Welcome to Manna Team!

What is Manna?

The Manna Team is the largest ecosystem of education, research, extension and innovation in Internet of Things (IoT) and Robotics at Paraná, and one of the biggest in Brazil. 

The research themes involve, besides IoT and Robotics, the Internet of Drones (IoD), Brain-Computer Interface (ICC), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Smart Environments and Things, Urban Computing and Games. Combined to the research and technological innovation works, Manna also promotes inclusion and opportunities for all citizens of any age, through an ecosystem to form entrepreneurs with social intelligence and capable to leverage the innovation in different knowledge areas.

The projects are conceived and developed focusing on Education 5.0, Computational Thinking, Design Thinking and Maker Culture. Therefore, Manna gives meaning to the innovation when proposes a methodology which promotes the interest of children, young people and adults for the technology area. 

What do we do?

The group develops excellence research, transfers technology to companies and still impacts the community by enlarging the extra classes spaces, contributing to the 5.0 Citizen formation: all kinds of people of all ages that learn about electronics, computing and recognize their inner genius.

All the Manna actions, activities and projects are developed considering the formation of a citizen with emotional, behavioral and social abilities, which ones enable them to impact the society positively. 

The 5.0 Citizen presents hard skills (singular knowledge about their professional area, language domain and techological aspects) and soft skills (cognitive flexibility, empathy, leadership, propulsion, computational thinking and social intelligence).

Therefore, tt is important to mention that all the Manna actions in Education 5.0 which include teaching and learning in Eletronics, Robotics and Computational Thinking can be replicated, even better, multiplied, once the group has its methodology consolidated in 2.500 hours of courses, lectures, worshops and other activities that are ready to be ministered bu different people, from different ages and socioeconomic conditions.

Our story

Over 20 years, Manna answers teachers and students from High School, Elementary School and Technical Education in the public school system of different cities, as well as students and professors from graduation and postgraduate studies in many University Institutions. The network has 20 professors who have PhD degree, 16 people who have Master's degree, many instructors and students from different courses and institutions.

In 2019 and 2020, Manna had its activities in different public schools from some cities in Paraná, like Cianorte, Paranavaí, Jandaia do Sul, Apucarana, Campo Mourão, Maringá, Guarapuava, Santa Helena, Mandaguari, Tamboara, Alto Paraná, Borrazópolis, São Pedro do Ivaí and Marialva. These activities also reached other states, such as São Paulo, Brasília, Minas Gerais and Mato Grosso do Sul. It is estimated that about twelve thousand people were impacted in the last two years, from the forty thousand in the project's 20 years.

During the social distance caused by COVID-19, Manna created technology kits, like mannaVolt, to be sent to the public school students' houses. Besides that, the members participated in various live lectures to take knowledge beyond distances.

Nowadays, we continue to open maker spaces in different public schools and cities, also promoting workshops in large events to students, teachers and general public, for anyone who wants to meet some aspects of everyday techonology.

Our goals

• To do excellence scientific research, techological transfer and innovation in areas of microeletronics and comptuing, with themes like Internet of Drones, Internet of Things, Internet Robotics of Things, Industry 4.0, Artifical Intelligence, Smart Cities, Urban Computing, Education 5.0 and Games.
• To contribute to the emergence of a new generation of professionals in the microeletronics, computing and engineering areas, attracting students, encouraging the career growth and generating human talents in Brazil.
• To encourage the participation of women in STEAM areas (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) and support their careers' growth.
• To offer techonological solutions to companies, start-ups and third sector.
• To promote the digital inclusion by activities that involve the study of problems and challenges related to Computational Thinking, Eletronics, Robotics, Games and Internet of Things.
• To encourage the entrepreneur spirit for ordinary people and other ones interested in techonological innovation around Computing, Engineering and Microeletronics, by activities of Maker Culture and based on the principles of innovation and Education 5.0 culture.
• To spread the teaching and learning of different technologies to the ordinary citizen, students and professors, expanding the Science, Technology and Innovation spaces.
• To contribute to different actors by the proposition of public policies which promote Science, Technology Digital Inclusion and Education 5.0.
• To contribute to the training of professors from different knowledge areas, specially those ones involved with high skills students (giftedness, prodigies, geniuses) in the Elementary and High School and Universities.

Who can participate in Manna?

