"The XLAB offers an excellent concept for imparting knowledge in a lively way and introducing young people to the natural sciences," emphasised Dr. Léon Broers, member of the Executive Board responsible for Research & Development at KWS. "As a research-intensive company, we very much support this approach and would like to inspire the students with our invitation to the diverse world of plant breeding and the career opportunities in this field."
XLAB Director Professor Thomas Waitz: "As a university and extracurricular place of learning, we enable the students who come to us to experiment on a laboratory scale and gain an in-depth understanding of the natural sciences. It's great that we have a strong research partner in KWS, which opens its doors to the camp participants and shows them the performance and economic importance of semi-automated processes as well as possible career fields."
"I chose the course because I find the topic exciting. In class, transgenic plants are only dealt with superficially in theory, here we can learn everything in practice," says Mareike (17). She and Ronja (16) emphasise that it was fun to work with the professional laboratory equipment in the XLAB. "At KWS, the greenhouses and all the technology were very impressive," says Jannis (17). "We also listened to lectures; academic careers in the company were presented and internships, scholarships and training opportunities were discussed. We received a very friendly welcome," adds Anna (16). Lena (16) summarises the camp as follows: "It's just cool when you understand what you're doing."
About the XLAB
The XLAB - Göttingen Experimental Laboratory for Young People - is a central facility of the University of Göttingen and one of the largest student laboratories in Germany. Under the motto "School meets research", it builds a bridge between school and university in four departments and with experiments on over 100 topics.
About MINT-EC
MINT-EC is the national excellence network of schools with upper secondary level and an outstanding math, science and technology school profile. The aim of the network is to support the lighthouse schools in their development into STEM talent factories with high-calibre programmes for pupils, teachers and school administrators.