junior engineer academy
TRANSCRIPT
Junior Engineer AcademyEngineering education in cooperation with European partner schools
Engineering is Comingto School!
DEUTSCHEFASSUNG: BITTE
WENDEN!
2
Contents
3 Foreword
4 Perspective: Teacher TobiasBauer 5 Unique, Successful Model Preparingyoungpeopleforadigital, engineeredworld 6 Favorite Class: Engineering! HowtheJuniorEngineerAcademy
works
8 JEA Goes European SchoolpartnershipsinCentral, EasternandSoutheasternEurope
10 Perspective: Student RebeccaSchöller
11 Practical Tips HowtobenefitfromtheJunior EngineerAcademy'sexperiences
14 Perspective: Company StefanKriester
15 The Benefits Howtheprojecthelpsschools,
studentsandpartners
16 Deutsche Telekom Stiftung Aboutusandcontactdetails
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DeutscheTelekomStiftungisafoundationthathasbeencommittedtoimprovingeducationinscience,technology,engineeringandmathematics(theSTEMsubjects)sinceitsfoundingin2003.In2005,wecreatedtheJuniorEngineerAcademytosparkstudents’interestinengineeringanddosomethingtoaddressthegrowingshortageofengineers.Thismodelforexciting,hands-onengineeringclasshastakenrootatnearly80schoolsthroughoutGermanyandspawnedaraftofimitators.
Now,wewanttostepoutsideGermany’sbordersandshareourexperiencewiththissuccessfulprogramwithinterestedpartnersinothercountries.DeutscheTelekomStiftungfeelsverystronglyaboutEuropeanintegration.Throughthisexchange,ouraimistolearnwhatmethodsandapproachesourEuropeanpartnersusetoteachscienceandengineeringattheirschools.
IhopethataninternationaldialogthroughtheJuniorEngineerAcademywillstartalivelyexchangeaboutgoodSTEMeducation.
Prof. Wolfgang SchusterChairmanofDeutscheTelekomStiftung
JUNIOR ENGINEER ACADEMYJEA
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THE JEA MOTIVATES
AND FASCINATES MY
STUDENTS. MANY HAVE
SUDDENLY REALIZED HOW
MUCH THOUGHT AND
VISION GOES INTO THE
TECHNOLOGY THAT WE
USE EVERY DAY. AND FEW
THINGS INSPIRE STUDENTS
AS MUCH AS A PROJECT
WHERE THEY MAKE THEIR
VERY OWN SOPHISTICATED
PRODUCT.
TobiasBauer,high-schoolengineeringteacheratGymnasium
BayreutherStraßeinWuppertal
5Deutsche Telekom Stiftung
Engineersaresomeofthemostsought-afterworkersintheworld.However,manyyoungpeoplestillchooseothercareers.Sometimes,it’sbecausetheydon’tknowwhatengineersdo.Some-times,it’sbecauseschoolsareunabletonurturedeeperinterestinscienceandtechnologyontheirown.
Thatisunfortunate:asolidSTEMeduca-tion(science,technology,engineeringandmathematics)andgoodmediaskillsaremoreimportantthaneverbefore.Andnotjustforafuturecareer.Ourglobalizedworldisbecomingincreasinglydigitalizedandengineered.Youngpeoplecanonlybecomevaluedmembersofsocietywithfulfillinglivesandsuccessfulcareersiftheylearnbasicscience,technologyandcomputingskillsaspartoftheirgeneraleducation.
Unique, Successful ModelTheJuniorEngineerAcademypreparesyoungpeopleforanincreasinglydigital,engineeredworld.
Knowingthis,DeutscheTelekomStiftungdecidedin2005todeveloptheJuniorEngineerAcademy.TheJEAisauniquelyhands-onmodelforteachingstudentsscienceandengineeringinahighlyrelata-bleway.Studentsindependentlydevelopsolutionstoreal-lifeengineeringproblems–andacquireanewfoundinterestinsci-enceandtechnologyintheprocess.
Today,overtenyearsaftertheprogrambegan,theJuniorEngineerAcademyisahighlyregardedsuccessfulmodel.Over3,500studentsaged13to15haveattendedJuniorEngineerAcademies.Manyofthembenefitedtremendouslyfromtheexperiencewhenchoosingcareersorcollegeprograms.
