Fantastic DNA goes to Bilbao!

What a wonderful visit to the University of the Basque Country (UPV) in May 2025!

We are reflecting on an inspiring and productive visit to EHU in Bilbao earlier this year (May 4–10), as part of the SHARE project supported by an Enlight plus award from Global Galway & the ENLIGHT European University network.

The goal of our visit was to share the working model of the Cell Explorers educational outreach programme and explore how it could be adapted and embedded within UPV’s outreach strategy. It was a pleasure to exchange best practices on engaging young people, teachers and families in science, and to highlight how student participation through volunteering can be a powerful driver for public engagement.

We were thrilled to meet the brand new team of UPV Cell Explorers volunteers assembled by our UPV collaborators Professor Maren Ortiz Zarragoitia, Dr Esther Blanco-Rayón and Dr Tifanie Briaudeau. 

The student volunteers were coached by our experienced University of Galway team leader Aoife O'Connell (7 years with us and a PhD researcher in Dr Andrea Kwakowsky's laboratory), for the delivery of their first Fantastic DNA session in Bilbao. Together with Silke Kleefeld, and our collaborators Prof Karen Gaudin, Prof Stéphanie Cluzet and Wiktoria Serafin from the Université de Bordeaux, we delivered sessions in English, and also in French, to a total 140 students from four different local schools. Success for the first ever Fantastic DNA sessions ran in Spain!

Huge thanks to Maren, Esther and Tifanie, our generous hosts at UPV, their wonderful volunteers for their enthusiasm and thoughtful collaboration, and to the UPV Enlight office for supporting this initiative. We are excited to support the co-development of this tailored pilot programme in 2025, aligned with UPV’s scientific focus and institutional goals. More visits and workshops are in the pipeline this year. The future is bright for Science engagement at UPV!

We are looking forward to continuing this exciting journey with UPV and the University of Bordeaux, strengthening science outreach capacity across the ENLIGHT network.

Next stop: Bordeaux this autumn!