The 13th edition of “Bojos per la Ciència” (“Crazy about Science”), the excellence program aimed at high school students with a strong interest in science, technology, and research, celebrated the inauguration of the 2025 course on January 10 at Món Sant Benet, Barcelona. The event brought together over 700 attendees, including more than 254 students, family members, researchers, and organization members.
This year, the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC) has joined the program with a joint initiative alongside the Institute for Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC), titled “Bojos per la Salut Global” (Crazy about Global Health). The program aims to help students delve into how different environmental factors impact human and environmental health. Fifteen young students have enrolled and will participate in 16 theoretical-practical sessions on Saturdays from January to June. They will work alongside scientists from both research centers, who have extensive experience in their respective fields.
“Our goal is to help students understand how research centers operate and to foster their curiosity and enthusiasm for science, especially as they are about to decide on their future. We believe it is a unique opportunity to experience our daily activities, such as field trips and laboratory work, which they would not otherwise encounter,” explains Ana Sotres, coordinator of Bojos per la Salut Global.
The program also encourages participants to appreciate the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration in addressing society’s complex challenges while strengthening key skills such as critical thinking and scientific communication and outreach.
A Hands-On Start
Bojos per la Salut Global had a spectacular kick off on Saturday, February 25, with a first field trip to the Llobregat River, led by Carlos Barata and Juliette Bedrossiantz, researchers from the Environmental Chemistry and Geosciences groups at IDAEA-CSIC.
“We have taught students how to sample a river to study the impact of environmental pollution. The collected samples will be processed in the laboratory in later sessions to analyze present contaminants and assess toxicological effects. Using macroinvertebrates, we will conduct biomarker assays, and with extracts from the water samples, we will perform toxicity tests on aquatic laboratory models to evaluate effects on the nervous and circulatory systems,” the researchers explain.
Other topics covered throughout the course will include pollution, chemical analysis, model organisms, toxicology, medical chemistry and nanomedicine, and environmental diagnostics, among others.
Learn more about Bojos per la Ciència, a program that has shared the value of science with over 3,000 outstanding students since 2013, and about Bojos per la Salut Global here.
