As 11 February approaches, several scientific institutions are warming up in preparation for the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. That is been the case for BIST, the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, of which the ICN2 is a member. Last Thursday 30 January, the BIST held an act in the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park premises to prepare for the 100tífiques event.
100tífiques is an initiative by the Catalan Foundation for Research and innovation and BIST consisting of bringing female researchers to 100 schools in Catalonia. More than 15,000 eleven- to twelve-year-old students will have the opportunity to interact with real scientists who can explain their work and experience, break some stereotypes and act as role models for them.
But how can all this be done in an effective way? The act held last Thursday, that gathered around 170 people, tried to give some tips to the researchers so that they know better what they can expect from the students and what the students will expect from them.
Head of Academic Programmes & Organizational Effectiveness Núria Bayó, from BIST, welcomed everybody and gave way to the next part of the event: two talks by Alba Synchrotron’s director Caterina Biscari and B. Braun’s Head of Strategic Research Line - Chemicals Elena Díaz Celorio. They focused on the role of education and of having female references for pursuing a scientific career.
After that, the audience enjoyed (and some of them directly participated in) a masterclass by director of the consultancy Verbal No Verbal Teresa Baró. She discussed some gender issues related to mise-en-scène, use of time and space, gestures, of women and men. Later, director of CRECIM Digna Couso explained the importance of aspirational reasons for wanting to become a scientist in the future. That is to say, for girls (and boys) it is more relevant to see themselves with “the life of a scientist” rather than just be interested in science.
Next, after the group picture that you can see above, came a round table discussing experiences in the classroom with teachers Blanca Amengual and Maria Casanovas, together with Public Engagement and Science Education Officer of the CRG Marta Solís, and Digna Couso. Núria Bayó proceeded then to present a couple of talks by scientists who had participated in the previous edition. ICN2’s Distinguished Researcher Neus Domingo was one of the speakers, and encouraged the audience to participate in the programme and to be open to the students so that they can trust you to make all their questions. In this year’s edition, besides Neus Domingo, 6 more ICN2 researchers participate in the programme: María de la Cruz Cardeñosa, María José Esplandiu, Adriana Figueroa, Regina Galceran, Lourdes Rivas and Marianna Sledzinska.
Finally, the head of dissemination and innovation projects from FCRi, Susaina Figuera, the deputy director of Innovation and Training from the Department of Education of the Catalan Government, Jesús Moral Castrillo, and the director of BIST, Gabby Silberman, concluded the act celebrating the interest of all the people coming to it and reflecting on the work still to be done to encourage girls to pursue a scientific or technical career.