The Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) organised the Science Education Lab (SciEdLab) from 25 February to 15 April, a series of practical workshops in which predoctoral researchers designed a science outreach activity based on their research, with professional guidance and support, and a final public presentation.

Over three sessions, SciEdLab provided practical training in science communication and education tailored to different contexts, a space to experiment with innovative formats (audiovisual, interactive, narrative, etc.), and personalised support to develop strategies, materials and outreach activities directly linked to research. The final objective was to create a science outreach activity that can be presented at public events such as the European Researchers’ Night or the Science Festival.

In the first session, participants learned the fundamentals of outreach and carried out a brainstorming exercise on their activity. The second session focused on defining the requirements to produce the activity and developing the concept. Finally, the proposals were presented at an event held at the VHIR Auditorium.

The proposals include workshops, games for adults and children, and talks in the fields of respiratory medicine, rheumatology, cancer, headache, diabetes, nanomedicine and intensive care medicine.

This project is coordinated by the Teaching and Communication Units and the Impact and RRI Office at VHIR, in collaboration with Eduxarxa. The project is part of Caixa d’Eines, the culture and education programme of Barcelona’s Pla de Barris, managed by the cooperative 30defebrer.