Renate-Wittern-Sterzel-Prize 2024 for the “ESFZ Student Research Camps for all kids of Durban”

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Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg FAU Awards 2024 22.10.2024 ©Giulia IannicelliGiulia Iannicelli

With the Renate-Wittern-Sterzel Prize, the university honours ideas and projects in research and teaching that contribute to the promotion of gender equality and greater diversity at the university. This year, the “ESFZ Student Research Camps for all kids in Durban” project is one of the award winners.

At the award ceremony on 22 October 2024, the ESFZ team accepted the prize in the presence of Prof. Witten-Sterzel.

The “ESFZ Student Research Camps for all kids of Durban” is a project for more educational equality, diversity and inclusion. The first four-day camp in Durban took place in June 2024. Nine young people took part and brought their own ideas from physics and technology. The seven girls and two boys received expert support from Angela Fösel and Tanja Reinhardt from the UKZN Science Centre. The young people were also supported by tutors from the ESFZ (Robin Barth, Kosmas Dandl and Elisabeth Meusert) and the UKZN. Further information on the “ESFZ Student Research Camps for all kids of Durban” can also be found here: https://www.physik.nat.fau.de/2024/07/03/schuelerforschungscamp-nach-vorbild-des-esfz-in-durban-suedafrika/

In the long term, the Science Centre and the School of Chemistry and Physics will jointly plan, implement and finance annual research camps at the University of Durban for 10-15 young people. A tutor from the South African team is to take part in an ESFZ research camp at FAU, financed for example via the Erasmus+ programme. The “narrower” time frame of the project “ESFZ Student Research Camps for all kids of Durban” refers to the preparation and realisation of the research camp in 2025.