Since June 2012, the Energieparcours-Nordwest has been an independent project focussing on career guidance in the energy industry. The project is funded by the Lower Saxony Economic Development Fund under the "Future and Innovation Lower Saxony: Cooperation between Schools, Universities and Industry" programme.

"Energieparcours-Nordwest": biogas weser-ems in Friesoythe new location

The biogas plant Heinfelder Naturstrom GmbH & Co. KG was added to the "Energieparcours-Nordwest.de" as an official location on 13 July 2012 with the visit of pupils from the Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium from Friesoythe.
The concept for this excursion was developed by the chemistry didactics working group in the 'Energy Education Project'. In a test run in April, the excursion location was tested and optimised by Oldenburg students on the "Interdisciplinary Energy" course.

In co-operation with Heinfelder Naturstrom GmbH & Co KG, the company bwe biogas weser-ems enables school classes to visit the biogas plant: on the educational trail and in discussions with experts, the pupils learn all about the processes in a biogas plant. The educational trail also explains, for example, how maize is turned into electricity and heat. Aspects of energy supply, nature conservation and the economic viability of biogas plants are also part of the programme.

Dr Verena Niesel (University of Oldenburg), Günther Oeljes (Heinfelder Naturstrom GmbH Co. KG), Dr Matthias Lamping (bwe biogas weser-ems Friesoythe) and Kerstin Haucke (University of Oldenburg)

Visit by the "Sustainable Energy" project group from Albertus-Magnus-Gymnasium in Friesoythe on 13 July 2012

On Thursday, 28 June 2012, the Olantis Huntebad in Oldenburg was inaugurated as an official energy site on the Energieparcours-Nordwest.de energy trail, offering a newly developed excursion programme with the theme "Energy detectives at Olantis - on the trail of heat!" for primary school children in year 4.
Using thermometers and measuring beakers, the children from Ofen primary school followed the energy traces in the leisure pool and learned how swimming pool operators and bathers can actively influence energy consumption for climate protection.
In future, Olantis will offer this excursion on energy-saving behaviour when showering, bathing and heating as an activity for primary schools. Waterproof worksheets guide the pupils through experiments in the swimming pool. They measure temperatures, determine water volumes and test how much water is carried out of the pool in modern swimming shorts at the "swimming trunks station".

uol.de/energy-portal/

The ring module "Interdisciplinary Energy" (5.04.535, Wed 16-18, 6 CP, certificate possible) developed in the energy education project is being offered for the second time this summer semester and is open to students of all subjects. It aims to link topics of (sustainable) energy supply and utilisation in an interdisciplinary way. It offers students on the two-subject Bachelor's programme and subject students an overarching subject-specific and didactic view of the multidisciplinary topic of energy. The skills taught enable students and prospective teachers of all school types to get involved in energy-related topics at work or school and to discuss and reflect on ecological, technical, economic and ethical-social aspects of energy from multiple perspectives.

In addition to external experts from the field of renewable energies, various subjects are represented by lecturers from the Carl von Ossietzky University

External experts: Dr Matthias Lange from energy & meteo systems GmbH, Mr Schlie from Biogas Weser Ems GmbH, Mr Oeljes as operator of the biogas plant, Christel Sahr from RUZ Regionales Umweltbildungszentrum der Stadt Oldenburg, Dr Verena Niesel Didaktisches Zentrum

