Junior Engineer Academy

Junior Engineer AcademyEngineering education in cooperation with European partner schools

Engineering is Comingto School!

DEUTSCHEFASSUNG: BITTE

WENDEN!

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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.


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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



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.

8 DeutscheTelekomStiftung

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.


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.


GERMANY

POLAND

CZECH REPUBLIC SLOVAKIA

HUNGARY

ALBANIA

CROATIA

ROMANIA

GREECE

10 Deutsche Telekom Stiftung

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.


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?



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.


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.



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.


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.


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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

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Junior Engineer Academy