Regional phase of the 2020 Chemistry Olympiad

Last Thursday, 5th March, the Faculty of Sciences, Chemistry Section, of the University of La Laguna, hosted the regional phase of the Chemistry Olympiad 2020, which was attended by 37 students from Secondary Schools from educational centres in Tenerife, La Palma and Gran Canaria. The students Carlos Sobral Torres and Teresa Conde Pérez, from the IES Politécnico Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and Pablo Junyent Hernández from the Colegio Arenas Atlántico de Gran Canaria obtained the highest score in the competition organised by the Territorial Section of the Canary Islands of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry (RSEQ) and financed by Education, Universities, Culture and Sports of the Canary Islands Government and the collaboration of the University of La Laguna, the Institute of Natural Products and Agrobiology (CSIC), the company Biosigma SL and the Diario de Avisos Foundation.

The closing ceremony was attended by the Minister of Education, Universities, Culture and Sports of the Canary Islands Government, María José Palmero, who stressed the importance of scientific culture "for a rational interpretation of current events". The rector of the University of La Laguna, Rosa María Aguilar, and the dean of the Faculty of Science, María del Mar Afonso, emphasised the need to stimulate the search for excellence and promote scientific vocations among the students present there. IPNA researcher and president of the Territorial Section of the RSEQ Fernando Tellado thanked students and teachers for their participation in the event and highlighted the need to continue to carry out this type of action to encourage interest in science on the islands. The students selected will now be responsible for representing the Canary Islands in the national phase of the Chemistry Olympiad, which will take place from 24th to 26th April in Valencia.