The Friedel & Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation has been inspiring young people since its inception. Its operational project "Zukunft.Unternehmen. - A Friedel & Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation project on entrepreneurship and business knowledge" is dedicated to a topic that receives less attention in everyday school life: entrepreneurship. In collaboration with the "In der Wüste" grammar school and Osnabrück-based innovation consultancy tdlc innovation, the project will teach young people core economic and social skills for their future.
"Our foundation is based on the entrepreneurial passion and strength of Friedel and Gisela Bohnenkamp - and their social commitment," says CEO Christian Schiffbänker. "We know first-hand that the combination of social and entrepreneurial skills has a major positive impact on our society. With 'Zukunft.Unternehmen.', we want to make a contribution to the development of young people in this tradition. "
In small groups, young people go through the process of setting up a company, from brainstorming to pitching. The aim is for them to gain practical business experience and build up and deepen their business knowledge. "If one or the other then feels called to entrepreneurship as a result of this project, we will of course be delighted," continues Schiffbänker.
In collaboration with the innovation consultancy tdlc innovation and its founders Katharina Lutermann and Lars Brendler, the foundation has created a diverse program of entrepreneurship education, which has now been launched in the auditorium of the "In der Wüste" secondary school. In five two-hour blocks, year 11 pupils are offered an introduction to the topic of starting a business and entrepreneurship. Each block consists of a mixture of impulses and interactive elements in which what has been learned is applied directly. In addition to the basic knowledge, all participants are given the opportunity and motivated to develop and try out their own business ideas in a team. The project shows ways and possibilities of how these skills can benefit the young people's future careers - be it as entrepreneurs or in any other professional or life environment.
"We are looking forward to teaching young people the skills they need to actively shape the future," explain Katharina Lutermann and Lars Brendler from tdlc innovation. "Creativity, solution orientation and collaboration will be needed more than ever in the working world of tomorrow - whether for starting a business or in a job." Lutermann and Brendler also offer students a point of contact to start networking in the Osnabrück start-up community.
The project is supported by the teachers of the "Politics and Economics" subject at the "In der Wüste" grammar school. "As an innovative school, we aim to continuously develop our range and quality of education. Our pupils should take responsibility for their own actions and find and implement solutions confidently, even in complex situations. This is exactly what entrepreneurship means to us and we are happy to support projects of this kind with a lot of energy," says principal Nils Fischer. After its pilot phase at the "In der Wüste" grammar school, the project will also be available to other secondary schools in the city and district of Osnabrück.
The "Zukunft.Unternehmen." model project at the "In der Wüste" secondary school came to an end on June 25 with a closing event at DOCK49 at Osnabrück harbour. The innovative educational project, which enables young people to think entrepreneurially, understand the economy and develop ideas independently, was carried out in the second half of the school year under the leadership of the Friedel & Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation and the team from tdlc innovation GmbH at the Osnabrück secondary school.
The core of the project was a modular educational format that was anchored in the regular politics and economics lessons of year 11. Katharina Luthermann and Lars Brendler from tdlc regularly visited the classes over several weeks to work with the pupils on key elements of entrepreneurial thinking in individual modules. The young people learned how entrepreneurship works and what challenges founders face.
Voluntary intensive program for particularly motivated students
In addition to the lessons, a voluntary intensive program was offered in which around ten particularly motivated students took part. This small group worked intensively over several weeks to develop their own start-up ideas. They went through a complete innovation process - from brainstorming, target group analysis and business model development through to the presentation. The so-called "pitch" then took place on June 25 at the final event at DOCK49.
The event began with a welcome address by Christian Schiffbänker, Chairman of the Friedel & Gisela Bohnenkamp Foundation. In a brief review, the tdlc team then presented key stages and experiences from the pilot phase of the project. This was followed by a panel discussion, moderated by Katharina Luthermann. Christian Schiffbänker was joined by two young founders, principal Nils Fischer and two students from the intensive program. The discussion highlighted the importance of spaces in which young people are encouraged to develop their own ideas and take responsibility. The participants in the discussion agreed that entrepreneurship can enrich schools as an educational format.
Presentation of the ideas
After the discussion, the three project teams from the intensive program took to the stage one after the other. In around ten minutes each, they presented their ideas, explaining the problems, target group, benefits and planned implementation. The subsequent answers to questions from the audience showed how seriously and thoughtfully the young people had dealt with their topics. Instead of a traditional competition with placings, there was a symbolic award ceremony at the end, which honored the commitment of all participants equally. The focus was not on winning, but on learning and growing together. Divided into two groups, the young people then either visited the RISE start-up lab at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences or took part in a structured evaluation of the project. In the start-up lab, they gained an insight into the professional start-up opportunities for students in Osnabrück.
With "Zukunft.Unternehmen.", a forward-looking educational impulse was set at the "In der Wüste" grammar school. The project has shown how economic education, teaching, the imparting of core skills and personal development can be effectively combined. Here, school is not only seen as a place of learning, but also as a space for empowerment. A continuation in the coming school year is being planned - not only at the "In der Wüste" grammar school, but also at other schools in the region in the future.
