CIBB – Centre for Innovative Biomedicine and Biotechnology (CNC – Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology – and iCBR – Coimbra Institute for Clinical Biomedical Research)

“Brain Gain” online sessions series: On March 10, 17, 24, and 31, this online sessions series approached neurosciences from different points of view. The main goals were to reinforce Neurosciences as a strong research area in Portugal and to inspire undergraduate and graduate students to follow neuroscience-related careers. This initiative was supported by the Portuguese Society for Neuroscience (SPN) and counted with the participation of 22 speakers from all over the country. We received more than 900 registrations and gathered around 300 people each session. Online sessions with Schools From March 15 to 26, more than 20 researchers presented their work, engaging around 770 elementary, middle, and high school students, as well as graduate students. Bipolar Disorder Day On March 30, we have created a comic about Bipolar Disorder Day to celebrate World Bipolar Day. This comic was published in a national newspaper – Público, and aimed to raise awareness about this disorder and the importance of fighting the social stigma that still surrounds mental diseases. We have worked within a multidisciplinary team of researchers, science communicators, and psychiatrists from the Coimbra University Hospital Centre. The publication had around 7100 interactions (visualizations and shares).World Sleep Day To celebrate World Sleep Day, we promoted a digital campaign on social media in collaboration with the Portuguese Sleep Association. This campaign aimed to share facts about sleep and to raise awareness about the importance of healthy sleep habits. We have shared sentences and videos every day during March. We reached more than 18 000 people.

“Brain Gain” gave visibility to our institution since we had 22 speakers from all over the country, and gathered more than 900 registrations. Regarding the online sessions with schools, we allowed them to discuss the most recent research thus improving their school curriculum. One teacher said: “Students always remember the subjects covered in these sessions. We want to be able to continue to participate in these lectures that give practical meaning to the work we do in schools”.