For the official launch of the educational partnership at the signing of the agreement at am Römerkastell School, principal Dr. Michael Faust today welcomed Patrik Lauer, District Administrator of the Saarlouis district, Franz-Josef Berg, Mayor of Dillingen, and Jörg Disteldorf, Managing Director of SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar and Chief Human Resources Officer of Saarstahl and Dillinger.

SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar and am Römerkastell School will offer students in all grades various educational projects as part of the cooperation. The aim of these projects is to spark young people’s interest in technology, digitalization and science, and to nurture young talent as early as possible.

Education Minister Christine Streichert-Clivot said: “Children and young people operate quite naturally today in an increasingly digitalized world. At the same time, our challenge for this century is to cope with climate change. Digital, technical and scientific skills therefore continue to be of growing importance. Educational partnerships like these contribute in important ways to fostering students’ interest in and understanding of technology, digitalization and science at an early age, and to their development of the necessary skills.”

“As companies with a long history, Dillinger and Saarstahl are firmly rooted in the region and take their social responsibility seriously,” said Jörg Disteldorf. “The educational partnership with am Römerkastell School gives young people the chance to discover their talents early on and to develop prospects for their own futures. Tomorrow’s talented and dedicated skilled workers are also key for us to succeed as a steel industry in the transformation to carbon-neutral steel production and in the area of digitalization and Industry 4.0.”

Saarlouis District Administrator Patrik Lauer is also very pleased about this promising new cooperation: “In the course of the educational partnership with the am Römerkastell Comprehensive School in Dillingen, the commitment shown by SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar (SHS) as a new member of the Wissensfabrik (Knowledge Factory) initiative is a valuable addition to our efforts as a school authority and fits in very well with our educational philosophy. One of their goals is to accelerate the digitalization of our schools and give as many students as possible access to basic digital education, while also getting more and more children and young people interested in the so-called MINT subjects – mathematics, information technology, natural sciences and technology.

This educational partnership offers students the opportunity to better understand the basics of IT, to use it competently and shape it creatively, and to reflect on the importance of digitalization in their personal and professional lives. This, in turn, enables them to participate in the social discourse as well-informed stakeholders and to be well prepared to enter the digital world of work. In this context, the educational cooperation with SHS is proving to be a real stroke of luck for us, for which I am also personally very thankful, as it opens up valuable prospects for future generations.”

And this is how the partnership between SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar and am Römerkastell School works: The “Wissensfabrik” (Knowledge Factory) offers didactically prepared educational projects for all ages, which the company and the school implement together. The company provides and funds the materials needed for the project and provides support with its expertise. As a result, the young participants receive training and professional support as well as boxes of materials and textbooks.

The first joint educational project of am Römerkastell School and SHS – Stahl-Holding-Saar began today: The project deals with information technology and artificial intelligence (AI) and prepares students for the digital world. It also explains how to use digital media in a meaningful and targeted way. The children and young people also gain insight into the processes happening behind the screen and work with programming language, for example.

The SHS Group with the companies Saarstahl and Dillinger has long supported projects in the region that are targeted at helping children and young people develop. These include projects to sponsor athletics, integration and culture in Völklingen and to support the Saarlouis School Research Center and the MINT Campus Alte Schmelz.