NEWS

On Wednesday, 8 March 2017, Achim Preuß, Head of the Department for Occupational Orientation at Baden-Württemberg’s Ministry of Education, paid a visit to KERN-LIEBERS’ training department. Together with Mrs. Magdalena Jäckle, staff member of the educational institution CJD Offenburg, he wanted to find out more about a unique educational initiative of the Schramberg-based tech-company.

Each year, the KERN-LIEBERS training department runs an extended internship program in cooperation with the Leibniz-Gymnasium, a secondary school in nearby Rottweil. The so-called BOGY program, a one-week internship program mandatory for each secondary school student in Germany, is carried out at KERN-LIEBERS with an additional six Wednesday afternoons. This way, the students can gain deeper insight into the working environment of a leading technology company, and gather practical experience by participating in exciting projects.

This year, the aim is to independently build a catapult. The four participating students of the Leibniz-Gymnasium are supported by three KERN-LIEBERS trainees from the field of metal processing and by two electronics trainees. The students learn how to plan and carry out a project on their own with the help of various techniques such as CAD-drawing, CNC-milling, drilling and assembly, as well as by reading and interpreting drawings. Furthermore, they acquire a basic understanding of electrical engineering.  

During their visit, Mr. Preuß and Mrs. Jäckle were excited to learn about the many different options KERN-LIEBERS has to offer. The participating students and trainees proudly talked about their experiences and impressions gathered during the project so far. Andreas Bitzer, Head of Training at KERN-LIEBERS, told the visitors all about the successful program and the long lasting cooperation between the company and the Rottweil-based school.

Silke Pach, responsible for occupational orientation at the Leibniz-Gymnasium, affirmed to be more than happy about the once again effective collaboration. The Leibniz-Gymnasium was even nominated as best-practice example, Pach told, since it successfully shows the options schools have to implement measures for occupational orientation.  

Once the project is finished, the catapult will be handed over to the Leibniz-Gymnasium. There, it will be used to make mathematical and physical calculations regarding flight paths, speed, and spring tension.

 

Picture from left to right: Patrick Pedde, Michael Wilhelm, Dominik Homuth, Nico Frödert, Jannik Waller (KERN-LIEBERS trainees), Andreas Bitzer (Head of Training, KERN-LIEBERS), Achim Preuß (Head of the Department for Occupational Orientation at the Ministry of Education), Magdalena Jäckle (CJD Offenburg), Moriz Böhm, Kseniya Isyemini, Corvin Gronauer, Timo Schuhmacher (students of the Leibniz-Gymnasium), Martin Hofferberth (Head of Corporate HR, KERN-LIEBERS), Silke Pach (Responsible for Occupational Orientation, Leibniz- Gymnasium).