The Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (CSIC-UV) is taking part in the seventh edition of the Amgen TransferCiència educational programme, aimed at bridging the gap between research and schools in the Valencian Community during the 2025–2026 academic year. This initiative, promoted by the biotechnology company Amgen and the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI), seeks to inspire scientific vocations—particularly in genetics and biotechnology—among secondary and sixth-form students, leveraging the educational and motivational potential of these disciplines to bring real science into the classroom.

This year, the programme will reach 130 fourth-year secondary and sixth-form students from five schools in Valencia and Alicante. They will attend masterclasses and hands-on workshops led by a five-member research team from the Institute of Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio-CSIC-UV).

The participating researchers—Cecilia Picazo, Cristina Vidal, Víctor Garrigós, Alba Arévalo, and Paola Corbín—range from predoctoral to postdoctoral profiles and will offer students a close-up view of science in everyday life. In addition, the Amgen TransferCiència team will provide teachers with educational materials to bring real science into the classroom and reinforce the practical application of curricular content. The programme also supplies equipment such as electrophoresis units, pipettes, and diagnostic kits to transform schools into real laboratories.

Methodologically, Amgen TransferCiència applies an innovative teaching approach: integrating young scientists into schools, where they work alongside teachers to collaboratively design and implement activities that make science engaging and practical. The goal is to strengthen students’ knowledge of genetics and biotechnology, spark their interest in pursuing these scientific disciplines, and broaden their understanding of career opportunities in these fields.

Researchers are trained to present students with learning experiences rooted in real-life contexts, creating scenarios that connect different curriculum areas—such as cells, health and disease, immunology, genetics, and evolution in secondary school; and genetics, immunology, biotechnology, and evolution in sixth form—with their own research fields.

Experiencing science live in the classroom

“It stimulates student motivation thanks to its highly practical approach, which also fosters enriching mutual feedback between researchers and teachers,” explains Alba Arévalo, a predoctoral researcher at I2SysBio-CSIC-UV and a veteran of several editions of Amgen TransferCiència. Arévalo will deliver a theoretical session on microbiota followed by a practical workshop on developing a probiotic vaccine at IES Teulada (Alicante).

Similarly, Víctor Garrigós, a PhD researcher at I2SysBio-CSIC-UV, adds: “This programme allows us to directly address the countless questions from students interested in biotechnology, helping to strengthen their curiosity and understanding of real scientific work.” Garrigós will lead a masterclass and workshop on restriction enzymes in biotechnology using electrophoresis techniques at IES Número 26 Misericordia in Valencia.

In the Valencian Community, the five participating schools are IES Número 26 Misericordia in Valencia city; IES Marjana in Chiva and IES Eduardo Primo Marqués in Carlet, both in the province of Valencia; and IES Teulada (Teulada) and IES Andreu Sempere (Alcoy) in Alicante.

The research team will visit these schools to deliver in-person classes and subsequent practical research workshops, supported by professional laboratory kits. This seventh edition of Amgen TransferCiència in the Valencian Community will include sessions and workshops on forensic genetics, West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne viruses, microbiota, restriction enzymes, and swine erysipelas, using PCR, ELISA, and electrophoresis kits, among others.

The programme also offers students the chance to take part in a competition, Divulga en 2’ (Spread the Word in 2 Minutes), where they can submit a two-minute video explaining a concept learned during a masterclass or the outcome of a workshop.

At the national level, in addition to the Valencian Community, Amgen TransferCiència will also run during the 2025–2026 academic year in Galicia, the Community of Madrid, and, for the first time, Andalusia. The research team, comprising 35 members—over 71% of whom are women—will cover a total of 35 schools across these regions, reaching more than 1,000 fourth-year secondary and sixth-form students.