Greetings from Bilbao!
Following a much-needed and peaceful night’s rest at the hotel, I enjoyed my first-ever breakfast in Bilbao. My plate consisted of fruits, hard-boiled eggs, and ham, which proved to be great fuel for the full day of learning and touring.
In the hotel lobby, Professor Saioa of the Bilbao School of Engineering welcomed us to Spain and walked us over to the Engineering school for an official introduction and briefing to the Plus3 program. In a small auditorium at the front of the engineering building, we learned much about the Basque-specific culture and the historical and geographical contexts that set Bilbao apart from the rest of the country and the world. For example, I was fascinated by how Basque, the native language specific to the Basque region, currently has no identifiable origin, yet has been passed down through generations and standardized into what is contemporarily known as Batua (unified).
During the opening presentation, we also learned how striking the contrasts are between the cost of higher education and the standard path a student may take to pursue it in Bilbao and Pittsburgh. While a student in the United States may not have yet discerned a particular career direction by the time they arrive at college, youth in Spain have already committed to a relatively rigid path (either pursuing the arts or the sciences). Naturally, the cost of education was the most notable difference, with a semester at the Bilbao School of Engineering totaling over 1,000 euros (approx. $1,170). This factoid is only one of a larger economic and cultural context that I will continue to piece together while I am here.
After a three-course lunch at the school cafeteria, we returned to the main auditorium to hear Professor Saioa personally present and explain her work on Oreka Balance, a clever response to stroke patient recovery. The machine titled Balance HG Oreka attempts to measure a patient’s center of pressure by using an elevated platform that initially rests in rotational and translational equilibrium. Just like a skateboard, however, once a person steps onto the platform, the person must fight to find and maintain balance. Equipped with four sensors, the platform reads the force and its orientation, and adjusts the movement at the platform’s center. This allows doctors to observe the reaction of rehabilitating patients and monitor it over time.
One crucial part of the invention saga that I appreciated in a new way was the process by which an engineering team applies for and maintains (or does not) a patent. A substantive conversation among the professors and all of us students revealed that the idea and general acquisition of patents was similar in Spain as in the USA. I learned about prior art, the importance of grants, and the legal limitations that are associated with such technical patents.
The final event of the day found us strolling through the beautiful Bilbao city, led confidently and informatively by our tour guide, Mangel. We began at the “Cathedral” or officially San Mames Stadium, which is home to the Athletic Club football team. Following the Nervion River toward the old town, we admired the cranes and boats left from Bilbao’s more industrial past. Magnificent parks and homes a few centuries old decorated the valley. At the end of the tour, we journeyed inside Casco Viejo to enjoy Pintxos together as a group! I am excited to see what tomorrow has in store.