The University of Oviedo's 20th Science & Technology Week will run online from Monday 23 November to Sunday 29. It includes a new programme of activities entitled Virtual Week, and a series of talks on the theme "Thinking About Science" and "Science Day At My School". Science & Technology Week - which will run in Asturias and involve more than 5,300 participants and 69 researchers - is sponsored by FECYT, the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (Department of Science and Innovation), and is supported by the government of the Principality of Asturias and Oviedo City Council.

Anyone interested in Virtual Week will be able to go on to an online platform where research staff will be waiting for them with streaming videos and talks. There will also be virtual events with avatars, workshops and a role-playing game. Schools that are interested can register up until November, 22^nd .

Another highlight will be the series of "Thinking about Science" talks, which start at 6.30pm on Monday 23^rd round table entitled "How And When Science Becomes News". Speakers include Elena Lázaro Real, UCC+i coordinator at the University of Córdoba and president of the Spanish Scientific Community Association; Carlos Centeno Cuadros, head of science outreach in University of Granada's communications office; Carmina Puyod Alegre, head of the University of Zaragoza's UCC+i; and Román Escudero Cruz, journalist at the University of Castilla-La Mancha. Moderator: Rafael Sarralde Vizuete, director and co-founder of The Conversation Spain.

At 6.30pm on Tuesday 24^th, Ignacio López-Goñi, professor of microbiology at the University of Navarra, will give a lecture entitled "COVID-19: It's Time For Science And Cooperation". At 5.30pm on Wednesday 25^th, Joaquín Sevilla Moroder, professor of electronic engineering and communication at the Public University of Navarra, will run a workshop of experiments using simple everyday materials entitled "Scientific Cacharrismo" workshop. Also, at 6.30pm on that Wednesday, Juan Carlos Campo Rodríguez, professor of electronic technology at the University of Oviedo and director of the Gijón Polytechnic School of Engineering, will give a lecture entitled "The Future Of Energy: The Sun Is The Key". The series will continue at 6.30pm on Thursday, with the talk "Expedition To The Future! Technologies That Will Change Our lives" by Amador Menéndez Velázquez, researcher at the Idonial Technology Centre and scientific figure. And at 6.30pm on Friday 27^th, Clara Grima Ruiz, professor at the University of Seville, will give the closing lecture, entitled "Mathematics, Epidemics, Masks and Vaccines".

In addition, the Science Day At My School initiative will include 109 talks given by researchers to over 3,000 primary, secondary and high school students. The speakers will use a virtual platform to show students what their research work consists of.

European Researchers Night

On November, 27^th the University of Oviedo will hold the 11th edition of its European Researchers Night - a science outreach project that seeks to bring the human side of the research community closer to the public. This event is part of the project for this event that the European Commission granted to the Grupo 9 (G-9) consortium of nine universities consisting of Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Balearic Islands, Oviedo, the Basque Country, Public University of Navarra and Zaragoza in collaboration with the University of La Rioja.

As part of European Researchers Night, Night Science radio will broadcast the programme "One night I dreamt I wanted to be a researcher and now I am...". It will be broadcast at 9.30pm on November 27^th  and will run for 30 minutes. This programme will showcase the work of researchers across all branches of knowledge, and will involve contributions from the nine G-9 universities.