National and international impact to promote scientific vocations with the Program for Improving the Teaching of Chemistry (PMEQ)

Abstract

The extension work of the School of Chemistry at the UNA, has been reflected from its beginnings to a large extent by the activities from the Program for Improving the Teaching of Chemistry (PMEQ). Efforts have been shared by many generations of teachers, academics and students with the passing of the years. Incipient work since 78 and in essence have continued to evolve and create spaces that seek to reverse the differences in educational access and quality. In the last ten years has been working with 4120 high school students (Project CAES), to train 270 teachers and about 6000 students have participated in Chemistry Olympiad. The rate of reports of students who choose chemistry for high school exams has increased. Efforts to promote the development and encouragement to scientific vocations have certainly paid off, talented students choose chemistry as a career in public universities, some of this by taking the undergraduate and graduate level, and some others in universities like MIT in the USA. We are sure that in a few years we are going to see them leading scientific processes in several fields of national production activities.