The first group of 30 secondary school students to participate in the URV’s science workshops arrived on 29 June. In total four groups of 30 students will take part in the week-long workshops which will run until 24 July. They will participate in activities relating to science, technology and innovation at the Sescelades campus and will also be able to enjoy cultural and leisure activities

For the fifth consecutive year, the URV is involved in organising Summer Science Campuses aimed at upper secondary school students from across Spain. The programme is an initiative by the Spanish Ministry of Education and the Spanish Science and Technology Foundation (FECYT), with the collaboration of Obra Social “la Caixa”. Universities from 16 Campuses of International Excellence across Spain are involved in the initiative.

The first group of 30 students arrived on Sunday 28 June to take part in a week of workshops at the URV’s Sescelades campus in Tarragona. They will be guided by university and secondary school teaching staff during the following workshops: Energy: past, present and future, at the School of Chemical Engineering (ETSEQ); Chemistry for a more sustainable world, at the Faculty of Chemistry; Prehistory and human evolution, at the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES); and TIC-TAC Robot, at the School of Engineering (ETSE) / Department of Electronic, Electrical and Automatic Engineering (DEEEA).

In total there will be four consecutive week-long Summer Science Campuses. During their time here, the students participate in one of the workshops and in a series of cultural and leisure activities and visits to companies related to their chosen workshop. The students are immersed in a university and research environment and benefit from a highly positive cultural and personal cultural exchange with students from other parts of Spain.

The students benefit from a unique scientific experience because they get to work with professors and researchers who help them to strengthen their skills and abilities. They also take part in seminar on innovation organised by the Innovation Hub during which they learn about new ways of dealing with and solving challenges.

Participating in the project are universities from 16 Campuses of International Excellence across Spain. To obtain one of the 120 places on the Summer Science Campus, students must have an average grade of 7.5 or above for the 2013-14 academic year. Further information can be found here