REPU MAGAZINE N 3
News
'Atix': Building scientific capacity in the inside
of Peru
2017
Lambayeque, as the very first participant of REPU
atix. Richard has a an strong background in cancer
genetics that made a good fit with the ongoing work
in the Laboratory of Immunology at UPCH. Besides
the lab work, we introduced several complementary
activities that sharpened his critical thinking and
communication skills. With the lessons learned on
this year we hope to keep working on create more
opportunities to encourage STEM students from
different disciplines to pursue their goals.
By Renzo Gutiérrez
In previous years, the lack of local contacts and
networks was a great obstacle to establish a
communication channel between STEM students
from regions outside Lima. Fortunately, during the
2016 call, we received many messages of support
from different regions of Peru asking how to host
short talks about the program.
Thanks to the effort of students that served as key
intermediaries between us and their universities, we
could share for the first time the experiences of
REPU in the cities of Lambayeque, Piura, Arequipa,
Ica, and Ancash. On each trip, we met faculty
professors and authorities who were committed to
building scientific capacity. Moreover, we found in
STEM students an unforeseen source of inspiration
and enthusiasm.
Figure 2. Richard Zapata from REPU atix
Although science education in some regions faces
several difficulties, essentially on the lack of facilities
and labs, we could recognize in students the
genuine commitment to excellence that drove them
to take any opportunity to improve their knowledge
and skills. Based on these experiences, we
launched REPUatix as a new branch of REPU
dedicated to empowering the talent of STEM
students all over Peru throughout an intense training
in top Peruvian institutions. 'Atix' is a Quechuan
word that, although it has no precise English
translation, contains a deep and motivating
meaning: 'the one who tries, the one who can, the
one who achieves'. This feature is a hallmark of
Peruvian students who do their best every day to
pursue their academic goals.
This initiative motivated a chain of kindness among
previous members of REPU, colleagues, student
associations, and professors at Universidad
Peruana Cayetano Heredia (UPCH) who did not
hesitate on providing valuable documents and
funding that made this project possible.
Finally, after a process of selection, we announced
Richard Zapata, a biology student at Universidad
Nacional Pedro Ruiz Gallo (UPRG) in the city of
Figure 3. REPU 2017 recruitment flyer
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