Minister Brandes is investing over 200,000 euros for the MINT future in Paderborn

Minister Brandes is investing over 200,000 euros for the MINT future in Paderborn

On February 21, 2025, Ina Brandes, the Minister for Culture and Science of North Rhine-Westphalia, visited the zdi Center Paderborn. She announced a funding commitment of over 207,000 euros for the “zdi.paderborn-TOP” project, which will be funded over a period of five years. This initiative is part of a comprehensive MINT network that offers children and young people practical experience in the natural sciences in a variety of zdi laboratories, workshops and courses. The aim is to awaken enthusiasm for MINT careers and to recruit young talents as future specialists for the Paderborn region. This is reported by the University of Paderborn.

Since it was founded in 2009, the zdi Center Paderborn has been organizing hands-on activities for students of different age groups and school types. In cooperation with the University of Paderborn, innovative formats such as the “MINT trial course” and the “zdi student laboratory coolMINT” were launched. Uwe Schoop, authorized representative of the Paderborn Economic Development Agency and head of the zdi center, emphasized the importance of using the support of the state and region to address young target groups in particular and to promote their MINT skills.

Quality of MINT funding

The Paderborn Economic Development Agency (WFG), under the heading zdi.Paderborn, has been specifically committed to promoting MINT for children and young people in the areas of mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology since 2010. Even in challenging times, such as during the pandemic, zdi.Paderborn was able to offer numerous students valuable practical experience in MINT careers and study programs. In 2022, these achievements were awarded the zdi quality seal, which is awarded annually to networks that maintain high standards in MINT funding.

Klaus Kaiser, Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, praised the tireless work of zdi.Paderborn and the creation of practical, print-free offerings for schoolchildren. According to Uwe Schoop, the networking of business, science and administration is crucial for MINT education in the Paderborn region and thus also for securing future skilled workers.

Intensification of cooperation

A central goal of the initiatives is to intensify cooperation with schools throughout the educational biography, from primary school to graduation. This effort represents an important step in promoting young MINT talent in the Paderborn district. Further information about the specific offers of zdi.Paderborn can be found on the website www.zdi-pb.de be retrieved.