The University of Valencia and the Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research of the Valencian Community (Fisabio) have given at the Valencia Botanical Garden the awards for the VI edition of the video contest “De major vull ser com...” (‘When I grow up I want to be like…’), whose objective is to promote scientific vocations and make visible the role of women in science. It is aimed at students of Secondary Education, Baccalaureate and Vocational Training, and has been celebrated within the framework of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
The event has been conducted and enlivened by the biomedical doctor and scientific disseminator Helena González, from Big Van Ciencia, and part of the students from the 31 educational centres that have submitted 48 videos to this contest have attended. The contest distributes a total of 16,000 euros in eight prizes.
In the videos, the students have highlighted the figure of many women in scientific-technical fields as references, such as Pura Muñoz Cánoves, a current researcher specialising in cellular aging and cancer research; Sofia Kovalévskaya, the first woman to earn a PhD in mathematics; or the work carried out by the architect Carme Pinós. These short audiovisual pieces show the contribution to science of these and other women, and how their work has improved the quality of life of citizens.
The awards are divided into four categories (Best Script, Best Audiovisual Production, Most Innovative Video in Character Selection and Audience Award) both for ESO and basic FP cycles, on the one hand, and for Baccalaureate and medium and higher cycles of Vocational Training, on the other, with an endowment of 2,000 euros for each one. All the works can be consulted on the contest blog.
Thus, for ESO and basic cycle of FP, the awards have been Best Script for the San José and Santa Ana School of Torrent with the work “¡No me cuentes cuentos!”; the distinction for Best Audiovisual Production has corresponded to “¿Emmy qué?”, from the IES El Quint in Ribarroja del Turia; while the Most Innovative Video in Character Selection has awarded “De major vull treballar amb el cor com Pura”, from the Abecé School in Gandia.
In Baccalaureate and medium and higher cycles of Vocational Training, the award for Best Script has corresponded to the work “De majoré seré... el que jo vulga ser” (IES Pou Clar of Ontinyent); the award for Best Audiovisual Production went to the work “Juntes continuarem fent història” (Madre Vedruna Sagrado Corazónt FEC of Castelló de la Plana) and the award for Most Innovative Video in Character Selection to “Las mujeres que nos lanzaron al espacio” (IES La Mola de Novelda).
The two secondary awards that have been awarded have gone to the Santiago Apóstol del Cabanyal School (València) for the video “La historia de Sofía” and to “Dissenyadores de somnis”, from the IES Cid Campeador, also from Valencia; both within the Innovative Video modality in Character Selection.
To these awards, it remains to be added the Audience Award for Best Video, which will be awarded after an open online vote through this link that will be available until February 28 and which will be known within the framework of March 8, International Women’s Day.
Regarding the endowment of the prizes, of the 2,000 for each award, 1,000 euros will be used for the purchase of scientific and/or technological material by the educational centre to which the creators of the video belong. The remaining €1,000 will go to the young people who have participated in its preparation and will also be used to purchase technological or educational material.
Gala
The awards ceremony for this sixth edition of the contest was attended by Manuel González Ferrandis, Student Delegate of the University of Valencia; María Amparo García Layunta, General Director of Health Care at the Department of Universal Health and Public Health; Mónica Pont, managing director of Fisabio; as well as representatives of research entities of the Valencian Community (INCLIVA, ISABIAL and ISS La Fe).
In addition, during the gala, the student body was able to listen to brief talks by Javier Quesada (president of the Rei Jaume I Awards Foundation), as well as the researchers Dolores Corella and Ángela Pérez, both awarded with this award in 2018 and 2022, respectively. The two researchers have addressed the young people explaining their professional career and encouraging them to continue promoting science and technology from a gender and equality perspective.
Jury
In this edition, the jury was formed by Paula Ruiz, a researcher at the Fisabio Foundation’s Sequencing Service; Patricia Souto, audiovisual technician from the University of Valencia; Oti Rodriguez, communication technician from the UCC+i of the University of Alicante; Delfina Roca, head of the Scientific Dissemination coordination section at the UCC+i of the University of Murcia; and Paqui Méndez, Director of Curtmetratges per la Igualtat and Director of the Association for Co-Education.
“De major vull ser com...” is a project that are part of the annual activity plan of the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of the University of Valencia and the Fisabio Foundation, and which has the collaboration of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FEYT) and the Ministry of Science and Innovation.
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