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Federal government supports Bremen and Bremerhaven STEM cluster meerMINT

The regional cluster meerMINT creates new leisure activities for children and young people interested in STEM. (Source: Universum/ Bremen)

 

December 14, 2020

Great success for the Bremen STEM cluster meerMINT. New leisure activities are being created in Bremen and Bremerhaven for children and young people who are particularly interested in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (short: STEM – in German: MINT). The aim of the initiative is to promote interests and talents. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the regional network with more than 670,000 euros until 2023. Jacobs University Bremen will receive 150,000 euros of this amount.

The meerMINT network is one of 22 STEM clusters funded nationwide. Participants are Jacobs University, the University of Bremen, M2C - Institute for Applied Media Research, PHÄNOMENTA Bremerhaven e.V. and Universum Managementges. mbH.

Repairing toasters or programming robots as leisure activities
Learning an instrument, trying out a sport, meeting up with friends in the afternoon: For many children and teenager in Bremen and Bremerhaven, this is part of their free time. However, for those who want to spend their afternoons or vacations repairing a toaster, programming robots, developing their own cosmetics, or studying the causes and consequences of climate change, there is no corresponding offer.

meerMINT creates offer of activities at four locations
The cluster “meerMINT leisure activities for young people in Bremen and the surrounding area” (short: meerMINT) is intended to change this starting next year: In the sense of low-threshold wide range support, the cluster partners are setting up four new STEM locations in Bremen and Bremerhaven. These "meerMINT Docks" are the starting points for the cluster's leisure activities for children and teenager between the ages of 10 and 16. The Docks offer opportunities for STEM encounters close to home and during fixed opening hours.

For children and teenager who are already particularly interested in STEM and for those whose special interest stands out at the meerMINT Docks, the partners are also developing more in-depth programs around the topic of the sea. Among other things, clubs with regular meetings are to be established.

The goal of the cluster is to create a regional meerMINT community in which STEM enthusiasts can meet and exchange ideas on a regular basis. After the end of the funding period, the plan is that all partners continue the cluster in the form of an association.

Strong partners for STEM promotion in the state of Bremen
The meerMINT cluster was applied for under the coordination of the University of Bremen together with Jacobs University, M2C - Institute for Applied Media Research, PHÄNOMENTA Bremerhaven e.V. and Universum Managementges. mbH. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is providing the cluster with a total of more than 670,000 euros in funding for 36 months. Among other things, the money will be used to create new staff positions within the cluster, to rebuild the Docks as a spatial infrastructure, and to develop a training program for instructors.

In setting up the cluster, the collaborative partners are being supported by numerous regional players in STEM funding. The application initiative emerged at the beginning of this year from a network meeting of the MINTforum Bremen. The MINTforum Bremen was founded in 2016 with the aim of networking the diverse and numerous STEM activities and STEM stakeholders in the state of Bremen.

Further information (in German):
https://www.bildung-forschung.digital/de/mint-cluster-fuer-jugendliche-starten-3526.html
https://mintforum.bremen.de

Questions are answered by:
Dr. Freia Hardt
Head of Teaching and Student Services
Jacobs University
Tel: +49 421 200 4343/4340
E-Mail: f.hardt [at] jacobs-university.de