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Fira STEAM reconnects young people and research in Badalona

- Campus Can Ruti, Outreach

The Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) participated this Wednesday in the fourth edition of "Ciència al carrer: Fira d'ESO amb mirada STEAM", an educational initiative that transformed La Rambla de Badalona into a meeting point between research and school.

The fair has brought together 355 students from 9 high schools and 6 primary schools, who have visited the different stands organised by secondary students and scientific entities in the territory. In total, 30 projects were presented in a dynamic format of 15-minute workshop sessions, designed to promote the active participation of students.

In this edition, IGTP contributed with two outreach activities focused on health and biomedicine:

  • "Help us cure our patient"

Led by Anna Rueda and Paula de Pedro from the Endocrine Tumours (E.T.) group, the workshop introduced participants to the concepts of personalised medicine and epigenetics. Through practical examples, students were able to understand how genes and environmental factors influence the development of diseases, and how research aims to tailor treatments to each patient.

  • "The brain: how it works and how to take care of it"

Abril Tuset and Susana Jiménez, from the Genomics and Transcriptomics of Synucleinopathies (GTS) group, introduced students to how the brain works and the role of neurons, as well as the factors that can affect brain health. The workshop also addressed, in an age-appropriate way, the concept of neurodegenerative diseases and the importance of healthy habits.

Both activities were repeated four times throughout the morning to enable several school groups to take part. 

A well-established model of collaboration between education and research

The fair, organised by the Centre de Recursos Pedagògics (CRP) of Badalona with the collaboration of several entities, promotes project-based work and direct contact between students and professionals in the scientific and technological field.

In addition to the IGTP, other research institutions and entities in the territory have participated, creating a space that connects the educational world with biomedical and technological research.

With this participation, the IGTP strengthens its commitment to scientific dissemination and the promotion of vocations at an early age, contributing to making visible the research carried out on the Can Ruti campus and in the territory.

STEAM is an acronym referring to Science (S), Technology (T), Engineering (E), Art (A) and Mathematics (M). STEAM pedagogy links the work of these disciplines with a global and transversal approach to the environment of contextualised situations and problems to seek creative and critical solutions.