dynaMINT
future needs young talent
More local young talent in STEM subjects to secure the region’s future viability – this is the aim of a new collaboration between the Wittenstein Foundation and the University of Würzburg. The Wittenstein Foundation will provide around one million euros for this purpose over a five-year period.
Fewer and fewer young people are studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics – the so-called STEM subjects”. This shortage could soon have impacts not only within and outside of Germany but first and foremost on the Würzburg region’s economic strength and prosperity.
There is no doubt that Germany has some catching up to do in the STEM sector. The Wittenstein Foundation has joined forces with Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (JMU) to make a vital contribution here. Based in the small south-west German community of Igersheim-Harthausen, the foundation has committed to providing the university with around one million euros over a five-year period. The money will essentially be used to finance two scientific studies investigating extracurricular STEM programs and their effectiveness in the Würzburg / Main-Tauber region. National and international experience will likewise be evaluated and built on.
Studies to identify success factors
The two studies will be coordinated by the university’s M!ND Center. The Mathematics, Information Technology and Natural Sciences Teaching Center networks all teacher training in STEM subjects at JMU and has served as an extracurricular STEM learning laboratory for the Würzburg region ever since it was established in 2009.
Dr. Manfred Wittenstein
"For many years now, a lot of money has been spent in a lot of places on promoting young STEM talent. Clearly, the success of these measures is, at best, no more than modest. We need to dig deeper to find out where, and how, true trigger points are located along with strategies to significantly improve effectiveness. Together with the University of Würzburg, we want to make progress on linked research issues and successfully develop our Hohenlohe-Franconia region from the outset."
“The University of Würzburg and the M!ND Center are ideal partners for our joint research and further development project. We’re convinced that we can make a valuable contribution to overcoming a major challenge in this way, both for us as a region and for society as a whole.”
Dr. Sascha von Berchem