Periodic Reporting for period 1 - EUCYS_USAL (European Union Contest for Young Scientists' 2020)
Période du rapport: 2020-01-01 au 2021-10-31
EUCYS is an initiative launched in 1989 to promote the ideals of cooperation and interchange between young scientists. This anual event is set in the Science with and for Society (SWaFS) Horizon 2020 Programme, which addresses societal engagement with science and research by encouraging dialogue and cooperation between scientists and general public, recruiting new talent, and supporting new ways to attract and engage young people in science and technology careers while promoting the popularization of informal science education.
The University of Salamanca (USAL), by means of the Action EUCYS_USAL, committed to organising the 32nd edition of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS). The initial compromise involved the celebration of EUCYS 2020. However, it had to be cancelled due to the pandemic outbreak of Covid-19. One year later, the objective was reshaped into the organisaiton of an event which could host EUCYS 2020 and EUCYS 2021 Contests altogether in a way that should be compatible with the restrictions and constraints derived from the pandemic. The final event was called EUCYS 2020/2021, and was designed in a hybrid format which has made possible the young scientists to compete for Prizes, receive a lot of visibility for their achievements, and meet other peers with similar interests worldwide.
The global objectives have been to organise and celebrate the 32nd edition of EUCYS, and take advantage of the Contest to punt into practice the principles of the SWaFS programme, thus involving the general public into science, and attracting new young people to Science and Technology careers. To achieve this, USAL managed the organisation of the 32nd EUCYS by including several satellite activities targeted not only to the EUCYS Contestants, but also to the local and regional population, with especial attention to the young students.
The University of Salamanca (USAL), by means of the Action EUCYS_USAL, committed to organising the 32nd edition of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS). The initial compromise involved the celebration of EUCYS 2020. However, it had to be cancelled due to the pandemic outbreak of Covid-19. One year later, the objective was reshaped into the organisaiton of an event which could host EUCYS 2020 and EUCYS 2021 Contests altogether in a way that should be compatible with the restrictions and constraints derived from the pandemic. The final event was called EUCYS 2020/2021, and was designed in a hybrid format which has made possible the young scientists to compete for Prizes, receive a lot of visibility for their achievements, and meet other peers with similar interests worldwide.
The global objectives have been to organise and celebrate the 32nd edition of EUCYS, and take advantage of the Contest to punt into practice the principles of the SWaFS programme, thus involving the general public into science, and attracting new young people to Science and Technology careers. To achieve this, USAL managed the organisation of the 32nd EUCYS by including several satellite activities targeted not only to the EUCYS Contestants, but also to the local and regional population, with especial attention to the young students.
After this first and only reporting period, all the activities needed to be carried out in order to organise and celebrate EUCYS 2020/2021 have been completed, and the Contest itself have taken place successfully between the 17th and the 19th September. In short, this has been an unusual and exceptional EUCYS, given the constraints imposed by the Covid-19 Pandemic, which has severely affected the management, preparation and celebration of the Contest. For the first time in the EUCYS history, two editions have been celebrated in the same year, and also for the first time, the Contest has taken place in a hybrid format.
USAL has relied on the support of the Ministry of Universities, the of the Education Secretary’s Office of regional government, and with the industrial partner Iberdrola. After negotiation, these partners have contributed to the Action by providing funding, donating Prizes, and assisting in several action related to the Project, especially those that involve the promotion of science among young students.
158 prominent young scientists from 34 countries have presented their Projects and were been given the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences with other international peers in a Virtual Environment devised specifically for this event. By competing, they were interviewed by a Jury board of 25 international scientists that outstand in their respective fields. Additionally, their scientific achievements gained visibility at a local level by means of an exhibition of their work at the physical venue, but also at the international level as their video presentations will remain in the eucys2021.usal.es website. Besides competing for a total of 40 Prizes, the Contestants also had the opportunity to get to know the inspirational work of top-level researchers who took part in the cultural programme. This cultural programme included a Plenary Talk by the Nobel Prize awardee Dr. William Phillips, and a round table titled “The challenges that young scientists will face in our world” with the speakers Prof. Adolfo García-Sastre, Prof. Laura Lechuga, Dr. Samuel Sánchez Ordoñez, Dr. Susana Marcos, and Dr. Ángeles G. Borrego.
The communication strategy of the action focuses the efforts of publicity to the local and regional audience, with a particular focus on the young people, by making an intense use of social media, even involving well known science outreach speakers into the promotional campaign.