• 18.04.2012 Introduction (Prof. Dr Michael Komorek, Dr Verena Niesel)
• 25.04.2012 "Excursion:From maize grain to heating: How does a biogas plant with a combined heat and power plant work?" (Dr Verena Niesel, Mr Schlie Biogas Weser Ems GmbH, Mr Oeljes operator of the biogas plant)
• 02.05.2012 "Introduction to the excursion portal "Energieparcours Nordwest.de" (Christel Sahr RUZ, Dr Verena Niesel DIZ)
• 09.05.2012 "Innovative business services in the energy sector - a practical example" (Dr Matthias Lange energy & meteo systems GmbH)
• 16.05.2012 "Energy is our life, only in thought" (Prof. Dr Reinhard Schulz)
• 30.05.2012 "Energy in technology lessons", tour of the workshops at "Technik"
  (Dr Reinhard Meiners)
• 23.05.12 "Energy in subject teaching " (Prof. Dr Astrid Kaiser, Iris Lüschen) Subject teaching didactics
• 06.06.2012 "Opportunities and risks of wind turbines - an ethical analysis"
  (Prof. Dr Corinna Hößle) Biology didactics
• 13.06.2012 "Energy in Computing Science - What role does Computing Science play in the future energy supply - and already today?" (Prof. Dr Ira Diethelm, StR Stefan Moll) Didactics of Computing Science
• 20.06.2012 "Energy from an economic perspective - or: Why don't we save as much energy as would be good for our wallets and the climate?"(Simone Malz, Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Hans Kaminski) Economics Education
• 27.05.2012 "Energy in Vocational and Business Education" (Prof. Dr Karin Rebmann, Dr André Bloemen) Vocational and Business Education
• 04.07.2012 "Energy from a physical perspective" (Prof. Dr Michael Komorek) Physics didactics
• 11.07.2012 " Poster presentation" (Prof. Dr Michael Komorek, Dr Verena Niesel)

The course is organised in co-operation between students and lecturers. Examination requirements are the preparation and realisation of a seminar session in small groups in co-operation with the experts (50%), written documentation as part of a portfolio (30%) and a poster presentation (20%) on the last date. Together with a subject module, subject didactic module or professionalisation module related to the energy topic, the "Energy Education" certificate can be obtained, which can be important in application contexts. Registrations are still possible until 01.05.2012 via Stud.IP under event number (5.04.535).
Contact for questions:

On 24 April 2012, the students went on an excursion to the biogas plant in Heinfelde near Frisoythe.

Mr Schlie from Biogas Weser Ems GmbH and Mr Oeljes, the operator of the biogas plant, were available to answer students' questions and accompanied the event.

A major presentation of the results of the energy education project took place on Thursday, 13 October 2011.

Results and products from the project were presented at a materials marketplace.
Almost 100 guests took part in the event. The highlight was the Energy Talk, where stakeholders from business and education had their say and presented their needs for energy education.

Prof. Dr Bernd Siebenhüner Rita Schillig Jörg Utermöhlen ^{Vice President of the First Mayor of Lower Saxony Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs University of Oldenburg City of} Hanover

Energy Talk

From the left: Werner Kähler (Oberschule Osternburg, Oldenburg), Simone Penning (Grundschule Staakenweg, Oldenburg), Marlies Ramien (Oberschule Osternburg, Oldenburg), Edgar Knapp (Umweltbildungszentrum Oldenburg), Jane Porath (moderator University of Oldenburg), Reinhold Blömer (EWE AG, Oldenburg), Nicole Nanninga (ENERCON GmbH, Aurich), Thorsten Janßen (bfe/OLEC), Christoph Schwarzer (moderator University of Oldenburg), Prof. Dr. Rudolf Schröder (University of Oldenburg), Prof. Dr. Rudolf Schröder (University of Oldenburg), Prof. Dr. Rudolf Schröder (University of Oldenburg). Dr Rudolf Schröder (University of Oldenburg) and Prof. Dr Ilka Parchmann (IPN Kiel).

Project participants

The German UNESCO Commission has honoured the excursion portal "Energieparcours-Nordwest" as a project of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The award is given to initiatives that are exemplary in realising the aims of this global education campaign of the United Nations: They teach children and adults how to think and act sustainably.
Verena Niesel and Michael Komorek accepted the award in Kiel on 26 September 2011.

Exhibition on the painting competition

from 01.06.2011 - 17.06.2011 in the lecture theatre building A 14 of the University of Oldenburg

Pictures by primary school children on the subject of "Future energy"

1st place 1st grade: Lillian Beaumont - The lava machine

1st place 2nd grade: Hilko Bruns - This is a space vehicle. It can suck up stars and is powered by this stellar energy.

1st place 3rd class: Yanek Densow - I drill into the magma - energy from glowing rock

1st place 4th grade: Alina von Unruh - The energy of thought

Symposium "Energy education for a mouldable future"

The symposium took place on 16 and 17 June 2011 in Oldenburg in the "Alte Fleiwa".

Symposium programme

We are currently working on the conference proceedings of the symposium. This will be completed by the end of 2011.

