Centro Universitário da FEI

University Center of FEI

Centro Universitário FEI
Former names	Faculty of Industrial Engineering (FEI) Superior School of Business Administration (ESAN) Faculty of Information Technology (FCI)
Type	Private
Established	1941
Affiliation	Society of Jesus[1]
Rector	Sc.D. Prof. Fábio do Prado,[2]
Location	Campus 1 - S. B. do Campo 23°43′31″S 46°34′48″W / 23.725203°S 46.579959°WCoordinates: 23°43′31″S 46°34′48″W / 23.725203°S 46.579959°W Campus 2 - São Paulo 23°33′52″S 46°38′08″W / 23.564472°S 46.635495°W State of S. Paulo, Brazil
Website	FEI.edu.br

Centro Universitário da FEI is a higher education facility in São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil, offering undergraduate degrees in engineering, business administration, and computer sciences as well as master's degrees in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and administration; specialization courses are also offered.^[3] It is often ranked among the best Brazilian private engineering colleges and best overall in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science.^[4][5]

FEI is an abbreviation for Fundação Educacional Inaciana (Portuguese for Educational Foundation of Ignatius),^[6] but had meant in the past Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial (Portuguese for Faculty of Industrial Engineering).

History

Rev. Sabóia de Medeiros, S.J., founded colleges of business and engineering in São Paulo for the fast-growing industrial sector in Brazil. The Superior School of Business Administration (Escola Superior de Administração de Negócios - ESAN) came in 1941 and was then the only business school in Latin America,^[7] influenced by the Harvard Business School model.^[1][7] The Faculty of Industrial Engineering (Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial - FEI) offering a Chemical Engineering undergraduate degree came in 1946.^[8] In 1946 also these two colleges joined the Catholic University of São Paulo,^[9] later Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, but remained affiliated only until 1971.^[1]

In 1963, the Faculty of Industrial Engineering was founded in São Bernardo do Campo, provisionally sharing the city's Industrial Technical School facilities (nowadays ETEC Lauro Gomes^[10]). The ceremony was attended by the President of Brazil João Goulart.^[11] In 1965, the São Bernardo do Campo campus was inaugurated with a 4,600 square metres (50,000 sq ft) building, and plans for a 40,000 square metres (430,000 sq ft) total site area. At that time, FEI offered undergraduate courses in Mechanical, Electrical, and Chemical Engineering, as well as associate degrees in Automotive, HVAC, machine tools, Textile, Metallurgy, Electronics, and Electrotechnics Operational Engineering.^{[12] [note 1][13]} In 1969, FEI sought an agreement with the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo and the Instituto Mauá de Tecnologia to improve its admission test (known as vestibular in Brazil), called MAPOFEI, by using essay rather than multiple choice questions.^[14][15] The partnership ended in 1977 when the University of São Paulo decided to merge all admission tests of its many colleges in a single exam conducted by FUVEST, a foundation established for that purpose.^[16] FCI, the IT branch, was founded in 1999.^[1]

Nowadays, the campus at São Bernardo do Campo has 18 buildings on a 24 hectare (60 acres) site^[17] and the campus in São Paulo occupies about one hectare (2 acres).^[18]

Elevation to University Center

In 2001, the Brazilian Government established a new rule on higher education, allowing for the foundation of universities which, unlike faculties, could initiate and terminate courses.^[19] FEI, ESAN, and FCI formed a new university center in 2002, at first called UniFEI.^[20] The "Uni" was added as a common designation for universities but had to be dropped since it was already in use by the former Escola Federal de Engenharia de Itajubá (Federal Engineering School of Itajubá) - EFEI, upgraded to university under the name Federal University of Itajubá (Universidade Federal de Itajubá) - UNIFEI.^[21] So FEI remains the acronym for the amalgamated Centro Universitário da Fundação Educacional Inaciana Pe. Sabóia de Medeiros (University Center of Educational Foundation of Ignatius Father Sabóia de Medeiros).^[22]

Courses

Along with many specialization courses, as of 2014 the following degrees are offered:^[3]

Undergraduate degrees

Automation and Control Engineering  Chemical Engineering Civil Engineering

Electrical Engineering Materials Engineering Mechanical Engineering

Production Engineering Textile Engineering Business Administration Computer Science

Master's degrees

• Administration (specialism in Innovative Management)
• Electrical Engineering (specialism in Integrated Electronic Devices, AI applied to Automation)
• Mechanical Engineering (specialisms in Materials & Processes, Production, Mobility Systems)

