The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor attests to a rather low level of entrepreneurial initiative among German young people in an international comparison. Now the Upper Franconian SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT networks are bringing the non-profit organization STARTUP TEENS to the region to bring the topic of business start-ups and coding to life for students in Upper Franconia.
The High Franconian SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT networks agree, the topics of business start-ups and “entrepreneurial thinking” are of great importance to the region’s students. Even though many people think of older gentlemen in large offices with dark wooden desks when they hear the word “entrepreneurship”, the topic is now very much in vogue thanks to shows like “Die Höhle der Löwen”. The STARTUP TEENS initiative is aimed at students of all school types aged 14-19 and offers various modules to introduce them to the topics of start-ups, entrepreneurial thinking and coding. With various events, the initiators want to arouse the students’ interest and slowly introduce them to the start-up scene
Trying things out in the MakerSpace
The first event was a vacation afternoon in the Makerspace at Hof University of Applied Sciences during the summer vacations. Under the motto “Meet Up – Make Up”, there were various hands-on stations, such as 3D printers or a CO2 laser cutter. 10 students from different schools in the city and district of Hof as well as the district of Wunsiedel took up the offer and were impressed by the possibilities the Makerspace offered them
“We want to show young people how they can put their own ideas into practice and make the StartUpScene tangible and experienceable,” said Professor Anke Müller, project manager of the Makerspace at Hof University of Applied Sciences, and Jörg Raithel, project coordinator of theStartupLab
We want to encourage young people to get involved with the topic of starting a business.”
Prof. Dr. Anke Müller
Dr. Dorothee Strunz, chairwoman for the area of business in the NetzwerkSCHULEWIRTSCHAFT
Hof is certain:
Anyone who deals with the topic of starting a business develops a mindset that will help them in all situations in life. Finding ideas, realizing them and solving problems that arise during realization – these are all competencies that help young people move forward.
Dr. Dorothee Strunz
This opinion is shared by Hauke Schwiezer, co-founder and managing director ofSTARTUP
TEENS: “Germany needs more innovation again, and for that our students sometimes need a helping hand.” And further
Many young people have talents and good ideas, but they do not feel empowered by school to implement these ideas. And that’s where STARTUPTEENS comes in!”
Hauke Schwiezer, Managing Director STARTUP TEENS
Sebastian Rott, chairman of the school division of the SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT Wunsiedel network, also supports the cooperation with STARTUP TEENS
It is important for our students to leave their comfort zone once in a while. The variety of extracurricular events also promotes skills such as teamwork, risk-taking and independence. Future apprentices also need these key skills
Sebastian Rott, SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT Wunsiedel
And the next event is already in the starting blocks: an excursion to myboshi, a famous StartUp of the region, which has become an integral part of the entrepreneurial landscape in the district of Hof. On September 23rd from 3:00 p.m., participants can get a taste of real founder air and learn how a crocheted hat became an internationally active company. Registrations are still possible up to 22 September under: www.schulewirtschaft-bayern.de/netzwerk/hof/projekte in the range “STARTUP TEENS”.
Live streaming event with Dorothee Bär in October
Shortly thereafter follows then a large live Streaming Event for the entire region on 06 October 2021 over YouTube. On the topic of “Networking – Your Career Booster!”, well-known regional and national personalities from politics, the corporate landscape and the start-up scene will take part. In addition to Johanna Strunz, Managing Director of LAMILUX in Rehau, who will be moderating the event, the event will be attended by Dorothee Bär, Member of the German Bundestag and Minister of State for Digitalization, Laura Tönnies, founder of the technology company Corrux, Daniel Krauss, founder of FlixBus, and Tobias Herberhold, founder and shareholder of the trading platform for computer game skins SkinBaron in Hof.
During the live streaming, viewers will have the opportunity to follow the discussion and ask questions to the panelists via a chat function. Finally, the live streaming event is the big kick-off for a long-term cooperation between STARTUP TEENS and the Hochfranken region. Afterwards, interested students will always have the opportunity to participate in various activities of the initiative, to access a Germany-wide mentor network and to take part in the annual business plan challenge organized by STARTUP TEENS, in which 7x 10,000€ are awarded for start-up ideas. Independently from the offered events there is the possibility to register for a newsletter on the website of the network SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT Hof in order not to miss any event.
Background
:STARTUP TEENS
STARTUP TEENS is a non-profit initiative that aims to
anchorthe topics of business start-up
and coding in the minds of students. Interested students between the ages of 14 and 19 have
access toa nationwide
mentoringnetwork of
around 1,000 mentors, who support the students in finding ideas and developing a business plan.
Once a year, the students have the opportunity to
take part ina business plan challenge
with a grand finale at the Axel Springer Building in Berlin,where
they have the chance to win €10,000 seven times.
In addition, STARTUP TEENS organizes live events such as panel discussions or idea camps to connect the young people even better with the start-up scene. But teachers also benefit from over 100 YouTube videos from the areas of start-ups and coding, which they can use in the classroom
StartUpLab at Hof University of Applied Sciences
The StartUpLab is the first point of contact for all questions about entrepreneurshipwithin
Hof University of Applied Sciences. The StartUpLab staff supports all interested parties in developing a business idea or building a startup. The Makerspace located there is a professional workshop with high-tech machines, tools and software and a place to go to realize technical ideas, make prototypes and test them. The showpiece is the BigRep, a 3D printer with a printing volume of one cubic meter. In addition to the BigRep, all members of the university also have access to a number of smaller 3D printers for various plastics, plotters, laser cutters, 3D scanners or special CAD software for constructing models and a wide range of materials
.
SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT networks
In the SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT network, schools and companies work together in partnership to pave the way for young people to enter the world of work. SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT stands for practical career orientation and enables students from Hochfranken to gain first-hand insights into the start-up scene through cooperation with STARTUP TEENS and the StartUpLab of Hof University of Applied Sciences.