DeutscheTelekomStiftungsharesitsknowledgeandprojectexperiencewithallGermanandinternationalschoolsinter-estedingivingtheirstudentsanentirelynewperspectiveonscienceandtechnol-ogybynetworkingwithcompaniesanduniversities.
JUNIOR ENGINEER ACADEMYJEA
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Moststudentshavenoideawhatengi-neersdoorhowelectricvehicles,steelplantsorrobotswork.Buttheseareevery-daytopicsforstudentsataJuniorEngi-neerAcademy.Thehands-onapproachshowstheteenagershowengineersandscientistsresearchandwork–notjustintheory,butinpracticeaswell.
AJuniorEngineerAcademycreatesspaceintheschoolscheduleforaninterdisci-plinaryscienceandtechnologyclass.Beingatwo-yearprogram,JEAisfirmlyintegratedintheschoolcurriculum.Mostimportantly,ithastheschoolsworkwithcompaniesanduniversitiesinteachingthematerial.
Favorite Class: Engineering!EveryJuniorEngineerAcademyrevolvesaroundcombiningtheoryandpracticeinanexcitingway.
Thechoiceofmaterialisentirelyuptotheschools.Manyprojectscanbevehiclesforteachingscienceandtechnologytopicsinanaccessibleway:fromprogrammingamobileapptobuildingaphotovoltaicsys-tem.Close,frequentcontactwithprojectpartnersgivesstudentsuniqueinsightintopossiblecareersorstudycourses.TheycannetworkwithtrainingmanagersandtraineesatparticipatingcompaniesorexploreSTEMmajorsandexperiencecol-legelifeatpartneruniversities.
SettingupaJuniorEngineerAcademyobviouslyhelpsstudentsandteachers.What’ssurprising,though,ishowmuchithelpstheentireschool.Thenewclasscreatespermanentlinksbetweenschoolsandcompaniesoruniversitiesandhelpstodevelopaspecificprofileinscienceandengineering.
DeutscheTelekomStiftung
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JUNIOR ENGINEER ACADEMYJEA
Excitingprojectscomefrompartnershipswithcompaniesanduniversities.Herearesixexamples:
Walking on MarsSpace:thefinalfrontier.InAachen,juniorengineerscanstrideacrosstheRedPlanetinalifelikesimulationonthelocaluni-versity’sholodeck.Theteenag-ersalsogettobuildandprogramtheirownrobotswithexpertguid-ancefromscientistsandengi-neersathigh-techcompanies.
Good ConnectionsGluecanholdtogetherobjectsaslargeasacarbody,asstudentsatahighschoolnearBremenlearnfromindustrypartnerMercedesBenz.Theteensapplytheirnew-foundknowledgetobuildingcarmodelsoftheirown–alongwithacrashtrackfortestingthesturdi-nessoftheirdesigns.
From Ore to Steel Solar SailingStudentsinindustrializedDuis-
burgnotonlylearnhoworeandcoalbecomesteel,buttheygettomakepigironthemselves–allthankstoafurnacesimulatoratthelocaluniversity.Theironisthenforgedforaslongasit’shot.
Studentsatanacademicsecond-aryschoolnearBonnlaunchedtheirownhome-madespeed-boat.Theboatwaspoweredbyfoursolarmodulesinstalledbythestudentsthemselves.Inaddi-tiontoroamingtheRhineforsev-eralhours,thevesselwasthenalsopresentedatanenergyfairandreachedthefinalroundoftheFocusstudentcompetition.
The RainmakersElectrifyingThejuniorengineersatahigh
schoolnearColognearelearn-ingaboutwindandtheweather.TheyvisittheweatherdeskatTVstationRTLtoseefirst-handhowmeteorologicaldataissiftedandanalyzedtoproduceadailyweatherforecast.Stationemploy-eesthenhelpthempreparetheirownweatherforecastsandtrytheirhandatpresentingtheminthestudio.
JuniorEngineersfromtheRhine-landexperiencedahigh-voltageprogram.Inthethemesessiononpowerengineeringandsup-ply,thestudentsfromaschoolinMoerswereabletotakeafirst-handlookattheday-to-dayworkatalocalpowerutility.Thehighpointofthedaywasjustthat:thestudentsgottheopportunitytoclimbapowerpylonthemselves.
