Infection? No, thanks: “We view everything from the perspective of hygiene.”

For Ina Hoffmann, principal of the Im Steinfeld Elementary School in Leverkusen, Germany, life is still far from “normal”, even if pupils and teachers are now back from summer vacation. “Everything is different from usual,” she says. The school staff is very busy handling new tasks, such as:

• arranging classrooms in an appropriate manner to avoid aerosol infection
• updating and implementing strict hygiene rules
• reorganizing such multi-person events as parent-teacher meetings
• improving student access to digital learning opportunities
• preparing alternative teaching solutions (such as online) in case of illness

The Rely+On^TM Virkon^TM donation from LANXESS supports this process. The surface disinfectant ensures greater safety, for example for rooms and furniture that are used for multiple purposes, i.e. for lessons, teaching staff discussions, or supervised afternoon childcare.

Teachers and pupils are once again returning to traditional lecture formats

Today, classes and school life are less enriching than previously. Sitting in a circle and singing, anti-aggression role-playing, teambuilding and class trips are either severely limited or dropped entirely. Still, at least wearing masks is not a major problem, according to Ina Hoffmann. “The children do a great job.”

However, especially when teachers read aloud to their classes, masks are a hindrance. This is particularly important in elementary schools that also educate children with hearing impairments. Ina Hoffmann would like to install protective partitions to enable individual interaction between teachers and students without the risk of infection.

And she adds, “Providing all schoolchildren with digital devices such as tablets is worth the investment. We used to think that elementary pupils don’t need them, but the pandemic has changed our minds!”

An online chemistry lesson is not only practical in dealing with coronavirus

In the spring, LANXESS provided licensing for the learning platform https://123chemie.de/ to 57 schools located near company sites. “This had already been planned,” reports Nina Hasenkamp, head of the LANXESS education initiative. “Then COVID-19 shut down the schools and we expanded the campaign.”

Students individually select learning content from the 123chemie.de digital chemical shelf. Independent learning, repetition and additional support are available at each workstation. The program offers animation, practice texts, printable worksheets and presentations, among other options, and works in both virtual and real classrooms.

“With the corona crisis, digital learning has gained importance. We quickly decided to cover the costs for program licenses,” says Nina Hasenkamp. These totaled more than €10,000 to aid 57 schools. “The program offers real added value for both learning at home and in school, even when life eventually returns to normal,” says Nina Hasenkamp.

Social distancing, masks and hygiene: “High praise for students and teachers”

The Bergkamen Municipal High School tries to make personal interaction between students and teachers possible despite the corona pandemic. “This is important for successful learning,” emphasizes Bärbel Heidenreich, the school’s principal, even though hygiene measures are now an additional permanent consideration. Orchestra and chorus rehearsals, as well as day-long hiking excursions or experimental learning are all held under unusual circumstances. Microscope work, chemical and physics experiments, and student partnerships, for example, require thoroughly disinfecting rooms and equipment. Among a total of about 470 other schools, the Bergkamen Municipal High School received a donation of Rely+On^TM Virkon^TM disinfectant from LANXESS.

Also important are, of course, a detailed hygiene concept and highly motivated students and teachers. “I have great praise for all of them,” sums up Bärbel Heidenreich. Her biggest wish for the new school year is, “That everyone stays healthy and the schools stay open!”

Heidenreich sees the corona crisis as boosting the necessary digitalization of her school. She is committed to ensuring that every student has access to a digital device, a project that requires perseverance.

Battling coronavirus at school: impetus for achieving digital fitness

Today’s students need more digital and methodology skills – and not only during the COVID-19 pandemic – because digital fitness is also in demand in the business professional worlds. That’s why LANXESS has made innovative teaching and project material available to educators via Industry and Work World 4.0. Among other things, the initiative helps teachers:

• impart skills such as the Kanban method for project work,
• provide added value with a fun factor and
• introduce students to Job-Futuromat to discover which jobs are already being accomplished by robots today.

The materials are designed for all secondary school students in grades 8 to 10 and LANXESS is distributing them to 169 secondary schools near its site locations.

Despite corona: Sitting in the boss’s chair – unique practical experience

To give young people exciting insights into the work of a chemicals manager, the campaign “I’ve got a top job” offers them a chance to be the boss for a day. The campaign was initiated by ChemCologne, the Rhineland chemical industry network.

For example, in August 17-year-old Jakob Hahn took over from Michael Ertl, Head of the Benzyl Products and Inorganic Acids Business Line at LANXESS in Leverkusen. The teenager assumed the role of a senior manager responsible for a large team of employees, huge chemical plants, and several hundred tons of sulfuric acid. There, he was introduced to the different operational areas and the jobs performed by chemical technicians, laboratory assistants, and industrial mechanics. The high schooler was able to see if he might like a management position and was even offered a training contract as an industrial mechanic at LANXESS. “It’s not so easy to start again as an apprentice when you’ve already sat in the boss’s chair,” joked Hahn at the end of the day.

Education initiative supports and encourages students with ideas

LANXESS continues to support high school science projects of all types and this summer 21 proposals were submitted. “Environmental issues interest young people very much,” observes Nina Hasenkamp, head of the company’s education initiative.

Project members from the Krefeld-Uerdingen vocational college are currently exploring how hydrogen can be manufactured from green electricity by electrolysis, for example, to determine how economically it can be produced and used. To do this, though, they first need to purchase a water decomposition unit and photovoltaic panels, which LANXESS is helping to finance.

“Projects involving soil analysis, 3D printing, and digital measuring systems are also on our applicants’ lists,” says Nina Hasenkamp. Their chances of receiving the necessary funding are excellent.

The LANXESS education initiative was inaugurated in 2008 and has resulted in €9 million in investments at its German and international sites since then. Altogether, some 800.000 students have benefited from the chance to participate in the program.