos, Brazil. Founded under the Brazilian Computer Society's (SBC) national Programa Meninas Digitais, the organization addresses gender disparity in technology and exact sciences by delivering free technology education to girls and women ages 8 and up across Brazil. It operates with approximately 20 volunteer core members and no commercial staff, relying on institutional backing from ICMC-USP, CNPq, SBC, and a roster of corporate sponsors.

The project runs five program lines: TechSchool (an annual online summer school culminating in entries to the Technovation Girls international competition), Robótica na Escola (in-person robotics workshops at public schools in São Carlos and surrounding region), Ciência de Dados para Ensino Médio (data science introduction for high school students), Escola de Programação Web (a 5-month online web programming course co-delivered with REBECA), and Pensamento Computacional (computational thinking workshops). Curriculum is delivered through Thunkable for mobile app development, Python with Pandas and NumPy for data analysis, Scratch for visual programming, and Streamlit for interactive data web apps; robotics kits are used for the in-person robotics track. Annual TechSchool cohorts select roughly 50+ students from multiple Brazilian states across three age tiers (Iniciante 8–12, Júnior 13–15, Sênior 16–18).

GRACE generates no commercial revenue. All programs are free to participants and the project is funded through ICMC-USP institutional support, CNPq grants, SBC Meninas Digitais funding, and recurring corporate sponsorships including CEMEAÍ, NIC.br, Logicalis, SAS Brasil, Siena Company, Paramitas, Google, and Continental. Notable outcomes include the Diana app winning the Technovation Girls Latin America Grand Champion in 2021, three TechSchool 2025 groups reaching international semifinals, the INTERPRET app receiving an honorable mention in 2025, and a faculty member being named a BRICS Young Innovator in 2024.

Name

GRACE ICMC-USP

Legal name

GRACE ICMC-USP - Grupo de Alunas de Ciências Exatas

Website

https://grace.icmc.usp.br

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GRACE ICMC-USP is a volunteer-driven, non-revenue academic extension initiative of the University of São Paulo's ICMC that delivers free technology education programs — including the annual TechSchool — to girls and women ages 8-18 across Brazil to address gender gaps in tech.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education Outreach

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAAAEAL

Online/Hybrid Lifelong Learning Platforms & Open Enrollment Programs

Education/Adult & Continuing Education/Continuing Education (Noncredit) & Lifelong Learning Programs

Keywords

• STEM education programs
• Girls in technology
• Educational robotics workshops
• Computational thinking training
• Summer programming school

Headquarters

HQ city

São Carlos, São Paulo

HQ country

Brazil

HQ region

Latin America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding and Institutional Support: GRACE operates as a non-revenue-generating extension project of ICMC-USP, funded through institutional support from the university, government research councils (CNPq), and corporate sponsorships. All programs are offered entirely free of charge to participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

GRACE ICMC-USP is an academic extension project of the Instituto de Ciências Matemáticas e de Computação at the University of São Paulo that delivers free technology education programs to girls and women in Brazil. Its portfolio includes an annual summer school (TechSchool), public-school robotics workshops (Robótica na Escola), high-school data science training (Ciência de Dados para Ensino Médio), a web programming course (Escola de Programação Web), and a computational thinking program (Pensamento Computacional). The initiative partners with the international Technovation Girls competition and operates as part of the SBC Meninas Digitais national network.

Product overview

GRACE ICMC-USP is an extension project of ICMC-USP (Instituto de Ciências Matemáticas e de Computação da Universidade de São Paulo) dedicated to promoting inclusion of girls and women in technology and exact sciences. The organization operates as a portfolio of educational programs rather than a single product, consisting of TechSchool (annual Technovation Summer School for Girls ages 8-18), Robótica na Escola (educational robotics for public schools), Ciência de Dados para Ensino Médio (data science for high school), Escola de Programação Web (5-month online web programming course partnered with REBECA), and Pensamento Computacional (computational thinking development). All programs are free and focus on reducing gender inequality in technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• TechSchool: Annual Technovation Summer School for Girls - teaches girls aged 8-18 to develop mobile applications for international Technovation Girls competition
• Robótica na Escola
• Ciência de Dados para Ensino Médio
• Escola de Programação Web
• Pensamento Computacional

Products and services

• TechSchool (Annual Summer School)
• Robótica na Escola
• Ciência de Dados para Ensino Médio
• Escola de Programação Web
• Pensamento Computacional

Quantifiable outcome

• Diana app won Technovation Girls 2021 Grand Champion in Latin America, addressing domestic violence against women
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

