Nga Tawa School teen from Marton New Zealand accepted for Barcelona International Youth Science Challenge

Nga Tawa School's Lara Westraad wants to become a doctor so that she can help out her community. Photo/Supplied

Some people will be hitting the icy slopes of New Zealand's beautiful mountains in July.

Others may still be slogging it out on the sports field, or they may have turned into winter couch potatoes, dreaming of a warmer place with sunnier skies.

Nga Tawa School student Lara Westraad won't have to dream it, she'll be living it when she touches down for the Barcelona International Youth Science Challenge (BIYSC).

Lara is an aspiring doctor and was one of 100 students selected from 18 countries to take part in the challenge from July 9-20.

Lara will have the opportunity to work on her first choice of research projects - instructive biomaterials for regenerative medicine at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia.

"Basically it's looking at a series of applications you could use to make regenerative medicine, to see how you would go about regenerating tissue using stem cells," Lara said.

"I'm not entirely sure how in-depth we will go into the programme, but we'll be undergoing a series of experiments and research."

Lara was nominated for the BIYSC by her biology teacher Mrs Daddy and had to answer several questions and provide references to support her application.

"I was so overwhelmed and excited to see that I actually got in, it wasn't something that I thought would happen," she said.

"I've always had a passion for science, ever since I started secondary school, it's just something that has always clicked and something that I find so interesting."

Lara said the trip would give her much needed experience.

"Going to that university is going to give me a lot to bring back and apply at home," she said.

"My dad's a doctor and my mum used to be a nurse, so becoming a doctor is a childhood passion that I had, mostly to be able to help out the community around me."

Lara was looking forward to seeing the sights of the Spanish city in her spare time. She said the main aim of the programme was to get students passionate about science.

"What goes on in the world is amazing, its processes and how it got to be where it's at through science is something that I've always found quite fascinating.

"Even though we probably won't be solving the world's problems within the two weeks, I think they really just want us to be passionate enough to go forward into the future."