The Australia-wide ideas competition Unternehmen Deutsch-Enterprise German is one of the major educational projects organized by the Goethe-Institut Australien. It is designed for schools that want to build a bridge to the world of work or expand their business contacts as it promotes the collaboration between schools and German companies / or Australian companies with a relationship to German speaking countries within the region.
The project combines aspects of work experience with creativeness and inventor spirit and is aimed at Year 9 and Year 10 students who will have the opportunity to gain a first insight into a professional environment, get a closer look at the everyday life of a company and develop a simulation of new product or a new service idea for this company. The best ideas and the corresponding advertising campaigns will compete on a national level and will be assessed by a jury of experts.
In her preface to the project handbook, Dr Anna Prinz, German Ambassador to Australia, not only pointed out the importance of the development of these 21st century skills but also the benefits for participating companies to promote their social image: “With this early access to professional orientation, students will acquire skills that are increasingly in demand in the job market; intercultural competence, language skills and expertise. Similarly, companies can increase their visibility for the well-trained next generation.”
So far, more than 500 students from 22 schools from all over Australia have been involved in this project and established partnerships with businesses from various industries such as DB Schenker, SBS German, Bosch, Lufthansa as well as smaller businesses like Dresden Optics, King of Cakes and others.
For the first time this year, the winning team will enter the brand new international Southeast Asia competition with winning teams from Singapore, New Zealand and Malaysia.
If you would like to get involved or require more information please have a look at the project’s website and contact
Anna-Lena Schenck, Project Coordinator: anna-lena.schenck(at)goethe.de