All the ones who are willing to inspire people and promote a better society:

• Teachers: from college, Elementary and High School, languages, and others;
• Students: graduation and postgraduate studies, High School, Elementary School, Third Age Academy, Special students, and others;
• Entrepeneurs: the ones who are willing to cooperate in projects of people and technology development;
• Parents: the ones who are willing to opportunize new abilities to their children, taking them to our labs to take classes and tutoring.
• Friends: the ones who are willing to go along with us in our social media and disclose our work.

Our projects

MannaIoT

Research, teaching, extension and innovation in Internet of Things. Some points of interest for the Manna IoT group are smart cities, industry 4.0, smart farming, precision agriculture, automotive industry and smart vehicles, autonomous robots and well-being for quality life.

MannaIoD

MannaIod is the group dedicated to the popularization of Internet of Drones in different urban, rural and educational environments. Some points of interest for our IoD group are: sustainability, smart delivery, accessibility, monitoring and sensing, urban computing, privacy and security.

MannAccess

An assistive technology aimed to visually impaired people. The main objective is to repreent a digital image in a tactile and auditory format, through a table with pins which go up and down by touch sensors.

WIE

The WIE IEEE UEM is a group which aims to encourage girls and women in technology and exact Sciences area.

Manna BootCamp

The BootCamps are imersive events which offer an intensive training with experiences that transform and empower different people. One of the largest bootcamps Manna have been offering happens at Expoingá, an agricultural fair that brings guests from all over the state of Paraná.

Manna ESC

Manna ESC is part from Manna Academy, the squad from Manna that takes techonology and innovation to the public schools and other parts from community. Manna ESC aims Education, Health (from portuguese “Saúde”) and citizenship inside the classroom, so it's a multidisciplinary work with elementary and high school.

Manna Education 5.0

This part from Manna works to develop soft skills, computational thinking and eletronics with the community, specifically the school community. All the activities from Manna Academy, as well as scientific projects developed in Manna Science can relate these topics with hard skills from exact Sciences. It is a way to extended what happens inside universities to the general public, which is the first target from all academic actions.

Manna.Mundo

Manna.Mundo (in English, Manna World) is the project dedicated to the internationalization and learning of a citizen to the world, through students encouragement to be interested in languages, innovation and new cultures knowledge. This group is aligned to ONU's 2030 Agenda and the 17 Goals for Sustainable Development.

Our Courses

MannaVolt

A search for knowledge like an adventure! The kit for this project is pressed in 3D, prepared with bottons and eletronic components, the box also contains a multimeter, a charger, a handout and stickers. Students from different schools received the kits in their own houses to learn about eletronics, specially during the pandemic period in 2020 and 2021.

Manna.ino

MannaIno is another teaching kit developed to introduct the students to the IoT universe. There are a lot of components to try new things in Internet of Things.

MannaIoD

Like an extension from mannaIoD, this minicourse talks about the main aspects related to the Internet of Drones. It envolves theoretical learning, simulators and practice with real drones, and has been accomplished in many events which Manna participates as a guest to show its main features. There were some editions from mannaIoD accomplished in public schools too.

Manna Felicidade (Manna Happiness)

Besides the hard skills from eletronics, IoT, IoD and others, Manna also has the soft skills bias, in which the Happiness is a important conductor to a better professional and personal life. Happiness is also a skill from the 5.0 citizen, the one Manna intends to form through researches and lectures about Education and Happiness, Purpose and Happiness index. The most recent edition from Manna Happiness happened in Cianorte, at State University of Maringá, to open the school year.

Escola de Verão do Manna (Manna's Summer School)

Developed to reach from elementary school students to college students and teachers, Manna's Summer School was made by different lectures, courses and online lives, during January, 2023.

Showcase

Products and prototypes

In our showcase, you can find some of the products and prototypes developed by Manna members or by partnerships with other universities. In this page you find Manna Games (a funny way to learn code and binary system), Bucky-ARM (from Manna heart-z), mannaWUI (a national device to eletronic prototyping) and other works in IoT and IoD, such as Li-Fi and delivery systems.

Academic papers

Some of the papers published by Manna members.

Expo Manna

Expo Manna is the main page to show events and bootcamps promoted by Manna Team. It also has the full coverage from Manna in SNCT 2022 (Semana Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia), Manna interviews and a special profile from our leader, professor Linnyer Ruiz Aylon.