Workshops, colloquiums, and the eXXperimenta en Feminino fair, some of the activities to celebrate 11F at the CIGUS centres 

The centres belonging to the CIGUS Network, an initiative promoted by the Xunta de Galicia that brings together the system’s centers accredited for their scientific excellence, celebrated the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, commemorated every year on February 11th, with various activities. 

As part of this celebration, CiTIUS presented two platforms dedicated to promoting the visibility of women in the fields of science and technology, as well as encouraging young girls’ access to both areas. These activities, showcased on two websites, are the result of continuous, collaborative work to highlight women’s contributions to scientific and technological development. The outreach efforts are coordinated by Professor Eva Cernadas, a researcher at the Singular Research Centre in Intelligent Technologies (CiTIUS).

The website “A informática e a vida” (“Computer Science and Life”) explores the history of computer science from a gender-equal perspective, emphasising the contributions of pioneering women in computing. This platform offers a total of ten classroom activities aimed at primary and secondary education centers. The page “O uso do xogo e a arte para educar na enxeñaría dende a infancia” (“Using Games and Art to Educate in Engineering from Childhood”) provides interactive activities and audiovisual educational resources to spark the interest of girls and boys in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from an early age, as the content is designed for early childhood and primary education centres. 

CiQUS joined the celebration by welcoming more than 60 high school students, giving them the opportunity to get a closer look at the world of science and learn about the work of the center’s female researchers. The directors of CiQUS, José Luis Mascareñas and Dolores Pérez, welcomed the students in an event attended by the Director-General for the Promotion of Equality of the Xunta de Galicia, María Quintiana, who emphasized the importance of these events in raising awareness of women’s roles in science and breaking down the gender barriers that still exist. 

Additionally, the CIM (Marine Research Center) of the University of Vigo marked February 11th by awarding prizes for the second edition of the Marie Tharp contest. The ceremony took place on Monday, February 10th, the day before 11F, in the new lecture hall of the Experimental Sciences building. This competition is aimed at pre- and post-doctoral female researchers from the center, who were invited to present their work through a one-minute audiovisual piece. With this initiative, CIM aims to highlight the work of women researchers and promote female role models in marine science. 

Scientists of the CINBIO, another of the centres of the Network CIGUS, participated in several activities to commemorate the 11F. The centre co-organised on 7 February, together with the SEBBM, the colloquium ‘All are sciences’, an activity co-organized with the SEBBM (Spanish Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology). The 11F took place the ninth edition of the workshops ‘Elas Fan CienTec’, where students of different institutes of the province of Pontevedra visited various centres of investigation of the Campus of Vigo. In this occasion, the CINBIO opened his doors to a group of students of the IES Santa Irene of Vigo, that could choose between seven workshops, including games of role on the rare illnesses, preparation of nanoparticules of gold or simulation of encapsulation of drugs.  

The researchers of the Biomass and Sustainable Development group (EQ-2) of the CINBIO also participated in the informative fair eXXperimenta en Feminino, which was held on 14 February at the Ourense Campus. During this fair, students from the province and the general public were able to approach different stands to perform a multitude of experiments and learn about the STEM degrees taught on the Ourense Campus.

At CITIC, four female researchers — Verónica Bolón Canedo, María Martínez Pérez, María José Martín Santamaría, and Elena María Hernández Pereira — took part in the “Live 11F: Connect with Women in Computer Science” series, organized by the National Museum of Science and Technology (MUNCYT) in A Coruña and the Faculty of Computer Science at UDC. These talks, aimed at secondary school, high school, and vocational training students, seek to promote women’s participation in science and showcase their work. 

The IGFAE (Galician Institute of High Energy Physics) marked the occasion by organizing the “International Particle Physics Masterclass” in Santiago de Compostela, commemorating the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. It was held on February 11th at the Faculty of Mathematics at USC, where first-year high school students from across Galicia participated in a day alongside researchers from IGFAE and CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research).

Furthermore, throughout the month of February, researchers from the Network’s centers visit schools and high schools across Galicia to give talks and workshops on the role of women in science. One of these was AtlanTTIC researcher Rebeca Díaz Redondo, who visited IES de Beade (Vigo) to speak with students about biases in artificial intelligence.