Spanish scientists award IPN graduate's project

Adda Avendaño

For her contribution to social well-being by creating an inclusive science communication network at the national level, the Spanish Scientists Network in Mexico awarded the 1st RECEMX Award for Scientific Communication in Spanish to Dr. Dalila Aldana Aranda, a graduate of the Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas (ENCB), for her project "Pasaporte al Camino del Conocimiento Científico" (Passport to the Path of Scientific Knowledge or CCC).

During the award ceremony, the Polytechnic scientist, currently affiliated with the Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados (Cinvestav) of the IPN in Mérida, explained the objectives, activities, and achievements of this scientific project, of which she is the founder. The primary challenge of the project is to bring about a change in society and communicate science to all layers of society in a simple, inclusive, and enjoyable manner.

"The most important criterion of this project is: if we don't communicate, what we do is useless. We have to communicate the scientific knowledge that we are generating in different research centers, both with our scientific peers and with society. Science, for me, is something so sublime that it needs to be communicated, but with all five senses," she emphasized.

The CCC Passport, added the researcher at the Cultural Center of Spain in Mexico, aims to contribute to scientific education in Mexico through innovative, attractive, and, above all, interactive activities carried out in a network of scientific institutions. These institutions grant "visas" to children each time they visit. Participating educational entities include Cinvestav, some units of the IPN, the five units of El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (San Cristóbal de las Casas, Tapachula, Campeche, Chetumal, and Villahermosa), the Center for Research in Yucatán, the Juriquilla unit of UNAM, the Cancun Planetarium, the Science Museum of Ensenada, and the University of Los Mochis.

Upon receiving the award, Dr. Dalila Aldana highlighted that, in the 15 years since the program began, they have reached nearly 100,000 children with 180 in-person and online talks/workshops in 10 states of Mexico. "We will continue working with more love and energy to contribute to society in the generation of knowledge and its dissemination. We will continue to do it responsibly," she stated.

Gaceta Politécnica #1763. (December 15th, 2023). IPN Imagen Institucional: Read the full magazine in Spanish here