The Fourth National MINT Summit will take place in Berlin on June 2 under the motto “Embracing digital opportunities – Closing digital gaps.” Germany’s National MINT Forum seeks to foster a debate at the summit among representatives from government, civil society, education and the economy about the impact of digitalization and the essential learning processes of the digital era. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will deliver a keynote speech at the summit.
To ensure that the summit also incorporates the voices of young people, a National MINT Forum pre-conference called “FutureLab #DigitaleBildung” took place for the first time with 50 youths from across Germany. The takeaways from the FutureLab will be presented at the summit during the first panel discussion, called “Youth Leadership: How do people learn in the digital era?” Among the key points of this discussion are the desire for a unified and universal digital education, improved media expertise for educators, and technical equipment for schools.
“We can learn a lot from the participants of the Youth Leadership conference and are therefore giving them a platform at the summit to present their position. Their involvement in the discussion is also an example of how productive collaboration can take place across generations,” said Nathalie von Siemens, spokesperson for the National MINT Forum.
The second panel will address life-long learning and cultural change in the era of digitalization. In the afternoon, the summit will take an internationally comparative look at successful digital education projects. At the end of the Fourth National MINT Summit, participants will assess the various viewpoints presented throughout the day and present a final conclusion.
“We want to hear from and discuss with digital education practitioners, creators, and mavericks and define the future of digitalization in Germany in concrete terms,” said Thomas Sattelberger, spokesperson of the National MINT Forum. “Our goal is to apply the fundamental claims of the National MINT Forum to digital education in Germany.”
Date: June 2, 2016, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (reception to follow)
Location: Deutsche Telekom AG Berlin Representative Office
Französische Straße 33 a-c, 10117 Berlin
Registration: anmeldung@nationalesmintforum.de
About the National MINT Forum
Germany’s National MINT Forum is comprised of over 30 large, nationally-operating scientific institutions, foundations, and associations working collaboratively for improved education along the entire educational chain in the fields of mathematics, information technology, natural sciences and technology (MINT). This includes early childhood and school education, professional and academic education, and continuing education and life-long learning. The National MINT Forum establishes concrete proposals for politicians and other societal stakeholders based on the economy and research.
About the FutureLab #DigitaleBildung
The FutureLab #DigitaleBildung was made possible by support from Siemens Stiftung, the Körber Foundation, „Haus der kleinen Forscher“ Foundation, Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Stiftung, the Jacobs Foundation, and the company Storopack.