The Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) is once again accredited as a member of the Network of Units of Scientific Culture and Innovation (UCC+i), through the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), under the Ministry of Science and Innovation. IBEC’s UCC+i promotes actions and programs for scientific communication, dissemination and education.
Science is the heart that makes a great bioengineering research center like IBEC beat, and communication is the key to bringing it to society.
Guillermo Orts, Head of Communications and Public Relations at IBEC
The Scientific Culture and Innovation Units (UCC+i) act as a bridge and loudspeaker between institutions and society, with the aim of promoting scientific, technological and innovation culture.
IBEC is once again accredited as a UCC+i in 2022 for all its actions aimed at disseminating scientific results in the media, as well as for its scientific education and dissemination activities. This is the fourth consecutive time that the center renews this distinction, awarded every two years by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), under the Ministry of Science and Innovation, since it received it for the first time in 2014.
Every year, the work of the UCC+i Unit at IBEC contributes to the generation of research news that impacts the mainstream media. Only in 2021, more than 120 impacts were generated in the written press, radio and television, with an audience of more than 14 million people. Bioengineering research was also brought closer to society through more than 700 online impacts in digital media, and the presence in social networks was consolidated, reaching more than 20,000 followers. This year, the IBEC Superfriends club, which receives all the information about IBEC activities, reached the figure of 1,000.
But the unit also contributes, in collaboration with IBEC researchers, to the culture of innovation, with its presence at fairs, events, schools and contribution to artistic and gamification projects. In 2021 we highlight, for example and among others, the creation of the figure of the IBBI superheroine and its first informative comics.
With the actions and projects we develop, we seek to contribute to the democratization of scientific knowledge, maintaining a close dialogue with teachers and students to reinforce the educational curriculum and awaken scientific vocations.
Pilar Jiménez, coordinator of science education projects, Strategic Initiatives department.
On the other hand, among the projects organized by IBEC’s UCC+i within its science education program, it is worth mentioning its participation in the Magnet and the “Crazy about Bioengineering” projects. The first program unites, for 4 years, educational centers that have an unbalanced social composition with a research institution of excellence, with the aim of creating a joint, innovative and quality educational project. The second program offers 24 students the opportunity to experience bioengineering for an entire academic year, with access to IBEC’s laboratories.
Also noteworthy are the school visits and workshops for primary, secondary and high school students that the unit organizes throughout the year, as well as the Bioengineering education workshop in rural schools.
Since its creation, it is estimated that IBEC has already reached more than 10,000 students through its science education programs.
The UCC+i at IBEC is led by the Communication and Public Relations Unit and the Strategic Initiatives Unit.
More about the UCC+i
The Units of Scientific Culture and Innovation (UCC+i) are one of the main agents in the dissemination and popularization of science in Spain, in order to increase training and scientific culture among citizens. The UCC+i network, coordinated by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), was born with the aim of promoting the exchange of experiences and the search for synergies among the member entities, in order to optimize resources and improve the quality of products and services of the UCC+i.
