Science and Universities

As every year, with the start of the academic year, the Escolab programme opens its registration period to invite the community of ESO, Baccalaureate and Vocational Training students to participate in activities in laboratories at universities, research centres, hospitals and companies. From 9 to 16 September, schools will be able to register for the activities of this Barcelona Science and Universities initiative, with the participation of numerous centres and laboratories, which organise and offer the activities.

Until 8 September, the laboratories have uploaded their proposals for activities to the Escolab website. After this date, from 9 to 16 September, the registration period for schools will take place and then, on Saturday 17 September, the draw for the activities will take place among the schools and institutes that have applied for them. Then, from 19 September, the free registration period will open for the activities that have not been assigned in the draw.

In order to make a reservation, schools must be previously registered on the Escolab website. A maximum of four different bookings can be made by the same school. The whole procedure is detailed on the booking page of the Escolab website.

The activities consist of face-to-face workshops or visits that allow you to see the great diversity of laboratories and experience the new discoveries of the multidisciplinary teams working in them. In this way, Escolab offers students the chance to experience first-hand the day-to-day life of a leading research laboratory in their field of study and come into contact with the scientific community to learn about their work. It also allows students to delve deeper into research in areas such as life sciences, physics and chemistry, technology and computer science, as well as social science disciplines such as sociology, humanities, economics and business.

Some data from the last academic year

After two years marked by the pandemic, in the 2021-22 academic year, Escolab showed a return to normality, although it is still far from the pre-pandemic figures of the 2018-19 academic year. Thus, 34 research centres took part in last year’s edition, offering 110 different activities that resulted in 259 sessions and 5216 places.

To round off last year’s edition, on 28 June, the Botanical Institute of Barcelona hosted the Escolabers Meeting, Connecting research and the classroom more than ever, where research centres and educational centres participating in the activities of the 2021-22 academic year were able to share successful experiences and opinions. The meeting also served to look back on Escolab’s activity during the pandemic period, as well as to learn about some of the pilot projects implemented during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years, which brought scientific research closer to the classroom, such as VacunAcció, naturally!, and We connect research and the classroom, which have opened up a new way of bringing research into the classroom.

From the presentations and discussions about the projects, the conclusion was drawn that, despite the long duration of these collaborative initiatives, and the dedication and patience that this entails, the students have been enriched by their participation, broadening their critical spirit and scientific curiosity. Therefore, despite the limitations set by the measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, the success of the last edition and of the long-term projects demonstrate that Escolab continues to be a lively programme that is valued by both the scientific and educational communities.