For two years now, the southeast Thuringia region has also had a pupil research center in Rudolstadt - a project of the Rudolstadt Innovation and Start-up Center (IGZ) and the Thuringia Foundation for Technology, Innovation and Research (STIFT). The TITK was one of the initiators at the time, helped to equip the premises and has also been on board as a research partner ever since. This year, the TITK Group's Christmas donation of EUR 2,700 will go to the institution. "We want to help attract young talent to science and technology and awaken their enthusiasm for STEM subjects at an early age," says Managing Director Benjamin Redlingshöfer.
For TITK - Thuringian Institute for Textile and Plastics Research Rudolstadt e.V. and its two associated companies OMPG mbH and smartpolymer GmbH, it has become a good tradition to support a regional institution with a Christmas donation. After the Children's Hospice of Central Germany, the Princess Anna Luisen School in Bad Blankenburg and the Fridericianum High School in Rudolstadt, this year the pupil research center at the IGZ will receive a donation. TITK director Benjamin Redlingshöfer presented a donation check for 2,700 euros to the head of the pupil research center, Christina Heß from STIFT, on December 6.
With the amount, the pupil research center in Rudolstadt can now invest in new equipment for the production of alternative or recycled plastics. A "Holimaker" hand injection molding machine is to be purchased for this purpose. "We are increasingly supervising pupils project work on plastics. Interest in this area is growing," says SFZ director Christina Heß, explaining the idea.
Currently, for example, she is supporting a project by 9th grade pupils from the Erasmus Reinhold High School in Saalfeld. They had chosen plastics as their topic: What types of plastic are there? How are they produced? And how can we find alternatives that are more environmentally friendly and conserve resources? The pupils are looking for answers to these questions. "They have already used starch to test how bio-based plastics can be produced," reports Christina Heß. "Maybe this will even become an entry for the 'Jugend forscht' competition," says Heß, recalling a team of pupils who were very successful with this two years ago. In 2020, they won 2nd prize in the regional competition for a project to produce whey-based foils.
With the "Holimaker" the pupil research center can soon offer completely new opportunities here. Project days are also planned with some schools in the coming year as part of Plastic Pirates Germany, Christina Heß further announces. This will involve joint project days to search for plastic waste at waters of the region and then consider what can be recycled from the waste or used to manufacture new plastic products. Among others, the Friedrich-Adolf-Richter School of the AWO Rudolstadt or the Heinrich Böll High School Saalfeld have already expressed interest in this, informed Heß.
TITK Director Benjamin Redlingshöfer is enthusiastic about the ideas being tackled in the neighboring pupil research center and the commitment of Ms. Heß. Sustainably produced and easily recyclable plastics have been the focus of the research institute for many years. "Plastics are not bad per se; we can no longer imagine life without them in many areas and they make our high standard of living possible," emphasizes Redlingshöfer. "But we urgently need to reorient ourselves in the way we deal with them." He prefers to describe his credo with the three R's - reduce, reuse, recycle. "If young people want to deal with this topic on their own initiative in projects in their free time, that absolutely has to be supported," says the institute director.
Of course, this year's Christmas donation also resonates with the hope that the pupil research center will continue to inspire boys and girls to take up science subjects so that they will remain in the region tomorrow as technicians or perhaps even scientists. "The current energy crisis obliges us all to save money. However, education and research must not suffer as a result," Redlingshöfer continues to emphasize. "This would be negligent, because these are investments in our future - to secure prosperity, environmental protection and sustainability. Only if we can continue to offer cutting-edge technology 'Made in Germany' will we succeed in guaranteeing our high standards of health care, social welfare and personal lifestyles in harmony with our environment."
