On the occasion of Sant Jordi Day, the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), in collaboration with the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), held the first edition of the Catalan-language literary competition “Sant Jordi i el Lab” at the auditorium of the Edifici Central.

The project, funded by the CERCA call “Actions to promote and use the Catalan language in the field of research,” aims to encourage the use of Catalan in the scientific environment and promote the dissemination of research from a creative, accessible, and inspiring perspective.

The competition seeks to highlight the ability of literature and the arts to communicate science, with special attention to health research, biomedicine, and translational research.

A day connecting language, science, and creativity

The event began with institutional welcome remarks and the presentation of the competition by VHIR and IBEC. This was followed by a talk by M. Antònia Julià i Berruezo, head of the TERMCAT Consultation Service, focused on supporting the use of Catalan in research and scientific communication, highlighting the role of language as a key tool for dissemination in the life sciences.

The awards ceremony for the different categories and modalities of the competition was then held.

A competition with multiple disciplines

This first edition included two participation categories: an adult category, aimed at professionals from different CERCA centers, and a children’s category, in which 4th and 5th grade primary school students participated with an educational proposal focused on nanomedicine in the classroom.

Within each category, several artistic modalities were established, with two prizes per discipline: a first prize (€200, diploma, and gift) and a second prize (diploma and gift).

In addition, the winning works will be included in the magazine El Drac Lab, a compilation that brings together entries from the competition with literary and artistic creations made by children.

In the adult category, the first prize for prose or short story went to Jaume García for L'arc de Sant Martí, while Mariona Pont and Meritxell Soria received the second prize for Quan la Martina va descobrir el seu futur. In poetry, Berta Paez was awarded first prize for Pont invisible and Lídia del Carmen Ramírez received second prize for Somnis de laboratori.

In the comic category, Sandra Mármol Niubó won first prize with Els detectius del laboratori. In the puzzles category, Elisabeth Vera Matamala won first prize with Toni Microbi, and the second prize went to Beatriz Blasco Pérez for La paraula científica secreta.

In the children’s category, the creativity of the youngest participants was also highlighted. In short story, awards went to Luar Reigosa and Llona Brucet; in comics, to Noa Moithinho and Valentina Lisboa; and in illustration, to Salvador Martínez and the students of Col·legi Santa Teresa.

The event concluded with the distribution of roses and bookmarks to all attendees.