Festo_Sustainability-Report_2020

8. Technical training and Corporate Educational Responsibility 8.4 Bionics and STEM offerings for secondary education As part of our corporate educational responsibility (CER), we want to get children and young people excited about science and tech- nology (STEM subjects) and thus create the basis for technological excellence at an early age. Bionics4Education Bionics generates curiosity and interest – that is the motor for learning. Festo Didactic has developed the ‘Bionics4Education’ STEM education concept since 2019. The aim is to create young people’s interest in technical or scientific subjects and also in train- ing and study courses, while they are still in school. The offer includes training kits and free training materials that can be accessed online. This lays the foundation for increasingly digital education. Not only in school, but also in extracurricular learning activities, the practical transfer of knowledge of scientific and tech- nical knowledge will become more and more significant. Bionics invites you to think outside the box – both in industry and in edu- cation. In addition to the handling of technical components, electronics and software, the out-of-the-box thinking is also intended to teach the learners competencies and skills that young people will increasingly need in their working lives in the future. These are the 8.5 Learning through competitions Not only Bionics4Education, but also international competitions are designed to get young people excited about technical topics. Learning through competitions can build their skills as future pro- fessionals in the industry. Because corporate responsibility for present and future generations is important to us. Both digitisation and the COVID-19 pandemic have accelerated the planning of hybrid and all-digital competitions. New formats are anticipated at the national and international levels that seemed unthinkable before. WorldSkills professional world championship WorldSkills is the leading platform for the international benchmark test in vocational training. Festo takes on several different roles at the event: as a global industry partner and as a competitor with our Festo trainees. We are involved in various competitive disci- plines, such as mechatronics and water technology. The topic of Industry 4.0 was still implemented as a ‘Future Skill’ at the 2019 competitions in Kazan, Russia. At the upcoming competitions in Shanghai, China, Industry 4.0 will be an official competition disci- pline for the first time. Festo sponsors, among other things, the workstations at which the international teams compete for the medals. so-called 21st-century skills such as communication, collabora- tion, creative problem-solving and critical thinking. Bionic Flower – training kit: learning from nature Festo Didactic has used water lilies and mimosa movement mecha- nisms as models for the development of the Bionic Flower. The bionic way of thinking and working can be excellently taught in the classroom with the project-based approach of the Bionic Flower. Approaching technology from nature and the plant world via biol- ogy is of great interest especially for girls to deal with robotics and STEM topics such as sensors, electronic components, microcon- trollers and coding. FluidSIM MecLab – homeschooling offer We support schools with homeschooling in the pandemic and offer FluidSIM MecLab as a free homeschooling version. FluidSIM can be used to cover fluid engineering topics such as components and basic circuits of pneumatics, as well as the basic of electrical engi- neering, control technology and circuit logic. The construction of the world’s first WorldSkills Museum in Shang- hai is being planned. As a Global Industry Partner of the WorldSkills organisation, Festo is involved in equipping the perma- nent exhibition. FIRST ® LEGO ® League FIRST ® LEGO ® League is a support programme that introduces chil- dren and young people to technology and scientific research in a playful way. The annual robotics competitions motivate young researchers to solve tasks on specified topics with innovative ideas and team spirit. On the day of the competition each team goes through three jury evaluations – robot design, research and team- work – and takes part in a robot game over three rounds with the specially developed robot. Outside of the competition, there is a working committee called ‘Technology and Robotics for Kids’ which is made up of Festo vol- unteers who look after children all year round. At the Denkendorf location, there is a training area where up to four teams can train at the same time. In January, the FIRST ® LEGO ® League of the 2019/2020 season was still able to take place on-site. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Festo teams’ preparations had to be halted and the competition will be held virtually for participating school teams in the 2020/2021 season. 8. Technical training and Corporate Educational Responsibility At www.bionics4education.com , you will find further information and teaching materials on all aspects of bionics. 74 75 Festo SE & Co. KG Sustainability Report 2020 Festo SE & Co. KG Sustainability Report 2020