HR4RS stamp
Irene Vega
From November 1 to 14, the XXI Madrid Science and Innovation Week. As in previous years, the King Juan Carlos University joins this event to value the work carried out by its research community and bring attendees closer to their daily work in laboratories and work spaces.
The scientific community of the Rey Juan Carlos University participates in this edition with an extensive program made up of 137 free activities with the aim of promoting citizen participation in the scientific process and giving visibility to studies in the social sciences and humanities. “This year we have notably increased the number of activities and, in that desire that we all have to return to normality, we also have many requests from educational centers that want to participate. The interest of scientists in bringing their work to society is increasing and there is greater involvement of educational centers", highlights Professor Carmen García Galera, academic director of the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit (UCC+i ) of the URJC.
After an edition marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year the activities are once again held in person for the most part, although they are also offered webinars and workshops in the online mode. The scientific and social interest of the program covers various areas of knowledge within the branches of Health Sciences, Experimental Sciences, Social and Legal Sciences, Humanities and Art, Engineering or Architecture. “In this edition I would highlight two aspects. On the one hand, the variety of topics, from health issues or those related to the magic of Chemistry or what to do with plastic waste. On the other hand, we must underline the quality of the activities that make the demand of educational centers interested in attending so great”, points out Professor García Galera.
The extensive offer of this edition is aimed at audiences with a diverse profile, from primary and secondary school students to university students and specialized audiences. However, for the vast majority of activities it will not be necessary to have previous scientific knowledge, being accessible to a general public. Registration for activities that have not yet reached capacity can be made through the website of URJC events.
The Science and Innovation Week is promoted by the Community of Madrid through the Foundation for Knowledge madri+d, which this year will bet on "A science for the great challenges of humanity". In addition, in this edition the accent is placed on activities that promote the objectives to achieve the European Green Deal, with the dual purpose of reducing social inequalities and fighting climate change.
The participation of the URJC in this event is coordinated by the Vice President for Research through the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit (UCC+i), and has the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), under the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
Pérez the Mouse will collect teeth at the URJC to help science
During the celebration of the Week of Science and Innovation, the URJC joins the 8th Ratón Pérez 2021 Tooth Collection Campaign, promoted by the National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH). On November 2, 3, 9 and 10, dental specimens can be donated at the Mostoles Campus so that they form part of a collection that will allow carrying out important comparative studies in the paleoanthropological, dental and forensic fields.
The donors will receive a gift, a "Pérez Mouse assistant" diploma and tickets to visit the Pérez Mouse House-Museum in Madrid.
The CENIEH organized the first tooth collection campaign in Burgos in 2014 and since then, seven campaigns have been carried out uninterruptedly. This is a citizen science project coordinated between the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit and the Dental Anthropology Group of the CENIEH, in order to solve the difficulty of obtaining deciduous teeth for research and to involve society in the same. . During these seven years of campaigns, 1.593 donors have participated and more than 2.963 teeth have been collected.