Great recognition for Jena's STEM education

The Jena Student Research Center (SFZ) has been awarded first prize in the "Innovative Student Research Center" competition by the German Association of Student Laboratories.

"This award demonstrates the exceptional performance of our STEM education programs in Jena,"

said Johannes Schleußner, Head of Education, who personally congratulated Dr. Christina Walther and Dr. Birgit Pauly.

The jury emphasized the special effectiveness of the SFZ in everyday school life. The jury's assessment states:

"The Student Research Center Jena stands for STEM education in action. The SFZ is particularly effective throughout the school day: weekly study groups are firmly integrated into school afternoon activities and enable research-based learning without additional work for teachers. In addition, the SFZ supports schools with seminar subject workshops, individual advice, mobile formats and free material rental."

Dr. Birgit Pauly from the SFZ team describes what the award means to her:

"We are really delighted to receive this recognition. It is particularly nice for us to see how positively schools react to our offers. At the same time, we can see how well our open formats are being received - for example, the robotics club for girls only. A nationwide award like this shows us that we are on the right track."

The Jena Student Research Center has been run by the witelo association since 2016. Its Managing Director Dr. Christina Walther puts the award in context:

"The SFZ Jena is 10 years old this year. At the beginning, we didn't have our own premises and therefore held working groups in schools. What began as an emergency solution has developed into stable collaborations with our school partners."

Teachers can request the SFZ Jena for study groups, seminar subject workshops, individual project support and material loans. Children and young people have the opportunity to take part in open courses or subject-specific workshops and receive support with project and specialist work as well as preparation for STEM competitions.