In order to promote the event at the local level, several satellite actions have been carried out as well. A pre event outreach show with national recognised outreach talkers took place the day before the event with a total of 220 attendees (being this the maximum allowed audience given the restrictions). To increase the impact towards more specific targets, like high school students, the USAL partners Ministry of Science and the Education Secretary’s Office of the Regional Government have promoted the event by co organising student visits to the physical venue, and a workshop for national high school teachers tackling issues like innovation and scientific research in the classroom.
USAL has relied on the support of the Ministry of Universities, the of the Education Secretary’s Office of regional government, and with the industrial partner Iberdrola. After negotiation, these partners have contributed to the Action by providing funding, donating Prizes, and assisting in several action related to the Project, especially those that involve the promotion of science among young students.
158 prominent young scientists from 34 countries have presented their Projects and were been given the opportunity to exchange ideas and experiences with other international peers in a Virtual Environment devised specifically for this event. By competing, they were interviewed by a Jury board of 25 international scientists that outstand in their respective fields. Additionally, their scientific achievements gained visibility at a local level by means of an exhibition of their work at the physical venue, but also at the international level as their video presentations will remain in the eucys2021.usal.es website. Besides competing for a total of 40 Prizes, the Contestants also had the opportunity to get to know the inspirational work of top-level researchers who took part in the cultural programme. This cultural programme included a Plenary Talk by the Nobel Prize awardee Dr. William Phillips, and a round table titled “The challenges that young scientists will face in our world” with the speakers Prof. Adolfo García-Sastre, Prof. Laura Lechuga, Dr. Samuel Sánchez Ordoñez, Dr. Susana Marcos, and Dr. Ángeles G. Borrego.
The communication strategy of the action focuses the efforts of publicity to the local and regional audience, with a particular focus on the young people, by making an intense use of social media, even involving well known science outreach speakers into the promotional campaign.
In order to promote the event at the local level, several satellite actions have been carried out as well. A pre event outreach show with national recognised outreach talkers took place the day before the event with a total of 220 attendees (being this the maximum allowed audience given the restrictions). To increase the impact towards more specific targets, like high school students, the USAL partners Ministry of Science and the Education Secretary’s Office of the Regional Government have promoted the event by co organising student visits to the physical venue, and a workshop for national high school teachers tackling issues like innovation and scientific research in the classroom.
By completing this action, USAL has achieved the EUCYS history to keep going, even in the surrounding troublesome. As a result, neither the 2020 nor the 2021 generations of young scientists have missed their opportunity to compete, obtain visibility for their achievements, and exchange experiences and ideas with their international peers, interact with high-level scientists, setting a milestone in their scientific careers.
Although there is limited room for innovation as it concerns the organisation of EUCYS, the particular circumstances of the 32nd edition have certainly required to bring up new ideas to make the Contest compatible with the ongoing pandemic. It is noteworthy that the celebration of EUCYS 2020/2021 in a hybrid format has set a perfect example of science and technology being put into service for society, highlighting the importance that the Contestants will have in the future scientific, medical and technological developments.
At the local level, the on site prepared activities have had the following impacts:
Also, the Action has given the citizens of Salamanca the opportunity to witness the scientific achievements of the EUCYS 2020/2021 young scientists, and enjoy an outreach show about state of-the-art scientific topics given by well-known speakers, with an impact regarding their scientific awareness.
The final impact focuses on the regional students and national teachers who have attended the on site activities targeted at them. They have witnessed the scientific works and the achievements that sufficiently motivated young scientists can accomplish, triggering new interest in scientific careers among these students, and awakening the willingness to get involved into scientific research in the classroom among teachers.
Although there is limited room for innovation as it concerns the organisation of EUCYS, the particular circumstances of the 32nd edition have certainly required to bring up new ideas to make the Contest compatible with the ongoing pandemic. It is noteworthy that the celebration of EUCYS 2020/2021 in a hybrid format has set a perfect example of science and technology being put into service for society, highlighting the importance that the Contestants will have in the future scientific, medical and technological developments.
At the local level, the on site prepared activities have had the following impacts:
Also, the Action has given the citizens of Salamanca the opportunity to witness the scientific achievements of the EUCYS 2020/2021 young scientists, and enjoy an outreach show about state of-the-art scientific topics given by well-known speakers, with an impact regarding their scientific awareness.
The final impact focuses on the regional students and national teachers who have attended the on site activities targeted at them. They have witnessed the scientific works and the achievements that sufficiently motivated young scientists can accomplish, triggering new interest in scientific careers among these students, and awakening the willingness to get involved into scientific research in the classroom among teachers.