Achievements

FEI sponsors a team for Baja SAE, a competition promoted by the Society of Automotive Engineers in which students design and build an off-road vehicle for evaluation.^[23] FEI won 1st place in the 2004 Midwest Awards^[24] and in the 2007 Briggs & Stratton Overall Awards,^[25] and again won the B&S Overall in 2008.^[26] In 2006, an experiment called Effect of Microgravity on Kinetic Properties of Enzymatic Reactions - MEK, carried out by some FEI researchers, was taken aboard the 13th expedition to the International Space Station,^[27] in cooperation with the Russian Federal Space Agency and the Brazilian Space Agency. The experiments were conducted by the Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes.^[28]

Notes

1. At that time, Brazil had two categories for the engineering courses, Engineer (Engenheiro) and Operational Engineer (Engenheiro Operacional), the first with full capabilities and the second with regulatory limitations, yielding to shorter programs and reduced scope. The Operational Engineer career in Brazil was replaced by the Technologist (Tecnólogo).

References

1. "FEI's history website". Retrieved December 26, 2013.
2. "FEI's Directive Body". Retrieved December 26, 2013.
3. "FEI's academic programs". Retrieved December 26, 2013..
4. "Ranking of best Brazilian Automobilistic Colleges". Retrieved May 27, 2014.
5. "Brazilian Rank of most reliable engineering and computer science colleges". Retrieved May 27, 2014.
6. "FEI's Board of Trustees". Retrieved December 26, 2013.
7. Egoshi, Koiti. "ESAN - ESCOLA SUPERIOR DE ADMINISTRAÇÃO DE NEGÓCIOS" [ESAN - Superior School of Business Administration]. www.cienciadaadministracao.com.br (in Portuguese). Retrieved December 30, 2013.
8. "Decreto 20942/46" [Decree no. 20942 of 1946]. Brazilian House Computerized Legislation (in Portuguese). Retrieved December 30, 2013.
9. "Faculdade de Engenharia Industrial" [Faculty of Industrial Engineering]. O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). June 12, 1946. p. 6. Retrieved December 30, 2013.
10. Pafundi, Hildebrando (January 12, 1986). "Na ETI Estadual, o ensino perde nível" [At State Industrial Technical School, teaching gets its level lowered]. O Estado de S. Paulo. p. 28. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
11. "O Presidente inaugura duas escolas e agência do BNDE em São Paulo" [President inaugurates two schools and a BNDE branch in São Paulo]. O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). August 21, 1963. p. 1. Retrieved January 1, 2014.
12. "FEI inaugura novo edifício" [FEI inaugurates new building]. O Estado de S. Paulo. April 6, 1965. p. 16. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
13. CONFEA (June 29, 1973). "Resolução CONFEA 218/73" [CONFEA Resolution no. 218 of 1973] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Retrieved January 2, 2014.
14. "Mapofei, pela máquina" [Mapofei, instead of machine]. O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). October 14, 1969. p. 22. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
15. "Mapofei, prova maior" [Mapofei; bigger test]. O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). January 8, 1979. p. 18. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
16. "USP fará todos os vestibulares" [USP will make all tests]. O Estado de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). p. 1. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
17. "SBC FEI campus website". Retrieved January 9, 2014.
18. "SP FEI campus website". Retrieved January 9, 2014.
19. "Decreto 3860/01" [Decree no. 3860 of 2001]. The Brazilian Presidency Website - Decree 3860/01 (in Portuguese). Retrieved January 4, 2014.
20. "Anúncio publicitário sobre a implantação da UniFEI" [Advertisement on UniFEI's installment]. O Estado de S. Paulo. April 29, 2002. p. A13. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
21. "A UNIFEI - Histórico e Atualidades" [UNIFEI - History and current affairs]. UNIFEI History (in Portuguese). Retrieved January 4, 2014.
22. "Brazilian Ministry of Education Higher Education Institutions' Search". Brazilian Ministry of Education Website (in Portuguese). Retrieved January 7, 2014.
23. "About Baja SAE® Series". SAE International. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
24. "2004 Award Winners on Mini Baja SAE" (PDF). SAE International. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
25. "2007 Baja SAE Rochester World Challenge Awards". SAE International. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
26. "2008 Baja SAE Montreal Awards". SAE International. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
27. "Effect of Microgravity on Kinetic Properties of Enzymatic Reactions - Hydrolysis of Sucrose in Cerevisiae Cells of Saccharomycetes (SMEK)". NASA website. Retrieved January 7, 2014.
28. "Scientific Research on the Russian Segment - Biotechnology Experiments and Research - BSM Project Centenário - Experiment SMEK". energia.ru. Retrieved January 7, 2014.