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IRB Barcelona and Fundació Catalunya-La Pedrera kick off "Crazy about Biomedicine"

Participants

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Julia Garcia
Postdoctoral Fellow
Tel.+34 93 40 37127
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Public Engagement and Science Education Officer
Tel.+34 93 40 20413
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PhD Student
Tel.+34 93 40 37127

Contact

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Press & Communications Section Head
Tel.+34 93 40 37255

24 baccalaureate students in Catalonia selected from among 400 start a one-year programme devoted to life sciences that aims to nurture passion for science.

On Saturday 12 January, 24 baccalaureate students in Catalonia (16-17 years old) will begin the course “Crazy about Biomedicine”, an initiative organized by the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation. IRB Barcelona director, Joan J. Guinovart, and the director of the Knowledge, Education and Research Division of the Foundation, Salvador Garcia, will welcome the students in an opening act that will be held at 10.00h in the emblematic building constructed by Gaudí that hosts the main offices of the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation.

The students have been chosen from among 424 applications for the 24 places available. State, private and mixed-funded schools from all around Catalonia have participated in the call. The 24 students selected comprise 12 boys and 12 girls, mostly from the area around Barcelona. As explained by Dr. Guinovart, “we are most satisfied with the response on the part of schools and with the fantastic level of motivation shown by the students; all of them are outstanding and we hope that through this course they go crazy about science. There is nothing better that to see and live things first-hand to promote passion for them”. For Salvador Garcia, “the “Crazy about Biomedicine” course is a good example of the activities promoted by newly founded Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation that seek to strengthen high level training in our country”.

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 new 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.

IRB Barcelona collaborates with other initiatives promoted by the Catalunya-La Pedrera Foundation, such as the Teachers and Science Programme and the Youth and Science Programme. The former seeks to improve the scientific instruction of secondary school staff through training sessions in the main research centres in Catalonia, while the latter aims to strengthen scientific vocation among secondary school students.

More information about the course programme at:  CRAZY ABOUT BIOMEDICINE website

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).