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This Saturday the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation will welcome the 157 students participating in the "Crazy About Science" programme this year. This initiative has come about as a result of the success of the "Crazy About Biomedicine" programme promoted by IRB Barcelona and the same foundation in 2013.
This year the “Crazy” programme is being extended to five more scientific disciplines and involves a total of eight research centres.
"Crazy About Science" seeks to satisfy secondary school students’ curiosity and passion for science and to give them the chance to do research in a top-class centre.
Tomorrow, the 24 Catalan students that started the successful programme “Crazy About Biomedicine”— launched by IRB Barcelona and the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation—and who have spent a year learning the biomedical techniques and concepts at IRB Barcelona will collect their diplomas from “la Pedrera”. This certificate acknowledges them as the first students to have completed a “Crazy” course.
On behalf of these 24 outstanding students who have spent 2013 doing the “Crazy About Biomedicine” programme, Pepe Amich will explain his personal experience to the 157 students who are to participate in the six formats of “Crazy About Science” launched this year, among them the 24 new students who will embark on the 2014 edition of “Crazy about Biomedicine” at IRB Barcelona.
A new dimension of the 2014 programme is that it has been extended to five disciplines and now involves eight research centres around Catalonia. For Joan Guinovart, director of IRB Barcelona and promoter of the programme, "it is highly satisfying to see the “Crazy” initiative being extended and the passion shown for biomedicine spreading to other scientific disciplines. It guarantees the future of science in the country.”
The welcoming and opening act for the programme will be attended by Lluís Farrés, director of Knowledge and Research of the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation, Joan Guinovart, director of IRB Barcelona (Crazy about Biomedicine) and promoter of the programme, Jordi Galí, director of CREI (Crazy about Economics), Joan Gómez, director of ICAC (representing Crazy about Archaeology), Josep Mª Fernández Novell, from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Barcelona (Crazy about Biochemistry), Miquel Àngel Pericàs, director of ICIQ (Crazy about Chemistry), and Josep Mª Santos Fernández, director of La Salle-URL (Crazy about New Technologies). Begoña Román, PhD in Philosophy and President of the Ethics Committee of Social Services in Catalonia, will give a welcoming speech to the students.
“Crazy About Science”
The Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation organises the “Crazy About Science” initiative with the aim to foster scientific talent among secondary school students in Catalonia. “Crazy About Science” offers students who show talent in science the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of the theory and scientific techniques of several research fields, namely chemistry, biochemistry, biomedicine, new technologies, archaeology, and economics. The workshops, which are held over 18 Saturdays and start in January 2014, will address a number of contemporary scientific topics.
More information about "Crazy About Science" (web in Catalan)
“2014 Crazy About Biomedicine”
From January through to December 2014, 24 new secondary school students—15 girls and 9 boys— will follow "Crazy About Biomedicine” programme. Chosen from among the 430 applications received from schools throughout Catalonia, these 24 students who are passionate about biomedicine are mainly from the metropolitan area of Barcelona.
The selection process has been made on the basis of academic grades, a letter of motivation, two recommendation letters from teachers, and a personal interview. Held over 18 Saturdays from January till December 2013, the course is free of charge and will be given in English. The course programme includes 12 hot scientific topics, these ranging from cellular and molecular biology to structural and computational biology and chemistry.
This initiative will provide students the opportunity to further their knowledge of the scientific theory and techniques used in biomedicine. They will work in labs alongside 13 PhD students of diverse nationalities. The aim is to allow the participants to experience how science is conducted in an international research centre, to get them familiarized with the latest state-of-the-art techniques in leading labs, and to help them position themselves for a potential career in the life sciences.
More information about the content and tutors of the 2014 CAB
About IRB Barcelona
The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) pursues a society free of disease. To this end, it conducts multidisciplinary research of excellence to cure cancer and other diseases linked to ageing. It establishes technology transfer agreements with the pharmaceutical industry and major hospitals to bring research results closer to society, and organises a range of science outreach activities to engage the public in an open dialogue. IRB Barcelona is an international centre that hosts 400 researchers and more than 30 nationalities. Recognised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence since 2011, IRB Barcelona is a CERCA centre and member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).
