On Thursday 23 May, the members of the Consolidated Group for Educational Innovation (GCID) in Microbiology of the University of Valencia welcomed faculty and students from Connecticut State Community College at the Burjassot campus. Both the team led by professor Sharon Gusky and the faculty of the Department of Microbiology and Ecology are actively working on the Micromón/Tiny Earth project.
Both groups aim to raise awareness among the pre-university educational community about the urgent health issue posed by superbugs and the need to continue the search for new antibiotics. The project, led at the University of Valencia by Sergi Maicas, and in collaboration with CEFIRE Valencia, has already been implemented in several schools across the Valencian Community.
The visit, guided by professors Belén Fouz and Elena González-Biosca and the master's degree student Isabel Salas from the Faculty of Biological Sciences, began with a presentation on the activities carried out by the GCID at national and international level, including the dissemination of information on antibiotic resistance and the characterisation of antibiosis phenomena. Future projects and ideas from both groups were also discussed.
The day continued with a visit to the Burjassot Campus, specifically to the teaching laboratories, the Charles Darwin Hall and the Eduard Boscà Science Library, with participation from the dean’s teams from the faculties of Biological Sciences and Pharmacy and Food Sciences. The tour concluded with a visit to the aquarium facilities of the Central Experimental Research Support Service, where the use of these facilities for teaching and research purposes by the university and business community was explained.
The meeting was a great success for fostering common interests and exchanging ideas in the context of the Tiny Earth project. Future student exchange opportunities were also discussed. Professor Gusky and her team expressed great interest in the work of the UV team and appreciated the campus facilities and the warm reception.
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