TUM and district officials seal partnership

New Student Research Center coming to Miesbach

The center will feature special facilities offering opportunities above and beyond classroom teaching. Special attention will be paid to linking natural sciences and digital technologies, a topic of constantly growing importance for science and industry, for example in terms of applying machine learning methods to questions of biotechnology.

Supported by the Student Research Center Oberland Foundation and the Bavarian State Ministry of Education, the center, to be located in Miesbach's historical hospital building, will work in close partnership with schools in the region. TUM will be in charge of scientific aspects. TUM and the district of Berchtesgadener Land have already been working together using this model since 2013. Since then thousands of children have conducted research at the Student Research Center Berchtesgadener Land.

At today's signing of the partnership agreement between TUM and the district of Miesbach, Ilse Aigner, precinct representative and President of the Bavarian State Parliament said: "I'm particularly pleased that this collaboration between the Miesbach district and the Technical University of Munich has made it possible to establish a center for outstanding school-age students. This is an important step in promoting and inspiring talented young individuals for the future of science and technology."

Prof. Thomas F. Hofmann, President of TUM, said: "Our country cannot afford to overlook even a single talented individual. We therefore intend this Student Research Center to help awaken slumbering talents long before we bring them to full fruition at our university. Those who at an early stage develop an interest and passion in posing questions and experimenting will also develop creativity and innovativeness, regardless of whether in university studies or vocational training."

Olaf von Löwis, Miesbach District Administrator, said: "It is a matter of utmost importance to me to keep skilled young people in our region. Employers ranging from globally active corporations to small expert trade workshops are located here. This makes the Student Research Center Oberland an important step in the right direction."

Prof. Claudia Nerdel, scientific head of the Student Research Center Oberland, said: "Children are researchers by nature, they are curious and want to try things out. We want to give them a space where they can do just that. And it's important to us that this is more than just a one-time opportunity: Interested young individuals who want to develop further as part of a team will have the long-term possibility here to sharpen their skills in the STEM subjects."