This award highlights the group's effort to integrate cutting-edge research directly into the training of its students, creating highly qualified professionals committed to current challenges.

The award-winning activity, which was developed within the Educational Innovation Project of the 2024-25 academic year “Active digital learning to improve students' practical skills and motivation in a coordinated manner across subjects related to food analysis” This project, carried out in the fourth-year Food Science and Technology course "Analytical Control of Contaminants," focused on the creation of an interactive virtual tour designed with Genially. This resource allowed students to access a Laboratory of Sustainable Analytical Techniques, an environment that directly reflects the lines of work of the research group that focuses on the development of miniaturized and sustainable analytical methodologies for the control of toxins in food.

Thanks to this innovative activity, students were able to familiarize themselves with new miniaturized analytical techniques, which are being studied at URJC itself, through the viewing of demonstration videos and the resolution of specific challenges. The virtual tour was complemented by a subsequent phase where students had to evaluate the sustainability of the analytical methods they had applied during the laboratory sessions, using the AGREEPrep tool, and finally, through group work, propose improvements to the sustainability of these methods.

This methodology has not only facilitated the understanding of complex concepts but has also had a significant impact on student motivation and values ​​education. The activity has proven key to fostering transversal skills such as critical thinking, informed decision-making, and innovation. Above all, it has contributed to training professionals more committed to sustainability in the scientific field, a fundamental objective for URJC.

The group's excellence extends to outreach.

Further highlighting the quality and impact of the group's work, it is worth noting that this week two of its members, Isabel Martínez and Begoña Fernández, won First and Second Prize, respectively, in the "Your Research in 2 Minutes" outreach competition organized by the Institute of Technologies for Sustainability (ITPS) at URJC. This double recognition underscores the group's work not only in research and teaching, but also in its ability to translate its findings into tangible benefits for society.