Italiaanse studenten van technologisch instituut doen mee aan Viruskennerproject

Op het KKC doet het Technasium met het vak Onderzoek en Ontwerp al enkele edities mee met het project Viruskenner. Eind maart kwam een groep Italiaanse studenten van het technologisch instituut ITT Buonarroti over om mee te doen met dit project en samen oplossingen te bedenken voor verschillende virussen.

Project Viruskenner
Hoe onderzoek je een virus? Hoe verspreidt het zich: via voedsel, knaagdieren, water, lucht, bloed of muggen? Welke rol speelt hygiëne? Welke manieren zijn effectief om virussen te bestrijden? Dit zijn vragen waarmee leerlingen van het KKC zich bezig houden in het project Viruskenner. Het project is uiterst geschikt voor internationale samenwerking tussen scholen. En zodoende kwam het ITT Buonarroti eind maart op bezoek. Meer hierover lees je in een bericht van de Erasmus+ website.

Geslaagde interculturele uitwisseling
De uitwisseling met de Italiaanse leerlingen en docenten op het KKC – Sietske Roos (technator), Annika Werkman en Charlotte Lindeyer – was zeer geslaagd. De leerlingen hebben een bezoek gebracht aan Amsterdam en de Zaanse Schans, en op de laatste dag hebben zij hun Viruskenner-presentaties in Rotterdam voor een publiek gehouden. Daarnaast hebben de gastgezinnen allerlei leuke activiteiten georganiseerd om in de vrije tijd de Italianen onder te dompelen in de Nederlandse cultuur. Hieronder enkele reacties van de Italiaanse studenten over hun ervaringen.

By Sandri Martino and Biasi Emanuele
This was my first ever time flying to the Netherlands, so clear to say that I was ecstatic about the whole thing. We started by flying from the Venice airport to the Amsterdam airport, pretty straightforward: bus from Trento to Venice and then the one and a half flight. At the airport we were greeted by our Dutch partners and parents, surprisingly we were pretty close to Amstelveen, just a 15 minute ride on the bus. Staying at their home was so nice, I liked the way Dutch houses are built, my Dutch parents were very nice, funny and also very good at cooking! Thanks to them I got to experience the amazing typical dishes.

By Antonio Sucsca
The Journey took some hours but it wasn’t a problem as long as I had my friends near to talk with but it wasn’t the best part of the experience, the best one was visiting and knowing the school because it was very big and colorful! The thing I liked most of it was its organization because unlike us, they have way longer breaks and the school system is very interesting and I personally think it’s better than ours. Moreover, the school gym is very cool because of the fact that it has 2 separate ones but both accessible from one to the other. The school was really interesting but the family that hosted me was very friendly and kind. With them I did a lot of new things like trying new VR tools or eating different kinds of food. For example I ate a typical Indonesian food or a Japanese dish called Ramen and they were very good. At the school, after all the fun and talking, we did some english learning lessons or games but not only english, we also did Holland culture and geography which gave us a clear idea of the Holland’s culture because it wasn’t a boring and bad class, it was active and made all of us talking and it helped us a lot on our foreign language knowledge. Overall, the whole experience has been fun, enjoyable and a learning opportunity as we went around Amsterdam and Rotterdam seeing all the different and varied things about them.

By Robert Concal
The Viruskenner project was created for one purpose: increasing the knowledge of the general public on viruses. It was a great way to communicate with people from other countries, learn about virus and develop soft skills. At the airport we were greeted by our hosting family, making sure that we were comfortable during our stay. During the days of the week we went to school with the other students, and we had very interesting English lessons that improved our English significantly, while also being interactive and fun. Although visiting the school and checking out all the different classes was interesting, my favorite part of the project was surely the activities we did with our host families. From trips to the countryside to simple board games, I found that foreign activities were very helpful in my understanding of the culture that I was facing. This project also helped create really strong friendships that will last for a very long time, even after the project is over, and I personally think that it is such a beautiful thing, as even if there are thousands of kilometers separating one person from the other, there is still friendship between the two. The Viruskenner project gave me so many memories that I surely will not forget about. If you have the opportunity to do the project I highly suggest you to at least think about it, as it is a really interesting and fun experience that you should try.

By Marco Zanuso
Many students choose to take part in an exchange with the school, which is a fantastic opportunity to learn a new language and discover new cultures. In this article, I tell you about our personal experience with a language exchange with my school. This year, I was lucky enough to participate in a language exchange with a school in the Netherlands, the Keizer Karel College, located in a small village near Amsterdam called Amstelveen. Our group of Italian students joined a group of Dutch students for a week of cultural experiences and activities. During the week, we had English lessons every morning and learned a lot about the culture and history of the area. We also made a lot of excursions, visiting famous squares, renowned streets and the fantastic windmills. But the most exciting part of the week was definitely the chance to live with a local family. We were warmly welcomed by our host family and spent the evenings chatting and having fun together. Not only did we improve our language skills, but we also learned more about the daily life of the place. The language exchange experience helped us develop new friendships and better understand the world around us. We returned to Italy with many unforgettable memories and with a significantly improved level of English. In conclusion, if you have the opportunity to participate in a language exchange with the school, do not hesitate to do so. It is an incredible experience that will open up new horizons for you and make you grow a lot both as a student and as a person.