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MoreandmoreGermanschoolshavelaunchedJuniorEngineerAcademiesbecausetheymakelearningabouttech-nologyfun,accessibleandhands-on.Theirtrackrecordisimpressive,too.In2016,DeutscheTelekomStiftungdecidedtosharethebenefitsofthisuniquepro-gramwithschoolsinCentral,EasternandSoutheasternEurope,particularlyinAlba-nia,Croatia,theCzechRepublic,Greece,Hungary,Poland,RomaniaandSlovakia.
JEA Goes EuropeanThisuniqueprojectiscomingtoschoolsandstudentsoutsideGermany.
ExistingJEAsinGermanyareusedtoestablishinternationalschoolpartner-shipsinwhichbothsidescollaborateonscienceandtechnologyprojects.Inaddi-tiontoacquiringengineeringknow-how,studentsandteachersalsogettoimprovetheirinterculturalandforeignlanguageskills.
Thecollaborationconsistsofthefollowingactivities:
TeachersfromGermanyandthepartnercountriesvisitoneanotherinordertoprepareforexchanges.
Duringanexchange,studentsatthepartnerschoolscollaborateonengi-neeringprojects.
TeachersfromthepartnercountriescanattendtheGermanprojectnetwork’sannualconferencesandsharetheirJEAexperienceswithcolleagues.
SchoolsinpartnercountriescangetintouchwithschoolsinGermanythroughacontactseminar.
9Deutsche Telekom Stiftung
Inthisproject,DeutscheTelekomStiftungcooperateswithtwoGermaninstitutionsthathavealongtrackrecord,extensiveexperienceandalargenetworkofforeignschools:
Educational Exchange ServiceSince1952,theEducationalExchangeService(“PädagogischerAustausch-dienst”orPAD)hasbeentheonlygovern-mentinstitutioninvolvedininternationalexchangesandscholasticcollaborationundertheauspicesofthestateministersofeducationandculturalaffairs.PADhasbeenthenationalagencyforEUschoolprogramssince1995aswell.
Central Agency for German Schools AbroadTheCentralAgencyforGermanSchoolsAbroademploysapprox.90staffmem-bersand50advisorstoadvanceitsinter-nationalmission.Itprovidesstaffingandfinancialsupportforaround1,200schoolsworldwide,including140Germanschoolsabroadthataregenerallyman-agedinpublic-privatepartnerships.Theseinstitutionsarestaffedbyabout2,000foreignserviceteachers,programteach-ersandadvisors.Whileworkingabroad,theseindividualsreceiveorganizational,educationalandfinancialassistancefromtheCentralAgencyforGermanSchoolsAbroad.
JUNIOR ENGINEER ACADEMYJEA
GERMANY
POLAND
CZECH REPUBLIC SLOVAKIA
HUNGARY
ALBANIA
CROATIA
ROMANIA
GREECE
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RebeccaSchöller,JEAstudentatAlexander-von-Humboldt-
GymnasiuminSchweinfurt
WE GET TO TRY OUT A LOT
OF THINGS OURSELVES IN
THE JEA: WE LEARN HOW
TO USE MEASURING IN-
STRUMENTS AND BUILD
ROBOTS THAT TRACK THE
SUN. I LIKE THE FACT THAT
WE CAN EXPLORE CAREERS
THAT WE HAD NEVER EVEN
HEARD OF. THAT’S A GOOD
ENOUGH REASON FOR ME
TO STAY AT SCHOOL LATER
EVERY NOW AND THEN.
11Deutsche Telekom Stiftung
Doyouwanttousetheapproachpio-neeredbytheJuniorEngineerAcademytomaketechnologyclassesamoreinte-gralpartofyourschool’scurriculum?Tohelpyou,we’veputtogethersometipsfordesigning,preparingandimplementingaJuniorEngineerAcademy.
