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Student winners of the 21st edition of the BATX2LAB program. Image / PCB
 20.03.2025

Barcelona Science Park awards the 21st edition of the BATX2LAB program

The Barcelona Science Park has presented the awards for the 21st edition of BATX2LAB, an initiative –framed within its RESSÒ program– that allows 1st year Baccalaureate students to carry out the practical part of their research work in different laboratories of the Park. The event was attended by more than 130 people, including students, teaching staff from educational centers and PCB research staff.

In this edition, of the 180 applications received to participate in BATX2LAB, 40 projects were selected, which were supervised by the research staff who work in the more than 120 entities located in the Park, and which allowed students to carry out the practical part of their research work in their laboratories.

The prizes for the three best research papers – a voucher for the purchase of books, music or computer material, and a gift voucher addressed to educational centres for the purchase of laboratory material – went to:

Hoda Katai Daqia, from the Montbui Institute for the work “Nanodrugs allied against cancer: Nanoscience at the service of medicine”. Tutor of the center: M. Mercè Cartanyà. Tutor of the PCB: Jordi Díaz Marcos, from the Scientific and Technological Centers of the University of Barcelona (CCITUB).

 

Pol Gibert Aran, del Col·legi Sant Josep de Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, pel treball “Les cèl·lules mare – El futur de la medicina?” Tutor del centre: Guillermo Lucas. Tutora del PCB: Glòria Casas, de l’Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona del Centre Superior d’Investigacions Científiques (IBMB – CSIC).

 

Estela Galeote Fernández, de l’Institut Vila de Gràcia, pel seu treball “Càncer de mama”. Tutora del centre: Mònica Companyó. Tutora del PCB: Glòria Pascual, de l’Institut de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona (IRB Barcelona).

The event was attended by Maria Terrades, general director of the Barcelona Science Park, who explained the commitment of the Barcelona Science Park to promoting scientific vocations among young people, to find the research staff of the future who will work to improve people’s lives, as do more than 120 entities located in the Park.

Elisabet Prats, PhD in Chemistry from the UB and currently a researcher in the CIBER biomedicine network at the Institute of Microelectronics of the CSIC within the Biomedical Applications Group, enlivened the event with the scientific monologue “Every science is important, even the most absurd” to disseminate research in an attractive, playful and dynamic way.

Promoting STEM vocations

The Barcelona Science Park has reaffirmed its commitment to promoting STEM vocations among young people by promoting a new edition of BATX2LAB with proposals that add value and open their eyes to science.

BATX2LAB offers high school students the opportunity to carry out the practical part of their research project in different laboratories in the Park, supervised by research staff. In this academic year 2024-2025, the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), the Institute for Biomedical Research (IRB Barcelona), the Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC), the Scientific and Technological Centers of the University of Barcelona (CCiTUB), the University of Barcelona (UB), the DTI Foundation, and the National Center for Genomic Analysis (CNAG) have participated.

Over the years, more than 800 students (70% girls) and more than 300 members of the research staff located at the PCB have participated in the program. BATX2LAB is part of the RESSÒ program of the Barcelona Science Park, which seeks to establish spaces for coexistence between society and research staff, where they can come together and talk openly to awaken the critical spirit and scientific vocations among young people.

In 2016, it was recognized with the Educational Quality Seal of the Barcelona Pedagogical Coordination Council (CCP), and in 2018 it received the Barcelona Educational Innovation Award in the secondary education category, in the first edition of these awards, created by the Barcelona City Council to distinguish the selfless pedagogical innovation and renewal initiatives that entities and educational centers carry out in the city to promote training opportunities and social inclusion.

BATX2LAB has the support of the Barcelona City Council.