(Zaragoza. Friday, September 13, 2024). On Friday, September 13, the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters at the University of Zaragoza hosted one of the presentation sessions for the Bachelor’s Thesis Award “One University – One Health,” an initiative launched by the One Health Platform and MSD in Spain, with the support of the Conference of Rectors of Spanish Universities (CRUE). This pioneering initiative, in which the University of Zaragoza is involved, aims to “offer an awareness and outreach action on the ‘One Health’ approach to increase knowledge about the concept, and to plant the seed of a multidisciplinary approach in both faculty and students.” The award will be given to the best Bachelor’s Thesis from the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years, in which two to four students from at least two different degree programs participate.

The event began with speeches by Rosa Bolea, Vice Chancellor for Scientific Policy at the University of Zaragoza, and Antonio Español Pueyo, Head of Food Safety and Environmental Health Services for the Government of Aragón, followed by the screening of the short documentary “Walks with Science: One Health.”

Next, a roundtable discussion addressed the multidisciplinary nature of the three areas of health, featuring Javier Millán, ARAID researcher at IA2, who emphasized the importance of wildlife health in global health; Sara Malo, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, who discussed Health Equity; Carmen Bentué, IUCA researcher, who spoke about Health Geography; and Pilar Goñi, Professor of Parasitology and IUCA researcher, who focused on Water and Health.

After the roundtable, several speakers presented: Jon Molina Oliva, a representative from ECODES, spoke on how citizens can fight climate change; María Álvarez de Sotomayor, Vice President of the National Conference of Deans of Pharmacy Faculties, presented the One Health Platform; and finally, Fernando Villabrille Monserrat, MSD representative, announced the award guidelines.

Virginia Resconi and Inmaculada Martín, Coordinators of the One University – One Health Initiative at the University of Zaragoza, concluded the event by addressing questions about the participation process.