1. Baseline
TheJuniorEngineerAcademyisaSTEMeducationalprojectconductedincoop-erationwithuniversityandindustrypart-ners.First,findoutwhatyourschoolandlocalcommunityhavetooffer:Aretherealreadyscienceandtechnologyprojectsatyourschool?Whatcompaniesandscien-tificinstitutionsarelocatedinyourregion?Whattopicscanyoucoverwithpoten-tialpartners?Whathumanandfinancialresourcescanthepartnerscontribute?
2. Preparation Phase
Building an External NetworkBeforeyoustartoutliningyourJuniorEngineerAcademy,it’sworthcheckingwhetheryouhaveanycontactsyoucanuseforajointengineeringproject:Whatcompaniesoruniversitieshaverelation-shipswithyourschoolthroughactivitiessuchaspresentations,companytours,
Practical TipsHere'showtobenefitfromtheJuniorEngineerAcademy'sexperiences.
studentinternshipsorcompetitions?Whatotherlocalcompaniesandresearchinstitutionscouldpotentiallyserveaspartners?
Planning EngineeringprojectsliketheJuniorEngi-neerAcademycombineappliedprojectswithpreparatoryandfollow-uplessonsonthetheorybehindtheprojects.Whendevelopingateachingplan,youshouldmakesuretogivestudentsasmanyoppor-tunitiesaspossibletoworkonreal-lifepro-jectsanddevelopengineeringsolutionsontheirown.Whateverfieldyourengineeringprojecttackles,yourteachingplanshouldcovereveryphaseoftheproject.Thefol-lowingquestionscanhelpwithplanning:
Whatspecificengineeringproblemwillstudentsbeattemptingtosolve?
Howdoyouwantthemtodothework?
Whattoolsdoyouwantthemtouse,andtowhatend?
Howshouldstudentsevaluatetheresult?
Whatarethespecificlearningobjectives?
JUNIOR ENGINEER ACADEMYJEA
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Toidentifyareasofinterestforengineer-ingprojects,youshouldcompareyourschool’sresourcesandcapabilitieswiththoseofpotentialuniversityandindus-trypartners.Canthepartnersprovideinsightsintoengineeringeducationandcareers?ArethereanySTEMsubjectsthatcouldbefruitfullyexploredtogetherwithparticipatingcompaniesanduniversities?Thesesubjectsshouldbeintegratedintoeverypartofyourteachingplan.
Scheduling Class Times and LocationsTheJuniorEngineerAcademyisatwo-yearprogram.Itisdesignedtobelong-terminordertohavealastingimpactonstudents.JEAclassesarebestscheduledattheendofaschoolday.Thisway,excur-sionsandinternshipswon’tconflictwiththenextclassperiod.Plus,theclasswillhavemoreflexibilitytoarrangecompanyanduniversityvisits.
Class Size Theidealclasssizedependsontheschool’sneedsandthepartner’sresources.Schoolsgenerallytrytomakeclassesaslargeaspossibleduetotheavailablenumberofhours.Universitiesandcompanies,bycontrast,oftenprefersmallerclassesinordertogivestudents
thebestpossibleworkconditionsinlab-oratoriesandworkshops.Agoodruleofthumbistokeeptheclasssizebetween15and20students.
3. Project Phase
Kick-Off Event WerecommendholdingaspecialeventtokickoffaJEAasaspecialeducationalproject.Thiscanbedoneattheschooloratthepartnercompanyoruniversity.Thisisagoodopportunityfortheprincipal,teachersandpartnerrepresentativestointroducethemselvessothestudentsandtheirparentsknowwhattheprojecthasinstoreforthem.
Implementation EachJuniorEngineerAcademydevelopsauniqueprofileduringplanningandexe-cution,largelybasedontheprojecttopicsandthepartners’resources.Itisimpor-tanttoalternatemeetingplacesbetweentheschool,universityandcompanyinthecourseoftheproject.
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Studentgradescanbebasedontestsaswellasthefollowingmodulesandcriteria:
DocumentationDiary/folderWrittenexaminationsOralexaminationsParticipationFinalpresentation
Media and Public Relations AstheJuniorEngineerAcademyisaveryspecialproject,wethinkitdeservesagooddealofmediaattention.Luckily,itconsistsofnumerousactivitiesthatmakeexcellentnewsstories.Kick-offevents,closingcere-monies,excursions,tradefairvisits,tradeshowpresentationsandopen-housedaysareallexcellentPRopportunities.
