Madrid– The SENER Foundation and the SENER engineering and technology group both took their joint “A challenge for science” project to the Santa María de la Hispanidad school, the first in the region of Madrid to take part in this initiative to promote scientific careers among young people and teens in schools. This time, it was the 15-16-year-old students who presented their solutions to the challenges posed by SENER.
The teams in the final and the prizes were presented at the Santa María de la Hispanidad School in Madrid on June 23. The jury members were Ernö Péter, a member of SENER’s Innovation Engine and the FORAN development team, Rosana Madroñal, the Director of the SENER Foundation, Carmen Martín, CEO of Artenea 3D and Jaime Rivas, Managing Director of Euromar Technology. Representing Santa María de la Hispanidad at the event were Fernando Alegría, Educational Director, and the professors and organizers of “A Challenge for Science” at the school, Belén Caldito and Elena Hornos.
On this occasion, the “A challenge for science” award was presented to the team called Future Minds, consisting of Carmen Zapardiel, Víctor Reina, Miguel Aguilera, Marta Riaño and Álvaro Pimentel, for their solution to traffic congestion in cities. An honorable mention was presented to the Space-Y team and its members, Gabriel Gómez, Yago Salillas, Luis Mª Uranga, Lucas Díaz, Álvaro Rosario and Lucas Corchado, for their project to leverage energy resources to promote zero consumption in infrastructure.
For SENER, Ernö Péter noted that “innovation starts with young people, with giving them the dream to come up with ideas, grow with them, try to convey them and embark on a career that will lead them to success.” For her part, Rosana Madroñal emphasized how “despite the year they have lived through and that we are still living through, it’s wonderful to see how enthusiastic and eager the students are and how, with their solutions, they addressed the challenges presented to them by the SENER Foundation and SENER.”
On behalf of the Santa María de la Hispanidad school, Fernando Alegría stated that “it is a very good initiative for promoting STEM subjects and careers, which are in such demand among employers now. We don’t have many opportunities in schools to engage with companies, and this project is a very good way to show students what they can find in the professional world.”
As for Belén Caldito and Elena Hornos, these teachers stated that “what we liked most is the chance the students got to solve a real-world problem, without a book to tell them what’s right or wrong. They were given a challenge and had to use all their knowledge, all their skills to come up with a solution. It was also an opportunity to collaborate between departments and apply content from multiple subjects.”
What is “A challenge for science”?
“A challenge for science” involves having SENER professionals present real challenges to secondary-school students that are tailored to their curriculums. The students then have to find solutions to the problems faced daily by an engineering company. Subsequently, the students’ solutions are evaluated by SENER personnel and other external collaborators with expertise in these areas of engineering.
On this occasion, the project was sponsored by the company Euromar Technology, in partnership with Artenea 3D, which gave a free course at the school on using a 3D printer, a gift from the SENER Foundation for taking part in “A Challenge for Science”.
Some of the challenges posed to the Santa María de la Hispanidad School were: show the benefits of solar thermal technology to the different stakeholders involved; ways to purify air to get rid of pollution in cities; how to minimize the risk of spreading a virus on public transportation; and how to provide urban services more efficiently. The young participants were thus able to see how science, technology and engineering serve people in order to improve their quality of life.
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