Simran Ramchandani is the name of one of the finalists of the Repsol Foundation’s University Challenge, selected for her Biotech UCM project that achieves absorb carbon dioxide (CO₂) and convert it into sugar through cyanobacteria.
«Our project used these bacteria that carry out photosynthesis to capture carbon dioxide from industries. The interesting thing is that they are also capable of converting that waste into a useful product such as sucrosea type of sugar,” explains Ramchandani, student of the Master in Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology at the Complutense University of Madrid.
Her curious nature and her love for scientific dissemination prompted her to send, along with her colleagues, this project to the Repsol Foundation’s University Challenge.
Dissemination as passion and vocation
The desire to understand the world around her marked Simran’s childhood. As a biology student, during the Covid-19 pandemic he was almost forced to talk about science and offer a critical view of scientific information. His usual vocation thus became the dissemination profile on social networks @sim_biotica.
«When I started my account, I didn’t know anyone who could give me a hand or explain to me how social networks worked, dissemination, content creation… It has been many hours of tutorials and learn to use applications that at the time I didn’t know how to use,” he recalls. Now she answers through social networks the same questions that she asked her mother every day during her childhood.
Youth and talent to imagine the future
The Repsol Foundation University Challenge, focused on undergraduate and master’s students, celebrated its finale in March of this year in Madrid in a hackathon format. The 93 qualifiers (out of a total of 1,702 participants, corresponding to 342 teams from 83 public and private universities in Spain) were organized into 25 teams from 29 universities and 12 autonomous communities.
Simran highlights that during the hackathon she was able to grow in every way, especially in skills such as teamwork or selling a project: “These are aspects that we usually learn once we start working,” she acknowledges. Because this Repsol Foundation initiative for young talent not only seeks innovative solutions, but also promotes environment that facilitates their work integration.
The winners of the University Challenge received a prize of 12,000 euros for each of the five challenges proposed: decarbonized cities, sustainable mobility, circular economy, decarbonized industry, and energy transition and society. In addition, they were given the opportunity to join Repsol’s young talent programs.
«If more events of this style were held, many young people would participate, and I think that Many projects would come forward that could change the world», says Simran.