The Chemistry Department of the Faculty of Sciences at the University of La Laguna hosted yesterday, February 27th, a new edition of the regional phase of the Chemistry Olympiad, organized by the Canary Islands Territorial Section of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry (RSEQ). This time, a total of 78 second-year high school students from 33 schools across the Canary Islands participated: 1 from Lanzarote, 2 from Fuerteventura, 14 from Gran Canaria, and 16 from Tenerife, along with their teachers. The results will be announced in two weeks, and the three students with the highest scores will advance to the national phase, which will be held at the University of Córdoba from April 25th to 26th.
The day began with a welcome and explanation of the different parts of the day by the professor from the University of La Laguna Javier Hernández Borges, who is also president of the Canary Islands Territorial Section of the RSEQ; Elena Pastor, The Vice Dean of the Chemistry Degree program presented the Chemistry Degree curriculum to the attendees; and Daniel García Mihalic, a first-year student at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria who last year placed among the top performers in the regional, national, and international chemistry olympiad, also spoke. García gave a heartfelt speech thanking his mentors throughout the different phases of the olympiad and encouraged all attendees to be consistent and persevering in their studies and to strive to pursue their desired field of study.
Next, after the customary group photo at the entrance to the Chemistry Section, the two-hour exam began, followed by lunch. Afterwards, they visited different departments within the Section in groups, including the General Research Support Service (SEGAI), the Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology (IPNA) of the CSIC, and the Antonio González Institute of Bio-organic Chemistry (IUBO).
To conclude the day, a ceremony was held to award participation diplomas, presided over by the Vice-Rector for Teaching, José Manuel García Fraga, and attended by the Dean of the Faculty of Sciences, María del Mar Afonso, and Professor Javier Hernández Borges. García Fraga congratulated them on being selected to represent their schools in the Olympiad and encouraged them to pursue their studies at the University of La Laguna.
This regional phase has been organized by the territorial section of the RSEQ with the collaboration of both the University of La Laguna and the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria; the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports of the Government of the Canary Islands, which finances most of the event; the Official College of Chemists of the Canary Islands and the Association of Chemists and Chemical Engineers of the Canary Islands.
The participating centers were: for Lanzarote, IES Costa Teguise; for Fuerteventura, IES Corralejo and IES Santo Tomás de Aquino; for Gran Canaria, Atlantic School, Brains International School, Colegio Arenas Atlántico, Colegio Arenas Sur, Colegio Heidelberg, Colegio Hispano Ingles III, Colegio Salesiano «Sagrado Corazón de Jesús», CPES Nuestra Señora del Pilar, IES Cairasco de Figueroa, IES Ingenio, IES La Minilla, IES Los Tarahales, IES Santa Brígida and Lycée Français International; and for Tenerife, Colegio Hispano Inglés, Colegio Luther King La Laguna, Colegio Pureza de María Santa Cruz, Colegio Virgen del Mar, IES Anaga, IES Andrés Bello, IES Arico, IES Canarias Cabrera Pinto, IES El Sobradillo, IES Las Galletas, IES Profesor Martín Miranda, IES Valle Guerra, IES Viera y Clavijo, LFIT Jules Verne, Luther King Arafo and Luther King Sur.
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