Outreach News

ICMAB hosts three students in a new edition of the Argó programme

For another year, in 2026, ICMAB hosted three students from UAB’s Argó Programme.

Once again, UAB has offered high school students the opportunity to carry out a research stay of two weeks either at the university or at one of the research centers on the UAB Campus, giving them a chance to discover the kind of work typically carried out in laboratories, departments, or research institutes. This year, these three students decided to do their stay at ICMAB.

On their first day at ICMAB, the students attended an introductory presentation about the research center, given by Judith Oró, who currently coordinates the Argó Programme at ICMAB. This Programme is organized by ICE-UAB. In the days that followed, the students, in pairs, visited each participating STS to learn about and experiment with different characterization techniques.

Over the course of these two weeks, they were hosted by several technicians from the Scientific and Technical Services (STS) at ICMAB: Anna Esther Carrillo and Judith Oró from the Electron Microscopy Service, Bernat Bozzo and Ferran Vallès from the Low Temperatures and Magnetometry Service, Marta Gerbolés, Luigi Morrone and Adrià Pacheco from the Nanoquim platform, David Piña and Amable Bernabé from the Preparation and Characterization of Soft Materials, Roberta Ceravola from the Thermal Analysis Laboratory and Joan Esquius, Xavi Campos and Anna Crespi from the X-ray Diffraction Laboratory.

Bernat Bozzo with the Argó students | ICMAB-CSIC

On their last day at the center, the students gave a presentation at ICMAB's Sala d'Actes Carles Miravitlles summarizing their work and what they all had learned at ICMAB. They particularly appreciated the hands-on nature of the experience and the rare opportunity to witness first-hand the inner workings of a research center, an uncommon experience at their stage of education, and one they are likely to value even more over time. They also participated in the Quantum Levitating Train activity led by Ferran Vallès.

Ferran Vallès with the levitating train | ICMAB-CSIC

The 2026 edition of the Argó Programme has now come to an end and marks one of the final outreach and mentoring initiatives of the academic year at ICMAB. It will return next year, alongside many more activities that aim to promote scientific culture, encourage scientific vocations, and communicate ICMAB’s contribution to society.

Outreach News

ICMAB hosts three students in a new edition of the Argó programme

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