More than just a piece of printed paper with lots of signatures

For over two years now, the partnership between the Faculty of Technology and Bionics and the Municipal Grammar School in Goch has been enriching physics and mathematics lessons.

Pupils in Goch have benefited, for example, from a guest lecture in English at the school and from a field trip to the university, which included attending a lecture and taking a tour of the laboratories. In addition to these one-day events, there has also been a one-year physics project course, which was supervised and supported academically by Prof. Dr Georg Bastian and funded by the university. This year, Prof. Dr Achim Kehrein is leading a mathematics study group with pupils from the middle and upper schools for the second time. Thanks to targeted preparation last year, three particularly gifted members of the study group successfully took part in the National Mathematics Competition.

New for this academic year is that four female pupils are preparing for a first-semester mathematics examination and, in February, will be the first in the district to have the opportunity to sit this examination as junior students. They can then have a passed examination recognised towards their degree later on, which makes starting their degree course much easier. Melissa Byrne, Iman Hammou, Dunja Hassan and Joanna Kallus were presented with their junior student ID cards in person by Prof. Dr Scholz (Vice-President for Research and Development) on Saturday.

There is therefore no need for concern in Goch that the signed agreement only looks good on paper, as the collaboration had already been working exceptionally well even before the official signing – largely thanks to the commitment of Prof. Dr Kehrein and Prof. Dr Kisters.

Building on this successful model, the collaboration is now set to extend to all faculties, thereby facilitating an even broader exchange and providing support for pupils with talents in non-scientific subjects. In addition to the field trips, study groups and project-based courses mentioned above, plans include, amongst other things, an expansion of careers and university guidance, as well as the use of university laboratories for school teaching purposes.

This opens up a wide range of opportunities for pupils at Goch Grammar School to deepen their knowledge and develop their skills; at the same time, they gain an insight into a modern university where they can begin their studies even before taking their A-levels.