EDUARD 2014: The Winners of the "Education Award" Have Been Chosen
For the third time already, "Die Presse" and VERBUND, under the patronage of the Federal Ministry for Education and Women, have chosen the winners of the education awards "EDUARD".
In the past months, around one hundred school classes throughout Austria have submitted their water-related project ideas. Friday, 4 April 2014, saw the six best classes being presented with awards in the Austrian National Library. "We are delighted about our submission record for this year’s EDUARD. Water is the element of life for mankind, and it is apparent that young people are clearly aware of this. The integration of fields of knowledge is the chance for the future and it is precisely this that we are promoting with EDUARD," said Wolfgang Anzengruber, VERBUND CEO.
Rainer Nowak, "Die Presse" editor-in-chief, also showed his enthusiasm: "In its 3rd year, the EDUARD campaign continues to show that there is no lack of innovative ideas in Austria’s schools – a new record with 99 project submissions is proof of this."
A brief retrospective: Within the scope of this year’s thematic focus on water, innovative project ideas were sought that look into its utilisation as drinking water and food supply, as habitat, transport medium and energy carrier. A high-ranking jury comprising Leopold Mathelitsch (head of the centre for technical didactics in physics at the Karl-Franzens University of Graz), Florian Seidl (VERBUND), Barbara Eichinger (Federal Ministry of Education and Women’s Affairs) and Martin Kugler ("Die Presse") evaluated the submissions in terms of their innovation and feasibility. The 20 best ideas were subsequently put to a public online vote. It was then the turn of the readers and users of "Die Presse": They nominated a total of six winning projects, three for compulsory schools and three for higher education institutions, respectively.
The goal of the education campaign EDUARD is to support Austria’s schools in the realisation of creative project ideas and to reinforce the students’ awareness for current issues. With prize money in the amount of EUR 50,000, the winners are enabled the corresponding financing for the realisation of their ideas
Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek, Federal Minister of Education and Women’s Affairs, is impressed by the diversity and the inventiveness of each individual submission: "The projects are evidence of the schools’ active, committed treatment of current issues – especially those in their immediate environment. They demonstrate how project-oriented tuition is able to promote the students’ creativity and team spirit."
The winning EDUARD projects for the academic year 2013/14 are as follows:
Winners in the "compulsory schools" category
1st place: Neue Mittelschule Ybbsitz, Lower Austria
Wir sind Hochwasser ("We are floodwater")
2nd place: Neue Mittelschule Steinergasse, Vienna
Ein Biotop zum Experimentieren ("A biotope for experimentation")
3rd place: Neue Mittelschule Rankweil Ost, Vorarlberg
Die Mathematik der Seifenblase ("The mathematics of the soap bubble")
Winners in the "Higher Education" category
1st place: HBLVA Rosensteingasse, Vienna
Ein Minibiotop als Lebensraum ("A mini biotope as a habitat")
2nd place HAK/HAS Sacré Cœur Vienna
Wasser für alle: Ein Brettspiel ("Water for all: A board game")
3rd pace: Praxis-HAK Völkermarkt, Carinthia
Ein ganzer Tag ohne Wasser ("A day without water")
What happens now?
For the winners of the EDUARD 2014 it is now a matter of implementing their project ideas.
They continue to receive support from the experts of VERBUND. Furthermore, in the course of the project, it is intended that the students’ media skills are developed. Therefore, in collaboration with "Die Presse" editorial team, the students and the teachers are preparing the project results for an eight-page supplement in "Die Presse". From the end of June, this may be marvelled at in the daily newspaper, as well as online under: DiePresse.com/eduard .
