The journey of the Rio de Janeiro native shows how the applied mathematics education from the School boosts careers beyond academia, with direct applications in data science, AI, and tech entrepreneurship.
Elisa Mussumeci, CTO of DHARMA-AI, is a success story from FGV EMAp's postgraduate program - one of those who left the institution to stand out in the market | Photo: Personal Archive
The graduate program at the School of Applied Mathematics of Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV EMAp) is known for training master’s and doctoral students with a strong theoretical foundation and an applied perspective — preparing them for a top-tier academic career or to work directly in cutting-edge sectors of the market. The story of Elisa Mussumeci, founder of the startup DHARMA-AI, is an inspiring example of how this education can drive an innovative career with global impact.
"People often say, ‘I studied this in college and never used it again.’ I say the opposite. Even today, in my daily work, I use theories and concepts I learned at FGV EMAp," says Elisa, now CTO (Chief Technology Officer) of DHARMA-AI — a Brazilian company focused on training AI models for specific industries in a more accurate, ethical, cost-effective, and energy-efficient way, with the goal of operating globally at the cutting edge.
First steps: from Ilha do Governador to FGV EMAp
Born and raised in Ilha do Governador, in Rio de Janeiro, Elisa always excelled in school, especially in math and physics. “I always really liked school and got good grades. I considered studying Physics, then Mechanical Engineering,” she recalls.
In the 2011 college entrance exams, Elisa was accepted into the Mathematics program at the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), and with her ENEM score, she likely would have secured a spot in Engineering at thehttps://ufrj.br/. Despite being accepted into these traditional public universities, she chose FGV EMAp, which that year was launching its first undergraduate class in Applied Mathematics.
“My high school math teacher, Antônio Branco, also teaches at FGV EMAp and was the one who introduced me to the school and encouraged me to apply. And my mom, who worked as an MBA program assistant coordinator at FGV, also pushed me a lot. I took the entrance exam without much expectation — which turned out to be a good thing, because I wasn’t nervous and it didn’t affect my performance. I ended up placing 6th and got a full scholarship,” she shares.
Elisa completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees at FGV EMAp and used her knowledge to innovate in the field of AI | Photo: Personal Archive
Initially, the idea was just to “try out” the program for one semester. But one encounter with the School was enough for Elisa to decide to stay. The quality of the professors and the intense yet welcoming academic environment quickly won her over.
"At FGV, the professors genuinely cared whether I was learning — they would take time out of their day to meet with me and answer questions. Not to mention the infrastructure that FGV offered me. I had friends at other universities complaining that their professors barely taught or paid any attention to them. Meanwhile, I had some of Brazil's top professors making an effort to build a meaningful program. It was a very special experience," adds.
A solid foundation that shapes well-rounded professionals
The beginning was challenging. Elisa says she had never really learned how to study before college. But she soon found motivation in the computer science courses — and that’s when she began her scientific initiation under Professor Flávio Codeço Coelho, a key figure in her journey.
"That’s where I found my path. We didn’t call it ‘data science’ at the time, but that’s exactly what we were doing — modeling, analysis, information organization. I got really involved,” says Elisa.
Elisa’s master’s thesis at FGV EMAp deepened the relationship between mathematical theory and practical AI applications | Photo: FGV EMAp Publicity
Her scientific initiation evolved into research, and later into an internship project and her undergraduate thesis. MediaCloud, focused on Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Graphs, would become the seed of an interest that still drives her today: how to handle text, language, and information in an automated and scalable way.
"The School gave me a very strong foundation in theory, but always with an eye on practical application. And that was essential for my training. When I entered the job market, I was ready to tackle complex problems with confidence," Elisa affirms.
Master’s degree: more than a title, a laboratory of excellence
The transition to the master’s program was natural. Elisa had already taken graduate-level courses during her undergraduate studies, which made it easier to continue her research. Additionally, she had the opportunity to deepen her line of work with a scholarship and under the guidance of the same professor.
During her master’s, she worked on InfoDengue — a School project in partnership with Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) that monitors dengue, Zika virus, and chikungunya data across Brazil in an integrated way — developing mathematical and computational models to predict epidemics, applying neural networks and data analysis tools. The pace was intense. “I would arrive at 7 a.m. and leave at 9 p.m. I was completely immersed. It was the period when I studied the most in my life. I had classes and courses that were fundamental to learning how to do all of this! I really applied everything I learned in the classroom,” she recalls.
Her master’s thesis was on ‘Time series prediction using recurrent neural networks (LSTM),’ further deepening the connection between mathematical theory and practical AI applications.
She nearly had her PhD lined up in the French city of Lyon but chose to follow a different path — helping to build the future of technology in Brazil.
DHARMA-AI: technology with purpose and global impact
In 2024, Elisa co-founded DHARMA-AI, a Brazilian startup that trains Small Language Models (SLMs) focused on applications with high social and economic impact. The company aims to deliver solutions that are reliable, sustainable, and comparable — or superior — to the best AIs in the world.
"I worked for the past six years at Elogroup, where I was head of data science. In recent years, we identified opportunities to create products and work more deeply with model training. So, five other people and I left and founded DHARMA-AI," Elisa explains.
Elisa’s success in the market is evident in less than a year: DHARMA-AI already has 30 team members | Photo: Personal Archive
Elogroup has become a minority partner, and the group also secured investment from the Lorinvest fund, strategic angel investors, and was accelerated by AWS and the NVIDIA Inception Program. Founded in November 2024, the startup began operations in January of this year and already has around 30 employees.
“Our main focus is training models for specific industry verticals, especially small language models. This means we train language models optimized for specific areas, such as healthcare and education,” adds Elisa.
The training offered by FGV EMAp goes beyond technical expertise — it fosters a way of thinking. Throughout her journey, Elisa learned to see problems in depth, to translate complex issues into understandable models, and to build practical solutions, whether in academic papers or innovative AI products.
This type of structured and creative thinking, according to her, is a distinguishing trait that stays with EMAp students for life. “I wouldn’t be the professional I am today if I had taken a different course. FGV EMAp prepared me not only technically, but also to think, structure, and solve problems. This applies to academia, but also has huge potential for the market,” she says.
Education for life: in Academia and in the Market
The graduate programs at FGV EMAp are built on the same foundation that shaped Elisa’s path: excellence in applied mathematics, interdisciplinarity, an applied vision, and close contact with researchers working at the frontiers of knowledge.
With research areas such as Stochastic Methods, Control and Optimization, Finance and Risk, Epidemiology, Statistics, and Data Science, the School's master's and doctoral programs offer unique opportunities for those seeking:
- Work on cutting-edge projects;
- Conduct research with practical impact;
- Build a solid career in industry or academia.
Applications now open for Graduate Programs
Applications for FGV EMAp’s graduate programs are open until September 30. The School offers Master’s and PhD programs in Applied Mathematics and Data Science, aimed at those who want to deepen their knowledge in research, mathematical modeling, and innovative applications across a wide range of fields.
To anyone considering this path, Elisa shares a straightforward piece of advice based on her own experience at the School:
“Make the most of everything the master’s program has to offer — don’t do it just for the diploma. Try to absorb as much knowledge as you can and get involved in research with the professors. If possible, dedicate yourself fully (don’t work), and truly live this moment.”