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The Minister of Education, Ernest Maragall, visits the Barcelona Science Park

By 2 de December de 2009November 18th, 2020No Comments
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 02.12.2009

The Minister of Education, Ernest Maragall, visits the Barcelona Science Park

The Minister of Education of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Ernest Maragall, and the General Director of Basic and Secondary Education, Jaume Graells, visited the Barcelona Science Park yesterday in order to get a closer look at the projects and activities that the PCB is conducting in the area of science dissemination. They were both personally welcomed by the general director of the PCB, Fernando Albericio, the managing director, Roser Artal, and the heads of Corporate Relations, Communication and Dissemination of Science of this institution.


Upcoming projects of the Barcelona Science Park and their objectives, as well as the activity developed via the “Research in Society” programme, managed by Rosina Malagrida, which aims to shed light on the research conducted at the PCB and other organizations and to contribute to the improvement of society’s scientific culture and to promote scientific vocations amongst the youth, were presented over the course of this meeting. The Research in Society programme, in which 6,000 people participate each year, offers over 120 activities at no cost to the general public and the educational community.

The activities performed in this programme include “Do Research!”, a series of workshops where participants are able to conduct science experiments; “Research in Secondary Schools”, a programme which offers secondary school students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in real laboratories under the guidance of a PCB researcher in order to carry out their research project; “Research in Primary Schools”, a workshop-theater focused on biomedicine which aims to bring the world of research closer to primary school students, and the “Live Research” fair, which presents some of the main research lines that are currently being conducted in Barcelona and neighboring areas to the general public. Furthermore, it organizes the Open Days, which consist of exhibitions aimed at fostering social debate relating to new emerging fields such as the use of stem cells and nanotechnologies, and creates educational materials for primary and secondary school students.

On the other hand, the Barcelona Science Park also participates in several European science dissemination projects, such as “Nanoyou”, which are aimed at young people between the ages of 11 and 25 and teachers and have the objective of providing information on nanotechnologies and promoting dialogue on the ethical, legal and social aspects they may entail. Via a web portal, students can participate in a wide range of activities such as a virtual laboratory, games and dilemmas, that will enable them to learn about and debate concepts and applications related with nanotechnologies in a European context. The project also includes a school-based programme and onsite activities in museums throughout Europe. Nanoyou is funded by the European Commission and is a result of the collaboration between 8 European institutions. Both the educational programme and the online tools will be available starting in January 2010.

The Barcelona Science Park participates in and coordinates yet another European project, “ExploreHealth”. This initiative aims to be a European portal to science and research in the field of health via online and onsite activities in schools and museums throughout Europe, and is aimed at the general public as well as students and teachers. The topics it covers include: drug development, genomics and biotechnology, diagnoses, brain diseases and ageing, infectious diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and obesity. The ExploreHealth portal will be available to the general public during the second semester of 2010.