Today was our first full day in Spain. We began the day with a walk to the Bilbao School of Engineering, where we went through our itinerary and got a preview of what the next two weeks have in store. We also learned a ton of interesting facts about Spain and the Basque Country!

After the orientation, we had lunch together as a group. I got the chance to sit with Saioa, one of the engineering professors here, and we ended up in a great conversation about the differences and similarities between universities in the U.S. and Spain. After lunch, Saioa introduced us to a medical device they are developing that’s currently in clinical trials at the hospital we’ll be visiting tomorrow. She also walked us through the patent process in Spain and across Europe more broadly, which turned out to be far more involved than I had realized. I knew almost nothing about how patents work going in, so this was eye-opening.

This afternoon we took a walking tour of Bilbao, seeing in everything from the iconic Guggenheim to the old city. To finish the day off, we grabbed pintxos and I took my first tram ride in Spain. Overall, this was an amazing first day and I cannot wait for the next two weeks!