“Why We Age,” winning song in the science monologue contest

Irene Vega

Twelve candidates from different educational centers in the Community of Madrid have performed their scientific works in the final phase of the URJC's eleventh "Science Monologues" competition.

The winner of the contest was Iván Pedraza Martín, a first-year high school student at IES Valdebernardo, who won the award for Best Monologue. Under the title "The Importance of Telomeres," the winner explained the relationship between telomeres (a region of repetitive DNA sequences at the end of a chromosome) and aging.

In addition, three other awards were given: 'Best Scientific Content' to Gabriela Bugueño Miguel (IES Alameda de Osuna), 'Best Staging' to Keyla Sofía Moreno (IES Joaquín Rodrigo), and 'Best Communicator' to Alejandro Ferrandis (IES Francisca de Pedraza).

These students previously received training on the characteristics of a monologue and how to craft the text. The finalists, all high school students, had to demonstrate the results of all this work and their skills by presenting their projects in this format at the final gala, held in the Auditorium of the Madrid Campus Library.

The jury was composed of César López García, head of the Science Outreach and Participation Unit at the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT); Cristina Delgado González, member of the Deputy Vice-Presidency for Scientific Culture and Citizen Science at the CSIC and coordinator of the outreach project Ciencia en el Barrio; Pilar López Gallo, Deputy Director of Communication and Scientific Culture at the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC); Javier Otero García, Academic Director of Culture at the Vice-Rectorate for Campus Community, Culture and Sport at the URJC; and Malena Rubio Fabián, a technician in the Deputy Directorate General for Innovation Programs and Teacher Training at the Directorate General for Bilingualism and Quality of Education (Community of Madrid).

The gala was presented and hosted by Juan Carlos Sánchez, a teacher at the Joaquín Rodrigo High School, and featured a musical performance by José Carlos Pino, also a teacher at the school. The opening speech was given by Juan Carlos Aguado, a professor at the URJC (Junior University of Jujuy).

During the jury's deliberations, the wait was enlivened with the performances of Saniclown (National Association of Non-Profit Hospital Clowns) and two contestants of the contest RAP with Science.

Training in communication skills

This initiative is part of a training and collaboration project between the educational centers IES Joaquín Rodrigo, IES Villablanca, IES Valdebernardo, IES Alfredo Kraus and IES Alameda de Osuna, and the URJC, through the UCC+I and the Vice-Rectorate for Research, Innovation and Transfer. In addition, the competition has the collaboration of the FECYT - Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities within the framework of the Call for aid for the promotion of scientific, technological and innovation culture.

This project uses the monologue as an educational resource to promote the acquisition of the basic skills proposed for the curriculum of ESO and Baccalaureate students. Through this format, students learn to present their research projects while fostering their interest in science and scientific dissemination.

Since the beginning of the 2024/2025 academic year, several training phases have been carried out: characteristics of a monologue, writing the text, developing creativity, scenic resources and body expression. To carry out the training part, we have had the collaboration of several teachers from the participating educational centers and associations such as Big Van Ciencia and Alioth, Arte y Ciencia.