From Classroom to Laboratory: 25 Years of Connecting Young People in Valle del Cauca with Science
An internship for six students highlights the reach of an educational partnership that has engaged nearly three thousand young people and teachers from public schools.
- technology
- crops
- nutrition
- Science
From Classroom to Laboratory: 25 Years of Connecting Young People in Valle del Cauca with Science
An internship for six students highlights the reach of an educational partnership that has engaged nearly three thousand young people and teachers from public schools.
Standing in a virology research area at the Alliance's Palmira campus, Saray Melisa Ariza began asking new questions about the links between viruses, plants and agriculture. Until then, several of those concepts had belonged mainly to the classroom. During the internship, she saw how they became research questions and part of scientists' daily work.
Saray was one of six students from public schools in the CASD-Cali program selected for their academic performance to complete a one-month internship at the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Together with Samuel Martínez, Juan José Poloche, Keidy Parada, Angélica Quevedo and Zabdiel Eduardo Iriarte, she explored work in biotechnology, microbiology, virology and information technology, with exposure to digital agriculture, sensor-based monitoring of greenhouse gases and respirometric chambers, and biofortified crops (NQL). She spoke with researchers and learned how different teams address challenges in agriculture, biodiversity and food security.