More than a hundred young people from Bilbao present advanced scientific and technological prototypes at the BIZILABE FAIR

• The Bilbao City Council and the Elhuyar Foundation have promoted a pioneering initiative under the slogan “Scientific experiences and community”. In fact, it is aimed at students of Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate to encourage their commitment to research.

• The Ensanche building will host the Bizilabe Fair. The event, which will be open to the general public, will be attended by young people from the city's schools who will present important projects that have worked in areas such as microbiology, robotics or prototyping. In addition, they will conduct experiments in the field of polymers or nanotechnology.

• It has been directed by Elhuyar in collaboration with the City of Bilbao, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, the Basque Government and other institutions and agents. The aim of the initiative is to create a network of research centres in the Basque Country to improve the capacities and training of young people

Bilbao, 3 December 2016

More than a hundred young people from the public school Mujika of Bilbao, IES Solokoetxe, IES La Salle, IES Unamuno and IES Botikazar have presented today in the building of the Ensanche advanced scientific and technological prototypes. The projects have been the result of teamwork carried out in five workshops, with the aim of improving the training and training of the students of Compulsory Secondary Education and Baccalaureate of the city. The initiative, led by Elhuyar in collaboration with the City of Bilbao, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, the Basque Government and the FECYT Foundation for Science and Technology in Spain, has also had the support and involvement of other institutions, companies, agents and associations that know the importance of research, innovation and creativity as the engine of economic activity and creativity.

The Councillor for Economic Development, Trade and Employment of the City of Bilbao, Xabier Ochandiano, the Director General of Elhuyar Zientzia, Leire Cancio, the Minister of Education of the Basque Government, Amaia Esquisabel Alegría, and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, Armeva participated in the event this morning.

Among the prototypes that have been observed at the fair are those made in the field of microbiology, where Petri boxes have been developed for the identification of microorganisms. The University of the Basque Country/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU) and the environmental company Fulcrum have placed several stands to show young people and people who have attended the exhibition real examples of these areas. In addition, we have been able to see the CCPV robotics projects developed by the youngest and the robotic “stone”, or the prototypes of products manufactured in the workshop “immersion in prototyping”. Also present were the companies ERABI or Ain3+ that use these technologies in projects of immotics or design and interior architecture, respectively.

Other young people have approached the world of the smallest in the workshop "Nanocosas", where they have been able to be with professionals of the consultancy Material Conexión, who have taught the attendees the catalogue of materials. And finally, in the workshop “Chucherías y pinturas, texturas y colores; estos sí mixados”, we worked with the chemistry of polymers.

Network of centres Bizilabe

Elhuyar Zientzia started working in 2014 to launch the Bizilabe network of centres. These will be research spaces for young people between the ages of 10 and 19, where they will be able to practice and research autonomously on STEM topics (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). In the context of this project, it is based on the awareness and positive influence that such a project can have on the capacities of young people, on future opportunities and on the competitiveness of their regions.

It will work on the development of creativity in research centers, as well as the possibility of investigating in an independent multidisciplinary environment, but avoiding pressures in the classroom or in a rigorous program, that is, outside the curriculum and schedule of the center. It aims to encourage children and adolescents to develop for themselves experiments and theories. The goal is to arouse interest in working science and technology as soon as possible and draw inspiration from scientific adventures. It also aims to involve local companies and professionals to carry out mentoring tasks. In fact, projects are intended to be linked to the challenges or actions of a local company. To lead this project, monitors and advisors will be trained in the field of the Bizilabe-Elhuyar methodology developed specifically for the project.

The contribution of the network of neighbors to each local community will be the training of young people and improving competitiveness. Therefore, Elhuyar Zientzia proposes a paradigm shift in which one of the main axes of the project is one of the multiple agents at the service of the future of its young people.

degree of involvement and collaboration. This aspect is of vital importance since adolescence is a decisive time for young people. On the other hand, at this time, in general, self-esteem decreases, especially in the case of girls, which can negatively influence the decisions they make. Therefore, Bizilabe wants to positively influence girls and boys and offer opportunities to develop and empower capacities.