Soon thirteen schools of Wielkopolska region will be filled with young engineers. This is the effect of the project “Young Engineer’s School”, whose main purpose is the promotion of exact sciences, and in particular robotics, automatics and introduction to programming, among the pupils of primary schools and junior high schools of the Wielkopolska region. The project is organized in cooperation between Volkswagen Poznań and the Foundation for Educational Development of Young Engineers. Internet voting has just been finished, that allowed us to find thirteen winners. These winning schools will receive exceptional sets of prizes for promotion of exact sciences in these institutions.

More than 200 schools from the entire region of Wielkopolska applied for participation in the Project “Young Engineer’s School”. In the period from 15 November until 20 December the Internet users cast their votes online for the selected, previously recorded educational institutions. One user could cast one vote each day. What was decisive for the final victory was the number of votes collected in this way. “Commitment and mobilization among the voters exceeded our greatest expectations. The schools on the top-ranking places obtained several thousand votes. This shows how high the social demand and interest in such initiatives is” – says Monika Hajbowicz, Manager of the Communication Department at Volkswagen Poznań. “We hope that owing to the program, children will share their passion for exact sciences and the key to the hearts and minds of these still very young engineers will be knowledge passed in a modern, interesting and practical way.” – she adds at the end. Each winning school will obtain a unique set of prizes, which will supply knowledge, tools and ideas for promotion of exact sciences in these institutions. Each set is composed of: sets of LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3 for construction and programming of robots with the value of PLN 6000, all-day-long technological festival in the wining school, filled with exceptional presentations of educational stations and workshops in the field of robotics and programming for all pupils of the school, as well as the certified training for two teachers employed at the school in the scope of conducting classes using LEGO® MINDSTORM EV3. “Technical festivals are the feast of science at schools and they include numerous attractions – shows, workshops, exhibitions of educational stations, during which pupils can see how 3D printer works, check what is the strength of their own minds and take part in sumo robots’ competition. During every festival activity the pupils will have a chance to observe, examine, search for and discover the rights and dependencies governing in the surrounding world. – says Patrycja Milecka, Chair of the Foundation for Educational Development of Young Engineers.

List of winners:

1. Bronisław Koszutski Primary School No. 17 with Integrating Classes in Kalisz
2. Wł. Brzeziński Junior High School  in Krajenka
3. School Complex No. 3 in Mąkolno
4. K. K. Baczyński Primary School No. 89 in Poznań
5. Primary School No. 9 with Integrating Classes in Konin
6. Complex of Schools and Junior High Schools in Łubianka - M. Konopnicka Branch School in Głębokie
7. St. Józef Kalasancjusz Piarist Public Primary School in Poznań
8. Primary School in Kamionki
9. Primary School No. 2 in Wronki
10. School Complex in Czacz
11. St. Stanisław Kostka Public Catholic Junior High School in Poznań
12. Janusz Kusociński Primary School in Dolsko
13. Major Henryk Sucharski Junior High School in Giecz