Inspiring enthusiasm for STEM

Five schools in Saxony were recently recognized as “STEM-Friendly Schools” by the national initiative “MINT Zukunft schaffen” during an online event.

What distinguishes a STEM-friendly school? It is characterized by the fact that, in addition to modern technical equipment, the schools also have educational concepts designed to spark greater interest in technical and scientific topics and to teach this knowledge in depth. These concepts are supported and implemented by the entire teaching staff.

The Helmholtzschule-Oberschule in Leipzig was honored with the “STEM-Friendly School” seal for the first time. Four other schools in Leipzig, Crimmitschau, Dresden, and Heidenau received the designation again after three years of successfully developing their STEM profiles. In addition, the Max-Klinger-Schule Leipzig was once again recognized as a “Digital School.”

The Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences (HSZG) was represented with several contributions during the 90-minute online awards ceremony:

Sabine Scholz, who has been a STEM ambassador for many years, congratulated the schools on their awards via a live video link. In her role as an ambassador, she strengthens cooperation with the nationwide network “MINT Zukunft schaffen” and makes national ideas and formats applicable to local work.

Robert Viertel presented two demonstration experiments via YouTube (see below) and, in four 13-minute sessions in the breakout rooms of the online event, shed light on the target audience of Generation Z students: “This generation, born after 2000, is used to thinking big. These young people do not turn a blind eye to current problems and challenges. Fridays for Future is one of many ways this generation expresses itself.”
Interestingly, the use of cell phones and other devices does not diminish many young people’s motivation to succeed. The 2019 Shell Youth Study shows a steadily rising interest in attending high school, especially among girls! The trend toward academic education continues to grow.
“For the transitions between educational institutions—from high school to university—to work, there needs to be good communication between the institutions and engaging event formats,” Scholz and Viertel agree.

With “Studieren probieren” (Try Out College), the HSZG offers a wide range of activities for high school students, including the MINT Trail. This MINT course, consisting of individual stations, combines different disciplines and encourages students to experiment and try things out for themselves. Individual stations can also be offered at schools. For schools located farther away, Viertel recommended combining field trips with an experiment day at the university: “My colleague Christiane Matthieu and I have a few tips up our sleeves for that.”

The “STEM-Friendly Schools” award in Saxony is sponsored by the Saxon State Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Standing Conference of Ministers for Education (KMK), while the “Digital Schools” award is sponsored by the Federal Government Officer for Digitalization.