The Fuengirola City Council will host the first edition of the Alumni Attendis Awards for Scientific and Human Values

It will be held on Thursday, May 14, at 7:00 p.m., in the Royal Hall of the Consistory. Among the winners will be the Fuengirola-born scientist Manuel Corpas, an international leader in genomics, awarded for his research career and professional integrity.

5/8/2026 – The Royal Hall of the Fuengirola City Council will host next Thursday, May 14, at 7:00 p.m., the first edition of the Alumni Attendis Awards for Scientific and Human Values ​​2026. This was announced this morning by the Councilor for Education, Carmen Díaz, together with the directors of the Ecos and Las Chapas schools, Javier Palma and Cristina Sánchez García, respectively.

Among the winners, the Fuengirola-born scientist Manuel Corpas stands out, considered an international reference in the field of genomics and recognized for a career marked by research excellence and ethical commitment at the scientific forefront.

“With this first edition we want to give visibility to former students of the Las Chapas and Ecos schools who stand out not only for their professional achievements, but also for the positive mark they leave on society and for their contribution to building a better world,” said Javier Palma.

The director of the Ecos school has also explained that the central theme of this edition revolves around the scientific and technological field, and has highlighted the relevance of the recognition to Manuel Corpas: “He is a resident of Fuengirola and one of the most important geneticists in the world. After completing his studies at the Ecos school, he studied Biological Sciences at the University of Navarra and obtained his doctorate at the University of Manchester. He currently resides in London, collaborates as a professor at different universities in the United Kingdom and Spain and bears the name of Fuengirola all over the world.”

For her part, Cristina Sánchez García has highlighted the career of another of the winners, Mercedes Barrachina, a former student at Las Chapas school. “He develops his professional work at IBM in projects linked to artificial intelligence and the scientific field. In addition, he collaborates with the Polytechnic University and has numerous research publications on cybersecurity, artificial intelligence applied to science and biomedical development aimed at personalized treatments. All of this with a clear objective of social impact, because the best technology we can offer our students is training based on values,” he stated.

The gala will also recognize the career of Luis Gutiérrez Rojas in the field of mental health and scientific dissemination, highlighting his ability to bring psychiatry closer to the general public from an optimistic, ethical and human perspective. Likewise, the Premium Foundation will receive the Solidarity Institution and Social Value Award for its health cooperation work in Sierra Leone, where it develops free medical assistance campaigns and surgical interventions by deploying specialized professional teams.

For her part, Carmen Díaz has highlighted the City Council’s commitment to the educational centers in the area: “Many children from Fuengirola study in schools such as Ecos and Las Chapas, and the City Council always maintains close collaboration with these and other educational centers in the area. Furthermore, on this occasion a Fuengirola native like Manuel Corpas is recognized, whose work has international repercussions and who proudly carries the name of our city around the world. He fully represents the values that we want to transmit to our young people and projects the Brand Fuengirola at an international level.”

To conclude, the mayor of Education has encouraged all residents to attend the event: “We invite all Fuengirola residents interested in learning about the career of Manuel Corpas and the rest of the award winners to join us next Thursday, May 14, at seven in the afternoon, in the Royal Hall of the City Hall.”