The school seminars at the campus innovation-kultur (CIK) in kronach attracted a great deal of interest. Young people are given the first tools they need to get started with a business idea later on. 34 schoolchildren from the district, divided into eleven teams, are currently taking part in the school seminars.
Four of them are jule ditsche, hanna schmidt, julian koller and christin kuhnlein. Since the beginning of the school year, the 16-year-olds have been meeting voluntarily every 14 days for around 60 minutes at the campus innovation-kultur (CIK), which is located at loewe. There, under the guidance of the CIK’s managing director, thomas kneitz, they deal with business and the founding of start-ups. They deal with economic topics, giving them knowledge and understanding of economic contexts.
He is interested in economic topics, which is why he attends the school seminars, says christian kuhnlein. Here you learn a lot about economic relationships. His grandfather had been an employee at loewe AG, he had always told about his employer and everyday working life. That sparked his interest in business, says julian koller.
The four participants have no regrets about investing their free time in attending the school seminars. They could ask any questions they had about the economy and business start-ups, explained ditsche. For example, what are companies, what do companies mean?
Julian koller says that attending school seminars has enabled them to gain experience that is not offered in the classroom in the same way.
Companies from the inside
The fact that companies are also visited as part of the school seminars was seen as positive by everyone. They not only get to know the companies and their career prospects, but they also get to talk to entrepreneurs. You learn about their lives, their achievements, but also about their defeats and disappointments. Hanna schmidt even speaks of a knowledge advantage over her peers.
And the managing director, thomas kneitz, has also learned in the meantime. He had never imagined the complex questions that would be asked during the meetings. For example, what about the sectoral structure of an economy?? Or: what is the s-curve concept in innovation management all about?? This shows that young people are very interested in the school seminars. He is always amazed at the creativity that is expressed when it comes to founding a business.
The special thing about the school seminars, says kneitz, is that the students don’t necessarily have to come to kronach. For example, he visited school teams in windheim, in teuschnitz and in stockheim town hall.
For julian koller, it is clear that they can gain experience during the school seminar that they can put to good use in their later lives. In addition, the visit helps employees to find a job. And this is what the four young participants are currently working on. And some of them can even imagine starting their own business in later years.
The four young people will now be presented at the first graduation gala "school seminar be part of it. This event will take place on 25. January 2019 at 6 p.M. In the rennsteighalle in steinbach. Then the young people will tell the visitors about their experiences at the school seminar.
Thomas kneitz explained that the school teams will also have developed a start-up idea and participated in a final competition by then. Among other things, this will test their knowledge of "running a business" and "foundations of start-ups queried.
He also emphasizes that the school seminars do not replace economics in the classroom. But the CIK is working with schools and the school/economy working group. He is convinced that the school seminars are a win-win situation both for the young people and for the district. And he emphasizes: the goal of the school seminars is for young people to recognize their possibilities and potential and later use it at home.