The project aimed at promoting the scientific culture in schools by facilitating access to information on stem cells, spurring the debate but mostly bringing the civil society closer to the complex world of scientific research, highlighting also the socio-cultural impact.
The project has been articulated in the following phases:
- Meetings in schools between students and experts in the field of stem cells that have taken place according to the format of the Science Cafè (informal discussion with room for debate and questions from the audience). The number of meetings has been established on the basis of requests and availability of the classes involved and agreed with the referent teacher;
- A visit outside the school at the laboratories of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Monterotondo or other research center, including practical laboratory work, lasting about four hours;
- Remote support during the entire duration of the project, for the appropriate use of the project tools (social networks, website, interaction with research staff);
- In its final phase, the project also included the main event of dissemination for schools on the topic of stem cells, that is the Unistem Day.
Unistem Day is a national project for the dissemination of scientific research on stem cells. It is intended for high school students in Italy, who have shown a growing interest in the areas of knowledge and application of stem cells.
Born from an initiative of the University of Milan and promoted by the Unistem group, the event has been enriched and expanded each year until it became a national event in 2013.
