changes.AWARD – changing the world for good!

changes.AWARD – changing the world for good!

Die Freunde und Förderer des Industriemuseums Cromford e.V. (association of friends and sponsors of Cromford Museum of Industry) and Mitsubishi Electric have organised a pupil competition for classes 11 and 12. And not one but two groups of winners will be travelling to Cape Canaveral in Florida. The runners-up will visit the CERN particle accelerator in Geneva and the third-placed team of pupils will be going to a technology location in Berlin.

changes.AWARD – changing the world for good!

Under the patronage of Garrelt Duin, Minister of Economics, Energy, Industry, SMEs and Crafts of the Land of North-Rhine/Westphalia, a ­total of 11 teams from 5 schools competed for the ­coveted changes.AWARD. The theme of the 2016 changes.AWARD is the design of an innovative product, idea or solution in the communication field. The starter’s gun for the changes.AWARD was fired on 31 December 2015. In the context of the project, the pupil teams had among other things the chance to attend the official kick-off event at the end of January and the optional financial check at the Ratingen branch of Volksbank Düsseldorf Neuss e.G. The personal coaches were available to their groups throughout the project.

Klaus Pesch Mayor of the Municipality of Ratingen

The changes.AWARD shows how much potential our school pupils have. With their many forward-looking and innovative ideas, the participants have made the changes.AWARD a unique platform for creative young people in our region.

The final of the changes.AWARD took place on 1 June 2016 at Mitsubishi Electric’s new German branch. This is where the 11 pupil teams presented their project ideas on the basis of business plans. In the preceding weeks they had worked on their project ideas under the guidance of their teachers and personal coaches and completed them by 23 May 2016.

The victory ceremony took place on 19 June at this ­year’s Cromford Park Festival.

The business plans were presented to a high-calibre jury from Ratingen:

• Gerd Droste, Freunde und Förderer des Industriemuseums Cromford e.V.
• Georg Jennen, Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V.
• Norbert Kleeberg, Rheinische Post
• Wolfgang Küppers, Freunde und Förderer des Industriemuseums Cromford e.V.
• Tanja Niesen, Volksbank Düsseldorf Neuss e.G. Filiale Ratingen
• Alexander Rebs, REBS Zentralschmiertechnik GmbH
• Erhard Schäfer, Coronex Electronic GmbH
• André Tünkers, Tünkers Maschinenbau GmbH

The best project ideas were selected by means of a neutral points system.

changes.AWARD

Design of innovative products, ideas or solutions

Two groups win the first prize

The Kopernikus-Gymnasium secondary school impressed the jury with its “Guardian”, an alarm system integrated in a piece of jewellery which is capable of saving the lives of the elderly in particular. A team of pupils from the ­Theodor-Fliedner-Gymnasium secondary school in Düsseldorf-­Kaiserswerth made its impression with its “Savie”, a device capable of issuing alarms with the aid of a sensor. This innovation is of special benefit to equestrians, as it is capable of saving lives in the event of a fall. The jury decided unanimously to commend two winning teams, because both projects were outstanding in the same area – that of actively saving lives. The ideas of the two winners also complement one another outstandingly and could even be combined under certain circumstances. The winning teams have not only won a trip to Cape Canaveral but also a four-week stint of practical work experience at Mitsubishi Electric. Congratulations to them!

Georg Jennen General Manager at Mitsubishi Electric

We are impressed by the creativity and professionalism of the submitted strategies and wish to express our many thanks for the lively participation in the ­changes.AWARD. All the projects offer exciting and innovative insights into possible communication worlds of the future from the point of view of today’s youth – for “in the beginning was the idea”.

Second place went to Adam-Cüppers-Berufskolleg vocational training school for its innovative idea of making a video tutorial for assembling flat-pack furniture available on a website accessed via a code and will be travelling to Geneva to the CERN particle accelerator. The second team of the Kopernikus-Gymnasium won the third prize, a trip to Berlin to a technology location, for its M.A.S.K. concept. This idea enables firemen to read life-saving information on the visors of their helmets when on an assignment.

The victorious teams also win practical training at Mitsubishi Electric