As the school year draws to a close, the chemistry department traditionally welcomes interested students to various events at the HSZG.

Mr. Krýstian Budkiewicz from Augustum-Annen-Gymnasium Görlitz opened the activities in a two-week student internship. The ninth grader was able to gain an insight into the course of lectures, seminars and practicals in the fields of biotechnology, chemistry and ecology. The two weeks flew by and Krýstian was very interested in the subject. Thanks to the dedicated lecturers, he can well imagine studying at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences later on.

On June 14/15, 2017, the chemistry department, in cooperation with the Bautzen regional education authority, invited Year 11 pupils from grammar schools in eastern Saxony to the 16th specialist camp. 15 students from Kamenz, Seifhennersdorf, Weißwasser and Zittau responded to this year's invitation.

Emeritus Prof. Klaus Seibt discussed the topic "Solubility of gypsum" in a lecture. The students were then able to apply the theoretical knowledge they had acquired in practical laboratory experiments and evaluate and discuss the results of the experiment together with the specialist staff.

After dinner in the center of Zittau, Jochen Kaminsky took the students on an entertaining night watchman's tour of the city center. The students spent the night in modern dormitory rooms, which were kindly provided by the Studentenwerk Dresden.

The second day started with a hearty breakfast in the canteen. Afterwards, the students were given a brief insight into the theory and practice of the synthesis and application of organic dyes in the halls of organic chemistry. Perfume and soap were produced, which the students were able to take home with them at the end. At the degree of the event, all participants received certificates and a small souvenir gift.

On June 20, this year's final competition in the Chemistry Olympiad for year 9 took place. This is prepared and held every year in cooperation with the Saxon Education Agency, Bautzen regional office, and the chemistry department.

The five best teams of students who made it through to the first stage of the competition in the grammar schools competed for the best possible ranking in chemical calculations and experimental tasks. This year, teams from the following grammar schools qualified for the final round: Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Gymnasium Großröhrsdorf, Lessing-Gymnasium Kamenz, Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium Löbau, Landau-Gymnasium Weißwasser and Immanuel-Kant-Gymnasium Wilthen.

In the end, the team from Löbau was just ahead of the students from Kamenz and Großröhrsdorf. Ultimately, however, all the pupils could feel like winners, because the joy of scientific work and experimentation - and thus the Olympic idea, so to speak - was always in the foreground. After the award ceremony and presentation of prizes to all the teams, a short chemistry show lecture with numerous interesting experiments was held for the students and guests. The chemical background to the experiments was also explained to the audience.

Scientific work, chemical experimentation and joint discussion over cake or ice cream formed the framework in which the pupils acted - with very positive results.

In addition to the Saxon Education Agency, the events were supported by the Fonds der Chemischen Industrie (FCI) in the Verband der Chemischen Industrie (VCI), the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh) and Cornelsen-Verlag. Many thanks go to all the participating students, the faculty staff involved and to Mr Liebner from Geschwister-Scholl-Gymnasium Löbau, who, as every year, was largely responsible for organizing the events.