HR4RS stamp
Irene Vega
La Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology has supported the URJC scientific dissemination programme, coordinated by the Vice-rectorate for Research through the UCC+i. This program includes the main events organized annually such as the 'European Researchers' Night' and 'Science and Innovation Week', as well as other activities promoted by the UCC+i, such as 'Science à la Carte', organized in collaboration with the Higher Technical School of Experimental Science and Technology (ESCET), and 'URJC Women Scientists in the Classroom', held to commemorate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science (February 11). “Every year there is a greater involvement of researchers in scientific dissemination activities. That the FECYT endorses these activities of the URJC with the concession of the project, is an added value and an important recognition to all the outreach work and all the effort on the part of the scientific community to bring science to society", highlights Carmen García Galera, academic director of the UCC+i.
In addition, within the framework of this new project, the first edition of 'The Laureates of Science' will be convened, in recognition of the outreach work carried out by the scientific community of the URJC, and the holding of the 'Monologues of Science' and the twentieth 'Chemistry, Environment and Intelligent Energy Contest'.
Continuity will also be given to the 'Robotic Games' initiative, which arose as a result of the restrictions on carrying out face-to-face activities as a result of the pandemic. In this online competition, the participants, ESO and Baccalaureate students, must program a robot using the Scratch programming language.
New bets for raising awareness of scientific issues
Each year the UCC+i projects aim to incorporate new activities that value the scientific activity carried out by the URJC research groups, as well as to bring their work closer to different kinds of audiences, going through all educational levels and attending to diversity.
In this sense, a series of inclusive science workshops have recently been organized in collaboration with the CINTER, HASTHGAR, and DIVERSIA research groups, and the CINTER and HARQUA teaching innovation groups.
For its part, the activity 'Sensory strategies to facilitate the participation of children with ASD in the family environment' will try to provide families with knowledge about sensory processing disorders through health education. This course will contribute to training parents with the tools to identify and understand the sensory characteristics of their children, being able to satisfy their needs to improve their quality of life.
In this scientific dissemination project, special attention will also be paid to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, specifically SDG 12 Responsible production and consumption. On the one hand, the activity 'Should I throw it or not throw it? With fruits and vegetables if you play' with the aim of promoting the reduction in the generation of food waste. On the other hand, 'My trash is worth its weight in gold!' will put the scientific community in contact with students from 4th grade to high school. In addition, this last activity will focus on target 12.5, focused on "significantly reducing the generation of waste through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse activities" until 2030.