SCALA is a competitive science event centered on social responsibility. It aims to create a platform that empowers future Latin American scientists and promotes the development of higher level innovation skills through the creation of sustainable solutions to the specific problems of local communities.
Latin America is a region with a vast amount of natural resources, high biodiversity and a unique culture. However, it faces a variety of challenges towards proper development, and is therefore not able to provide the quality of life its inhabitants deserve.
Peru finds itself within this situation: It has plenty of natural resources, three different regions each with their own biome and ecosystems, and historical sites that display its legacy as a centre of development in early South America. Yet a variety of issues such as malnutrition, inaccessibility of health resources and education, natural disaster, and pollution are blockages to development, hindering great potential.
For these reasons, SCALA; a non-profit, student-led, non-governmental organization, wants to give students the opportunity to help the community climb a step-up. SCALA strives to encourage innovative young minds to reflect on the challenges their communities face to develop and carry out projects with a sustainable impact, changing the world through the use of science and technology.
SCALA values community, sustainability, collaboration, and curiosity. It asks: What issues are impacting our development as a community? Who can we help, and how? To what extent can we use our skills in science and technology to create an effective solution? How can we make a permanent impact, to achieve sustainable development?
We noticed that there were no community oriented competitions for youth that reached Latin America as competitors. Most were either in Europe, Asia and North America , or focused on the complexity and novelty of the discoveries. Therefore, young Latin American scientists focused on social progress lacked a platform for growth and skill development, and were missing the opportunity to create solutions to problems they encountered in their daily lives, which affected the wellbeing of their communities.
Create socially responsible, sustainable solutions through science to catalyse development.
Highlight potential of science to improve society. Create scientists that understand and appreciate sustainability and social responsibility as a part of science. Develop lasting solutions that can improve quality of life. Develop awareness of the global issues surrounding oneself and how we can be part of the solution. Identifying strengths and weaknesses of a solution, their causes and their impact.
Empower innovation
Motivate students to think critically and out of the box. Encourage students to take risks. Create an understanding of the process of innovation. Show how innovation can help change the world through application in real-world situations.
Offer a platform for young scientists to share their ideas
Ensure young scientists have a voice. Discover the work of other young scientists. Offer opportunities for growth. Make connections with other scientists. Develop soft skills necessary for research work.
Create a community of young scientists united by their passion for science in order to give back to their communities through the application of their abilities.
Provide opportunities to meet other young scientists with similar interests and objectives. Highlight potential of science to improve society. Build confidence in participant’s abilities through application. Demonstrate the value of scientific collaboration and encourage scientific collaboration as a means to overcome barriers.
Overcome resource barriers for the development of great ideas.
Encourage sharing of resources between scientists looking towards a unified goal of progress. Promote innovation in methodology and equipment. Explore different methodologies of experimentation, research and data collection. Create adaptable scientists capable of using only resources available to achieve their goals.
Our impact in society
We wish to be a catalyst for change. We work towards breaking barriers in education and solving issues that hinder development through the application of scientific skills.
Our purpose is to bring together innovative minds and create a scientific community oriented towards social development.
Through the competition, we wish to challenge underlying concerns of the system:
- We aim to create a platform that generates equity in opportunities.
- We strive for the cooperation of bright minds across social barriers.
- We value the development of solution-oriented critical and creative thinking skills over complexity