The second edition of the UFLA “EduCom Ciência” project has been successfully completed – UFLA

The second edition of the UFLA “EduCom Ciência” project has been successfully completed

The “EduCom Ciência” project developed by the Communications Directorate of the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA) successfully concluded its 2023/2 semester activities on 12/6. In its second edition, the program included the participation of the Escola Estadual Firmino Costa school, located in the municipality of Lavras, Minas Gerais. This initiative, which receives support from the Minas Gerais State Foundation for Research Support (Fapemig), aims to strengthen the training of young people working in the field of scientific communicators and publishers.

Over the course of ten workshops, students participating in this edition raised relevant scientific topics to be disseminated on UFLA’s social media, investigated these topics with researchers from this institution, wrote interviews and recorded transcripts, and received instruction on photography and filming. Video Editing Finally, they produced a video for the scientific publication of this entire investigation.

The research topics chosen by the three formed groups were: racism in contemporary society, animal abandonment, and global unrest. This latest issue emerged from a declaration by the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, and defines the climate emergency we are currently witnessing in the world. As a theoretical basis for producing the final scholarly publishing product on these topics, each group searched for UFLA researchers who study such topics.

The first group, on racism in contemporary society, investigated Professor Helena María Ferreira, from the Department of Language Studies (DEL), and her former master’s student, Elvan Ribeiro, who discussed critical racial literacy in her thesis. During the interviews, the group concluded that present-day racism is a reflection of past slavery. In addition, research from institutions such as the Institute of Research and Consulting (Ipec) and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) were consulted as valuable resources during the investigation.

The second group, responsible for the issue of animal abandonment, contacted the UFLA’s Standing Committee on Animal Policy (CPPA). During the conversation with Professor María Raquel Esnard Moulin from the Department of Veterinary Medicine (DMV), resident veterinarian Belinda Araujo Martínez Ferreira and student Nicole Fernández do Carmo, they understood that in addition to being an extremely cruel practice on the part of their owners, abandoning animals also represents a danger to Human health, as these animals can be infected with zoonotic diseases, such as leishmaniasis, sporotrichosis, and rabies, which are diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.

In turn, the group interested in researching global warming conducted an interview with Professor Marcelo Vieira da Silva Filho, from the Department of Environmental Engineering (DAM). They learned from a meteorologist that hurricanes, heat waves, melting glaciers, extremely heavy rains, and floods are some of the notable effects of global boiling. They also learned that the critical stance to reversing this situation is to change the way we get energy, replacing oil and coal with clean, renewable energy sources, such as sun and wind.

Iris Fonseca Quezada, one of the students who participated in “EduCom Ciência,” enthusiastically expressed her satisfaction at being part of the project. “It was a pleasure to participate in this project,” she said. “In addition to improving my communication, I met wonderful people and was happy when I realized how much science is present in our daily lives.”

With similar sentiments, Nelly Oliveira Ochoa emphasized the value of experience in her personal and intellectual growth. “Participating in EduCom was a unique experience in my life, especially in terms of communication. It led me to develop a more critical view of the content I consume and increased my desire to enter a university like UFLA.”

Juliana Andrade Santiago, EE Firmino Costa professor, said the project brings students closer to the academic environment. “Educom Ciência is an important incentive for access to higher education. Communication with university professors and scientific research has sparked students’ interest in science.

Videos produced by the three groups will be shared on UFLA social media networks in 2024. Photos capturing the most striking moments of this edition are available now.

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