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Right: Researcher Natalia Castro (in the background) with students Mariona Cortés Tendero (center) and Antoni Arbonés. Left: student Iván Navas Navarro.
 02.09.2026

IBEC fosters scientific vocations through its summer internships programme

As every year, when the school year comes to an end, the laboratories of the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), located at the Barcelona Science Park, are filled with a new generation of future scientists. Through various programmes, more than 20 secondary school, high school and undergraduate students have spent the summer in nine of the institute’s laboratories, experiencing first-hand what everyday research in bioengineering is like.

This year, participation in programmes such as Crazy About Bioengineering, Youth and Science by the Catalunya La Pedrera Foundation, and Batx2Lab at the Barcelona Science Park, among others, has enabled 23 students to gain first-hand insight into the work carried out in several of the institute’s laboratories, always under the guidance of researchers who acted as mentors throughout their stay. Initiatives such as these are part of IBEC’s commitment to inspiring and supporting scientific vocations among young people.

As part of the Batx2Lab programme, promoted by the Recerca en Societat – RESSÒ programme at the Barcelona Science Park, three high school students had the opportunity to discover from within how a research laboratory operates:

Ivette Sellarès Moreno and Aleix Sánchez Giráldez worked with Akshayakumar Kompa, from Javier Gómez’s “Biointegrated Materials and Engineering” group. The group also welcomed Mia Muñoz Rosselló and María Bendinelli Alonso, who were mentored by Ángela María Ramírez Rosales.

Sergio Medina Atoche completed his placement with Carles Verdaguer, from Xavier Rovira’s “Spatial Biotechnology” group, while Heba Oulad Lahsan Ahsain Senhaji and Valentina Alejandra Medina León joined Giuseppe Battaglia’s “Molecular Bionics” group under the supervision of Gal·la Vinyes i Bassols.

In Pere Roca-Cusachs’ “Cellular and Molecular Mechanobiology” group, Laia Lacasta Martín and Adam Le Coguic worked with Valeria Venturini, while Ruth França Amela, Fatín El Otmani Sabiri and Natalia Pérez Muñoz were mentored by Yudish Varma.

Through these placements, IBEC once again reaffirms its commitment to scientific education and to supporting new generations interested in bioengineering, nanomedicine and the life sciences. Beyond experimental work, the institute’s researchers shared with the students their day-to-day laboratory experience and their own career paths, helping them to shape their academic and professional futures.

» Link to the news: IBEC website [+]