The Study Compass supports young people from families without academic experience in discovering their potential and finding an individually suitable educational path after graduation. The Hans Hermann Voss Foundation supports the Oberbergischer Kreis program location. Participants receive intensive support and guidance for three years as they make the transition from school to university or to vocational training. In the course of the program, young people learn to shape their educational path independently and make future-oriented career decisions. The support begins in the penultimate school year and accompanies the scholarship holders until the end of the first year of study or training. In addition to training courses and workshops to get to know one’s own strengths, the scholarship includes the teaching of skills that will be required for the working world of the future and key topics such as digital skills, entrepreneurship, cultural education or STEM.
More information about scholarship and application
Support of students in future-oriented STEM topic areas
Since the 2020/2021 winter semester, the Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft (sdw) and the Hans Hermann Voss Foundation have been sponsoring a joint scholarship program. The Hans Hermann Voss scholarship in the sdw is aimed at bachelor’s and master’s students of scientific and technical subjects (MINT) who have graduated from high school in the Oberbergische Kreis, Märkischer Kreis or Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, or who are studying at a university in NRW. In the selection process, special attention is paid to the promotion of first-time graduates, female students, students at universities of applied sciences and students who have completed vocational training in an industrial-technical profession.
The Hans Hermann Voss scholarship is linked to the study scholarship of the Klaus Murmann study support organization and is an additional added value. The scholarship includes of an interdisciplinary support program, monthly financial support, as well as an extended support through a volunteer trustee at the university location. The amount of the scholarship is based on income ratio. Additionally, Hans Hermann Voss scholarship holders in the sdw receive a monthly study allowance, which they can use for personal further qualifications in forward-looking subject areas – for example, for supplementary specialist events or for networking.
Applications are submitted exclusively online via the Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft (sdw).
The smartphone as a mobile physical laboratory
phyphox means “physical phone experiments”. This app turns every smartphone into a physics lab. Smartphones are equipped with a variety of sensors, e.g. for acceleration, magnetic field and pressure, which can be used for physical experiments.
phyphox was developed by the Department of Physics at the RWTH Aachen University. It is a non-profit project with the aim to improve science education in schools worldwide. For example, the frequency of a pendulum or the spectrum of audio signals can be determined in class. The app is free of charge, suitable for Android and iOS and available in many different languages.
The support of the Hans Hermann Voss-Stiftung includes the conversion of the app into an open source software, further development and publicising as well as the intensive training of teachers in the use of the app – an offer also in the district Oberbergischer Kreis.
Chennai Nook for self-determined learning in India
Project DEFY (Design Education for Yourself) is underway in India, along with other places, and works to create spaces in which people can pursue their own further education. The “Initiative Neue Bildung e.V.” association from Germany works with Project DEFY. The core idea of the project is the construction of so-called “nooks”, which act both as alternative schools as well as cost-efficient centers for independent learning that local (village) communities help create and organize themselves. The aim of the nooks is to ensure that, in areas where children and young people cannot make it to the classroom, the educational environment comes to them. At the same time, nooks are intended to be safe spaces in which people and social groups affected by poverty, social exclusion or an unstable environment can find a place of learning. Supported by a mentor, learners can create their own learning projects in the nooks. The equipment includes laptops, internet, technology, electronics and tools, as well as various, often recycled materials and resources. The Nooks are open to lifelong learning for people of all ages. With a start-up funding, the Hans Hermann Voss Foundation has been supporting the construction of a new nook in the village of Katchipedu near Chennai, southern India.
Discovery organ
The protestant church in the market square in Wipperfürth is getting a new organ with a new design. As a certified “Little Scientists’ House” the parish’s five-group kindergarten is familiar with working with natural scientific learning material. This led to the idea of not only making music with the organ, but also building the organ as an object for learning and experiments: In the future, the organ won’t just be used for musical accompaniment at church events but will also be used to bring technology and physical concepts in acoustics to life for children and young people. Therefore, the possibilities of how to show children and young people how an organ works, how sounds are made, as well as other concepts were discussed with local church organ experts and various organ builders. With financial support from the Hans Hermann Voss Foundation, the organ will be accessible and designed with appropriate glass fittings.
Studienbrücke Mexico and Brazil
The “Studienbrücke” is a worldwide preparatory education program from the Goethe-Institut that works to prepare students with outstanding academic performance for starting a bachelor’s program at a German university in a STEM subject or in the field of economics. This aims to provide an incentive for qualified students from non-EU countries to learn German and to come to Germany. In addition to language courses, subject-specific modules are also offered, as well as intercultural training and modules to help students learn about German university culture. Depending on the language level when they start, the preparation time for the students is between one and three years. The Goethe-Institut supports the students during the preparation period abroad and when they start their studies at partner universities in Germany. The program is paid for by the students themselves but partial scholarships are awarded to particularly talented participants. The Hans Hermann Voss Foundation funds twelve scholarships for students in Mexico and five scholarships for students in Brazil.
Further information can be found on the website of the Goethe-Institut.