On 27 May 2011, Dietmar Schütz, President of the Association of Renewable Energies, opened the excursion portal.

The following people took part in the opening as speakers speakers at the opening:
Talke Ruprecht (pupil at Bad Zwischenahn grammar school), Dietmar Schütz (President of the German Renewable Energy Federation), Christel Sahr (Regional Education Network Climate & Energy of the City of Oldenburg), Verena Niesel (Project Leader Energy Parcours Northwest), Katharina Al-Shamery (Vice President of the University of Oldenburg), Michael Komorek (Professor of Physics Didactics), Marlies Ramien (Deputy Headmistress of Osternburg Secondary School, Oldenburg), Klemens Lüke (Board Member OLEC e.V.), Silke Bölt (pupil at Gymnasium Bad Zwischenahn) and Christoph Schwarzer (Coordinator of Energy Education at the University of Oldenburg).
(from left to right)

Over 60 guests from schools, industry, universities and the region attended the opening.

Opening programme

Flyer (4 pages)

The proceedings of the symposium "Energiebidung für die Schule" are now available in stores

About the conference proceedings

The book "Erneuerbare Energien in der Grundschule" (A. Kaiser, I. Lüschen & M. Reimer) contains tried and tested teaching materials on solar energy and a general understanding of energy.

As the culmination of the interdisciplinary work of the teacher sets in the Energy Education project, in which the practical experience of active teachers with the scientific approaches of doctoral candidates leads to new concepts and materials for teaching in the field of energy, the first completely interdisciplinary teacher set meeting took place on Thursday, 3 March 2011. In addition to the staff of the seven specialised didactics departments involved in the Energy Education project, around 30 active teachers took part.

Thousands of visitors came to the Wechloy campus to take a look behind the scenes at the university and experience science up close - including at the Energy Education Project stand. Visitors were able to test their knowledge of energy and climate in a quiz. There were also hands-on experiments to try out, such as the mini wind turbine, which is powered by your own "puff energy".

The Oldenburg Primary School Day was held under the motto "Learning through discovery - children as researchers". The focus was on the question of how children can be introduced to the natural sciences through their natural urge to discover. The energy education project took part in the experimental mile and the "Energy in primary schools" workshop.

The Energy Education Project organised the 2nd "Energy Education" theme day during the Education Week.

In an interactive introductory lecture, Dr Susanne Gatti used the example of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) to illustrate how the topic of "climate" can be illustrated to pupils with the help of experiments. Practical implementation was also the focus of the workshop "Energy experiments for science lessons and class 5/6" (Prof. Dr Michael Komorek, Birgit Krah, Eva-Maria Pahl, Sebastian Peters, Dr Rajinder Singh).

Another focus: How can pupils learn to evaluate key problems of sustainable energy supply and utilisation? The workshop "Is it ok if birds die from wind turbines?" (Kerstin Heusinger von Waldegge, Julia Schwanewedel) focussed on this. The participants discussed teaching materials for biology lessons to assess the construction of wind turbines.

Under the motto "Energy professions as an opportunity" (Simona Selle, Adré Bloemen, Jane Porath), the participants also discussed how pupils can be inspired to take up careers in the energy sector and how they can be supported in their transition into academic appointments. The practical event "Energy professions LIVE!", which the energy education project organised in March 2010 together with the Regional Education Network Climate & Energy, served as an example.

In the "Water - Heat - Energy" workshop, Dr Verena Niesel and Christel Sahr illustrated what teaching units outside of school could look like in the future. They presented materials on the conscious use of water and energy for a teaching unit in the swimming pool. This will be part of the Energieparcours-Nordwest.de.

The theme day concluded with a visit to the extracurricular learning centre "Technology and Nature" in Wilhelmshaven. Here, pupils from Year 2 to Year 11 can get hands-on experience of topics such as coastal protection and renewable energies.

Headphones on, microphone on, and off you go! The energy education project took part in the "If the climate had a birthday..." workshop at the "Climate Change" school academy run by the Environmental Education Centre in Oldenburg and the Biology Didactics Department at the University of Oldenburg.

Like real radio reporters, the pupils took to the streets with microphones and recording equipment and asked people what CO₂ savings they would "give" to the climate for their birthday. The young reporters then edited the answers into audio reports on the PC.