4. Final Phase
Closing CeremonyEveryJuniorEngineerAcademyshouldfinishwithaclosingceremony.Itgivesstudentsanoutstandingopportunitytopresenttheirprojectideaandresultstoanadmiringaudiencemadeupofparents,teachers,fellowstudents,representativesofparticipatingcompaniesanduniversi-tiesandpossiblyevenjournalists.Thisisalsoanidealoccasionforpresentingstu-dentswiththeircertificatesofsuccessfulparticipation.
EvaluationOncetheprojectisdone,teachers,stu-dentsandcooperationpartnersshouldjointlyevaluatetheJuniorEngineerAcad-emyinordertodocumenttheirexperi-encesforfuturereference.Theycanalsoexploreopportunitiesforimprovementandfurtherdevelopment.ThestudentscanevaluatetheAcademyusingaques-tionnaire,forexample.Itisalsoagoodideatocomparenoteswiththeparticipat-ingpartnersandtalkaboutfutureJEApro-jectsaswell.
JUNIOR ENGINEER ACADEMYJEA
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StefanKriester,mastertraineratPorscheLeipzig
AS A JEA PARTNER, WE
GET KIDS EXCITED ABOUT
REAL-LIFE ENGINEERING.
WE HAVE THEM TAKE
APART A 911 ENGINE
OR RUN CABLES FOR
LIGHTING EQUIPMENT.
FOR US, THIS IS ABOUT
MORE THAN PROMOTING
YOUNG TALENT. WE ALSO
FEEL THAT WE HAVE A
RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP
SCHOOLS PROVIDE CAREER
GUIDANCE.
15Deutsche Telekom Stiftung
The BenefitsEveryJEAowesitssuccesstothejointeffortsofmanypeople.Andallthepartnersbenefitfromtheproject.
Students … Getafirst-handglimpseofscienceand
engineeringmajorsandcareers. Learnabouttechnologybyapplyingitto
realproblemsanddevelopingtheirownengineeringsolutions.
Learnhowtousespecialequipmentandapplications.
Buildnetworksfortheirfuturecareersoruniversityeducation.
Gainprojectexperienceearlyon. Improvetheirteamworkandcommunica-
tionsskills.
Schools … Strengthentheirreputationsas
STEMleaders. Addreal-lifeprojectsandapplications
totheircurriculum. Connectwithcompetentpartnersin
industryandacademia. Receiveaccesstoadvancedequipment
andmaterialsnotnormallyfoundinaschoolsetting.
Benefitfromparticipatinginaregionalnetworkwithindustryanduniversitypartners.
Companies … Getstudentsinterestedinpotential
careersintheirindustry. Buildrelationshipswithschoolsfor
fillinginternshipsandtraineeships. Canpresentthemselvesaspotential
employers. Startdevelopingyoungtalentamong
atanearlyage. Positionthemselvesasalocal
educationpartner.
Universities … Easethetransitionfromschooltocollege. Educatehighschoolstudentsabout
STEMmajors. StartdevelopingyoungSTEMtalentatan
earlyage. establishlinkstocompanies.
JUNIOR ENGINEER ACADEMYJEA
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DeutscheTelekomStiftung
ContactSandra HeidemannProjectManagerJuniorEngineerAcademy
DeutscheTelekomStiftungGraurheindorferStraße15353117BonnPhone: +49228181-92012Fax: [email protected]
DeutscheTelekomStiftungisafoundationestablishedin2003tostrengthenGermany'spositionasaneducation,researchandtechnologyleader.WithanendowmentofEUR150million,itisoneofthecountry'smajorcorporatefoundations.CenteredonimprovingeducationinSci-ence,Technology,EngineeringandMathematics(STEM)aswellasindigitallearning,itsactivitiescovertheentireeducationalchain:fromearlyeducationandlearninginandoutofschool,toteachereducationandtraining.AndDeutscheTelekomStiftungiscommittedequallytopro-vidingbroadsupportaswellasfosteringthehightalentsoftomorrow.
Deutsche Telekom Stiftung
www.telekom-stiftung.de/jea
JUNIOR ENGINEER ACADEMY JEA