23 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Meninas Digitais (SBC)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerGRACE is an integral member of the SBC's Programa Meninas Digitais (National Digital Girls Program), which aims to encourage institutions to promote projects that stimulate girls in fundamental and secondary education to pursue informatics/computer science. This partnership provides institutional credibility, national network visibility, and access to funding and resources for promoting gender equality in technology in Brazil.
• ICMC-USP (Instituto de Ciências Matemáticas e de Computação da Universidade de São Paulo)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerICMC-USP is GRACE's parent institution and primary organizational host. GRACE operates as a formal extension project (projeto de extensão) of ICMC-USP, located at its campus in São Carlos. The institute provides institutional infrastructure, academic oversight, faculty participation, and access to university resources including professors, researchers, and facilities.
• SBC (Sociedade Brasileira de Computação)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Brazilian Computer Society (SBC) is the national professional association for computing in Brazil. Through its Meninas Digitais program, SBC provides GRACE with institutional recognition, access to its national network of computing educators and researchers, and a platform for publishing academic research.
• REBECA (Rede de Ensino Brasileira de Engenharias e Ciências Exatas)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerREBECA is a national education network focused on promoting diversity in engineering and exact sciences in Brazil. GRACE partners with REBECA to co-deliver the Escola de Programação Web (Web Programming School), a 5-month online course in web programming for girls and women across Brazil. REBECA contributes curriculum alignment, national outreach through its network, and shared instructional resources.
• CEMEAÍ (Centro de Ciências Matemáticas Aplicadas à Indústria)majorOthersCEMEAÍ is a research center focused on promoting studies and transferring new technologies to industry. It has been a consistent sponsor of TechSchool programs (2022–2025), providing funding and institutional support for the annual summer school for girls.
• LogicalisminorOthersLogicalis, an international provider of IT services and solutions (consulting, cybersecurity, IoT, analytics, AI), has sponsored TechSchool 2023 and 2025 editions.
• NIC.br (Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas em Engenharia e Computação)minorOthersNIC.br is a non-profit civil entity that operates the .br domain registry for Brazil. It has sponsored TechSchool 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2026 editions.
• SAS BrasilminorOthersSAS is a global leader in analytics and AI. SAS Brasil has sponsored TechSchool 2022 and 2023 editions, supporting the program's data science and analytics educational components.
• Siena CompanyminorOthersSiena Company, a Brazilian digital transformation company founded by a USP-ICMC alumna, has been a consistent sponsor of TechSchool programs across multiple years. The company also provides mentors and organizational support.
• ParamitasminorOthersParamitas has sponsored multiple TechSchool editions (2024, 2025, 2026) as a supporter and partner.
• YadaaminorOthersYadaa was a sponsor of TechSchool 2025.
• CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico)majorOthersCNPq is a Brazilian federal government agency that promotes scientific and technological research. GRACE has received CNPq support for its extension programs, and CNPq is listed as a sponsor of TechSchool 2025 and 2026.
• PRCeU (Pró-Reitoria de Cultura e Extensão Universitária - USP)minorOthersPRCeU is USP's Vice-Rectorate for Culture and University Extension. It has supported TechSchool 2025 and 2026 as an institutional backer.
• SigSoft (Engenharia de Software Special Interest Group)minorOthersSigSoft is listed as a sponsor of TechSchool 2025.
• FAFQminorOthersFAFQ is listed as a sponsor of TechSchool 2022, 2023, and 2026.
• ContinentalminorOthersContinental, a multinational automotive parts and technology company, was a sponsor of TechSchool 2022 and delivered surprise presentations to participants.
• GoogleminorOthersGoogle is listed as a sponsor of TechSchool 2022.
• WEMEminorOthersWEME is a design and innovation consultancy that has sponsored TechSchool 2022.
• CatapultaminorOthersCatapulta, an education initiative of @fleye.me focused on career development, sponsored TechSchool 2022.
• MonitoraminorOthersMonitora, a Brazilian digital solutions company with international impact, sponsored TechSchool 2022.
• ChiaraminorOthersChiara, an illustration and art studio, provided creative/design support for TechSchool 2022.
• Instituto InovaminorOthersInstituto Inova, an entrepreneurial community, sponsored TechSchool 2023.
• Bulbine ProgramminorOthersBulbine Program, a diversity and anti-violence against women support program, sponsored TechSchool 2023.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Girls Who Code: Girls Who Code is a leading US-based nonprofit running coding clubs, summer immersion programs, and college-loops for girls, directly comparable in mission and program structure to GRACE's TechSchool and Escola de Programação Web, though at much larger scale.
• Black Girls CODE: Black Girls CODE provides technology education to underrepresented girls of color through workshops, hackathons, and summer camps. Highly comparable to GRACE in targeting underrepresented female demographics for tech exposure, though US-based and broader in racial-diversity framing.
• Meninas Digitais (SBC): Meninas Digitais is SBC's national program that GRACE is formally part of. It coordinates the broader network of Brazilian initiatives encouraging girls in computing and exact sciences, making it the most direct organizational peer within GRACE's institutional ecosystem.
• REBECA: REBECA is a Brazilian network promoting diversity in engineering and exact sciences, and is GRACE's direct partner in delivering the Escola de Programação Web. It shares GRACE's mission of broadening access to STEM for women and underrepresented groups in Brazil.
• Kode With Klossy: Kode With Klossy runs free two-week summer coding camps for girls and non-binary youth aged 13–18, directly comparable to GRACE's TechSchool in format (free summer program), demographic focus (girls in tech), and curriculum (app and web development).
• Technovation: Technovation runs the international Technovation Girls competition that GRACE's TechSchool feeds into. Both organizations share the mission of empowering girls aged 8–18 to become tech entrepreneurs and problem-solvers through app development, making them direct collaborators and closest mission-aligned peers.

Emerging players

• PrograMaria: PrograMaria is a Brazilian community and content platform promoting women in programming and technology, comparable to GRACE in Brazilian women-in-tech focus, but operating as a media/community platform rather than direct education delivery.
• AnitaB.org: AnitaB.org is a global nonprofit advancing women in computing through programs, research, and the Grace Hopper Celebration. Comparable to GRACE's mission of increasing female representation in tech, though focused more on professional women and research than K–12 outreach.
• PyLadies Brazil: PyLadies Brazil is the local chapter of the global PyLadies movement supporting women who code in Python. Comparable to GRACE's Escola de Programação Web in using Python as the entry point and targeting women learners, though focused on adult community meetups rather than school-age cohorts.

Broad incumbents

• Code.org: Code.org is a large-scale nonprofit expanding access to computer science in K–12 schools globally. Comparable to GRACE's mission of broadening CS access, but operates as a broad incumbent serving all students rather than specifically girls.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/icmc_usp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@graceicmcusp
• Facebookfacebook.com/grace.icmc.usp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grace-icmc-usp
• Instagraminstagram.com/grace.icmc.usp

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about GRACE ICMC-USP