The Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute of Neuroscience (IIN-ELS), one of the two units of the Santos Dumont Institute (ISD) in Macaíba (RN), welcomed a group of high school students from the Traíras State School, located in the rural area of Macaíba, on Friday (12/8). The program, organized in allusion to Student's Day, celebrated on August 11, included a visit to the IIN-ELS laboratories and a discussion with the teenagers and master's students in Neuroengineering at ISD, who discussed how science can be a path for young people to follow in the future.

The activity was coordinated by research professor Andressa Radiske, who is a faculty member of the ISD's Neuroengineering Graduate Program. “The idea is to show students in the region some of the research developed at the Institute, with the aim of stimulating their interest in science and providing them with the opportunity to develop something with us,” says Andressa.

Currently, the ISD already receives high school students from public schools in Macaíba for Scientific Initiation activities, in which students follow the day-to-day lives of researchers and students at the institution.

Third-year high school student and president of the Marielle Franco Student Union, Igor Carvalho, 17, says that the visit was an essential experience for students to see the possibilities that exist close to them to develop projects with social impact.

“It’s a gateway for people who have a dream. It’s surreal to see the logistical structure that exists here, this integration between biology and engineering, and the number of possibilities that this opens up and that we discover that exist from here. Furthermore, here we not only develop research, but also projects that have a real impact on society, such as those in the rehabilitation area, and I’m sure that many who participated here will already have in mind something that they will want for their lives”, says Igor.

The vice-principal of the Traíras State School, Rita Sena, says that the visit allowed the students to learn a little more about “what is in their own backyard,” and she hopes that the visit will encourage them to pursue higher education. “I hope that it will spark their interest in science and the academic world, because they have so many rich things close to them that they often don’t have access to. It’s an opportunity for them to see and take this experience back to school, pass it on to their classmates, and grow up with an interest in continuing their studies,” says the vice-principal.

Open doors
The ISD offers times for guided visits to the institution. Any person, entity or institution can sign up to visit the IIN-ELS facilities, which are open to visitors on Wednesday mornings and Thursday afternoons. Visits must be scheduled in advance on the ISD website (www.isd.org.br), under the tab “Communication and events” > “Open doors”.