Quelle: Körber-Stiftung/Jann Wilken

STEM skills form the basis for the economic future opportunities of our region. Reason enough for us to put the promotion of these skills and enthusiasm for STEM topics on our agenda. This does not only focus on the next generation for technical courses of study. The opportunities offered by the numerous apprenticeships that build on previous technical knowledge are also highlighted.

After being named one of seven "MINT-Plus Regions" nationwide by the Stifterverband and the Körber Foundation at the beginning of 2017, this was followed by the funding of several promising projects and the expansion of the MINT Hub Rhineland-Palatinate to the West Palatinate.

As a BMBF-funded regional cluster of the "MINT-Region Westpfalz", we are now increasingly dedicated to the topic of STEM education since fall 2022. Our goal is to get children and young people excited about STEM topics and to promote their skills. During an initial project period of three years, stakeholders in STEM education will be networked more closely and new forms of collaboration will be tested. The numerous offers already available will be made more visible and more easily accessible.

To this end, STEM experience sites are being created in the Western Palatinate, where children and young people can experience STEM topics in a very practical way in their free time. If possible, experience sites are to be created in the "Dynamikum Pirmasens", in the "Competence Center Environmental-Technology-Social" at the garden show in Kaiserslautern and in the planned "Medi-O-Thek" in Zweibrücken. In addition, offerings will also be brought to rural areas and to places where children and young people spend their free time anyway. In collaboration with universities, companies and other institutions, an exciting program will be created that will encourage children and young people to engage with scientific and technical issues.

You can find many interesting offers and details about the MINT network on the MINT education website at westpfalz.de.

Project period: since the end of 2015

Projektpartner: Technische Universität Kaiserslautern | Hochschule Kaiserslautern | Körber-Stiftung | MINT-Geschäftsstelle Rheinland-Pfalz | IHK Pfalz | HWK Pfalz | Science and Innovation Alliance Kaiserslautern | Wissensfabrik | IB Südwest gGmbH | Dynamikum Pirmasens e.V. | Bildungsbüro Stadt Kaiserslautern and more.