The project “Science goes to School” received the Hochschulperle award by the Stifterverband in January. Each month, remarkable and innovative projects at universities in Germany receive this award. “Science goes to School” sends international PhD students to Dresden schools and wants to promote tolerance through science.
Multinational teams of young PhD students enrolled in the Dresden International PhD Program (DIPP) offer a two hour-workshop for students in grades 8-12 with experiments run in English at Dresden schools. In addition to the scientific work, students can discuss topics like choosing university studies, the everyday work routine of a scientist or career opportunities – in English. The PhD students want young people to become curious about science and to train their ability to work with people from other countries or cultures. This commitment for more tolerance through science has now been rewarded with the Hochschulperle award by the Stifterverband. The project wants to demonstrate that open-mindedness and curiosity are key for success in science and in society; it’s the ideas of people that count, and not where they are from nor how they look like.
The project “Science goes to School” was founded in 2009 as a reaction to the murder of the Egyptian woman Marwa El-Sherbin in a Dresden court room – her husband was a student of the DIPP. “Science goes to School” was awarded the Saxony integration award in 2011. Out of all projects presented each month, a winner will be elected by internet vote at the end of the year.