About the International Day of Women and Girls in Science: enthusiastic students

Researchers from several MARE Regional Research Units transmitted a message to the new generation, last Friday, February 10th, regarding the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which is celebrated on February 11th.

“The message I would like to share with whoever is reading this, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or social status, is that with work, dedication, and resilience it is possible to achieve results and opportunities that open a path to achieving the vision we have and the projects we believe in. We have a responsibility to contribute to a better world and everything we do makes a difference. The path may not be easy, but it will certainly be rewarding”, reflects the researcher of MARE-University of Évora Esmeralda Pereira.

The researchers went to meet the male and female students. In Coimbra, commemorating this day meant a Speed Dating with 236 students from the 10th to the 12th year with Researchers from the University of Coimbra. The initiative went so well that the School Board is already thinking about repeating it or adapting it for similar sessions. In Leiria, the researchers managed to streamline the activity with a class, and the feedback from the teacher couldn't be better: "Friday's activity was quite interesting and constructive. In general, the class liked it and found it fun and intuitive. In the future we’d like a little more time with the researchers to get to know some of their projects better and the logistics applied to them.”

In Évora, the activity brought together eight researchers from various research centres at the University of Évora for this Speed Dating with 40students of the 11th grade and a second edition is already planned at another school in the municipality. We fly to Madeira and, despite the troubled start because at the time of the event the rain did not allow the students to travel to the MARE-Madeira facilities, MARE went to the school, and the activity went very well. There were two fourth grade classes, about 40 students who were enthusiastic about the activity and one of the classes had inclusively several questions prepared.

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