Makeathon Workshops - a 鈥淟ighthouse Project鈥� at this year's MINT-EC School Management Conference in Frankfurt, Germany
Under the motto: New impulses, strong networks, and outstanding school projects, school principals and science teachers representing 345 schools of the German Excellence Schools Network MINT-EC met at the Frankfurt School of Finance & management for advanced training and explore new concepts and future projects.
The conference offered interesting expert keynotes, exciting presentations and more than 30 workshops on school management, STEM teaching and networking.
Highlights of the event included the admission to the network acceptance of three new schools with outstanding STEM profiles into the network, the presentation of new subject clusters for specialist teachers and the election of the winners of the MINT-EC school competition sponsored by the Dr. Hans Riegel Foundation, on the topic of "Climate change in and at school." An education market with booths from German companies and universities, as well as presentations on concepts and exciting projects from MINT-EC schools filled out the two-day program. The featured Makeathon project, a collaboration between the GISW and Gymnasium H枚chstadt in Bavaria attracted the interest of many visitors. Incidentally, the original idea for this collaboration was developed at a similar network school management conference in 2019!
Prof. Dr. Doris Lewalter from the Technical University of Munich spoke on the topic of "STEM education in Germany and perspectives for the future鈥�. She emphasized the persistent shortage of skilled workers in the STEM sector, which is also felt outside of Germany, and underlined the importance of more such networking among schools, educational institutions and commercial enterprises. STEM education is often hobbled by the cost, which is why support from business and industry is crucial.
With its varied STEM programs, the GISW is on the right track. The Makeathon project was featured in the MINT-EC publication under the heading "Sustainability and Technology - Awakening the Entrepreneurial Spirit in School Lessons" at the end of last year.
Steffi Colopy
STEM Coordinator
