- Six students from different schools in the Comunidad de Madrid took part in this initiative, joining two research groups and several scientific-technical services at IIBM
The Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas Sols-Morreale (IIBM), CSIC-UAM, has once again taken part in the educational program 4º ESO + Empresa, an initiative of the Comunidad Autónoma de Madrid designed to bring the education system closer to the professional world.
During April, six 4th-year secondary school students from three different schools completed a short training placement at the institute, gaining first-hand insight into how biomedical research is carried out.
The participating students were Martina Ramírez and Iune Resa, from Colegio Siglo XXI; Raúl Martín Rodríguez and Maryame En Nouiti Seddiqi, from IES Villa de Vallecas; and Alonso Fernández de la Flor and Juan Cruz López, from IES San Nicasio.
Throughout their stay, the students joined two IIBM research groups: the group led by Alain de Solis, with the support of PhD student Ana Candel, and the group led by Pilar López-Larrubia, with the participation of Nuria Arias, Raquel González, Darwin Córdova, and María Román. This allowed them to learn about the groups’ research lines while becoming familiar with everyday work in a biomedical research lab.
The experience also included hands-on training in several of the institute’s scientific-technical services, where the students gained first-hand experience with key equipment and techniques used in biomedical research. These included the Genomics Core Facility (Conchi Santiago); the Optical & Confocal Microscopy Facility (Mónica Martín and Bárbara Acosta); Biomedical NMR Sebastián Cerdán (Teresa Navarro and Patricia Sánchez); the Histology Facility (Asunción de la Barreda and Mª José Guillén); and the Animal Facility (Laura Notario).
During their time at the institute, the students showed great curiosity and enthusiasm for scientific research. They actively engaged in the different activities and stood out for their motivation and positive attitude. The program gave them a clearer understanding of how research projects are designed and developed, as well as a more realistic view of potential career paths in science.
The 4º ESO + Empresa program, promoted by the Dirección General de Educación Secundaria, Formación Profesional y Régimen Especial of the Comunidad de Madrid, has been running since the 2008–2009 academic year on a voluntary basis. Its aim is to help students make more informed decisions about their academic and professional futures. CSIC actively supports this initiative as a host institution, coordinating the involvement of numerous research centers in Madrid. Since 2013, nearly thirty CSIC institutes have hosted close to 3,000 students as part of this program.
IIBM would like to thank its research groups and scientific-technical services for their commitment and dedication to this training activity, which helps foster scientific vocations and brings biomedical research closer to new generations.