World Champion Austria Research & development
Smart and innovative – Austria’s youth show us what they can do Every year Austrian students compete in the fields of technology and innovation, incorporating ingenuity and dedication.
Supported by two Federal Ministries “Jugend Innovativ” is the biggest and smartest school competition for innovative ideas in Austria. The competition allows young people to further develop, realise and present their own ideas to the public. The competition is run on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs as well as the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research by the Austria Wirtschaftsservice AWS and is supported by the Raiffeisen sustainability initiative. “’Jugend Innovativ’ proves that good ideas have nothing to do with age. Instead, what the pupils and apprentices have shown us
this year is how one can successfully create innovations”, says Margarete Schramböck, Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs. She also emphasised that “this is exactly what we need right now, particularly in times like these. The level of drive and enterprising spirit displayed by young people here is sure to secure not only a financial comeback but also Austria’s place as a country of innovation in the long-term”. Heinz Faßmann, Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research, referred to the outstanding achievements taking place in Austria’s schools: “What these young people have created as part of ‘Jugend Innovativ’ is unique. With the aid of dedicated teachers, extremely special projects have emerged and are a good starting point for young scientists. Receiving support in this initial stage is particularly important in order to illustrate what professional possibilities there are and make use of potential”.
© Parlamentsdirektion/Thomas Topf
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here isn’t enough praise and support to go round for those who will hopefully become part of the coming generation of scientists and be greatly involved in Austria’s success in the field of research and development. We are, of course, referring to the participants of the annual school competitions that are dedicated to innovation and technology. We have chosen two from a very long list: “Jugend Innovativ” (innovative youth) and “Technik für’s Leben” (technology for life) prizes. The large number of entries in both competitions would be too extensive to cover in this article, which is why we have unfortunately decided to “only” introduce the contestants in first place. The winning teams of the 34th competition round of “Jugend Innovativ” were presented in the competition’s first virtual awards show. The participating pupils and apprentices not only wowed the jury, they also clearly managed to prove how much innovative strength, ingenuity and dedication they have within. Every year the competition shines a spotlight onto outstanding young talent and recognises the innovative achievements of Austria’s pupils and apprentices. This year, out of 333 entries, seven teams managed to get to the top spot (double win in Design). Two teams were from Carinthia, two from Vienna and the other three were from Salzburg, Lower Austria and Upper Austria respectively.
Heinz Faßmann, Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research