Find out more about the school academy here

"Through the crisis with energy? Skilled labour requirements and qualification strategies for the energy transition" ...

... was the title of the panel discussion held at the University of Oldenburg on Wednesday 16 June, which was well attended by over 150 people. Moderated by Dr Tobias Schlömer, the highly topical subject of energy education was discussed with guests Dagmar Winzier (Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training), Prof. Dr Heinrich Wigger (Department of Civil Engineering and Geoinformation, Jade University of Applied Sciences), Wilfried Steenblock (Headmaster of the Friedenstraße Vocational School in Wilhelmshaven), Emke Emken (Head of Bau-ABC Rostrup) and Reinhold Blömer (Head of the Technical Training Department, EWE Netz GmbH) from various system perspectives of vocational training. The content of the expert discussion was aligned with the semester programme of the Center for Sustainability Economics and Management (CENTOS) and the activities of the university-wide project "Education for sustainable energy supply and use".

Further information can be found here.

Co-operation with the "Altes Gymnasium Oldenburg (AGO)" grammar school

As part of a compulsory science elective course, year 9 pupils at the "Altes Gymnasium Oldenburg" grammar school have been working on the topic of "Sustainable energy supply and use" in seven different sub-projects.
The pupils were supported by the University of Oldenburg (didactics of chemistry) and other extracurricular partners (including RUZ Oldenburg, EWE Oldenburg, GSG Oldenburg, Public Health Department Bremen). The results of the seven individual projects were presented at a presentation day. The pupils also took part in the Handelsblatt school competition "Economy with Energy" and the RWE school competition "Pack's an - gemeinsam geht's schlauer" with their projects.

To the AGO website

Integrating an interdisciplinary topic into school lessons and teacher training

The energy education project has invited experts to a symposium in Oldenburg on 15 and 16 March. 80 experts from the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, the Ministry of Science, universities, schools and other educational institutions discussed the possibilities of integrating the topic of "energy supply and utilisation" into the current education system. In workshops, possibilities and ways for successful concepts were developed.

At the "Energieberufe LIVE!" event, which took place from 4 to 5 March 2010 in the sports hall of the Bildungszentrum für Technik und Gestaltung (BZTG) in Oldenburg, pupils from the eighth grade and young adults were able to find out about apprenticeships in the future-oriented renewable energy sector and make initial contacts with employers from the region.
The response from schools and pupils was positive. Over 850 pupils from Oldenburg and the region attended the event and gained their first experience of soldering, grinding and programming.
The event is an initiative of the Energy Education Project and was organised in co-operation with the "Regional Education Network Climate & Energy" of the City of Oldenburg.
Sponsors were EWE AG and VWG.

As part of the project, around 160 seminar students from seven schools in Oldenburg and the surrounding area visited the university on 26 September. The general topic of the seminar subjects is the energy supply and utilisation of yesterday, today and tomorrow, with the concepts being developed jointly by the project's teachers and academic staff.
The university day began on Saturday morning with two introductory lectures on development and academic appointments in the field of wind energy (Christoph Schwarzer) and the future of lighting in the post-bulb era (Mathias Wickleder). The pupils then went through four stations in groups: There were introductions to literature work by library staff, lab tours in the energy and physics laser labs, their own experimental practicals in the didactics of chemistry and physics as well as exercises on dealing with texts and information. The event day was organised by Stine Jaeckel, a doctoral student in the didactics of chemistry, and was supported by a further 25 volunteers.

The 1st Long Night of Science was a success for the event. Visitors made use of the many offers with curiosity and interest.
The stand of the energy education project was very popular. Guests tested their own "puff" of energy on a wind turbine, tested their knowledge with the energy quiz and experimented with the Lego model of a solar system.

The energy education project took part in the 26th Education Week with an energy education theme day. Teaching materials with many experiments were presented at an energy education marketplace. Workshops and lectures on energy education were also offered.

The energy education project had a stand at the Ideeen-Expo 2009 in Hanover, which was very well received.

Energy experiments were carried out on site and every visitor was able to test their knowledge with the energy quiz. Over 3000 visitors took part in the quiz and learnt about the project activities.

Press release Energy education at the Ideen-Expo

From now on, we will be soldering, building, designing and experimenting, because:
On 8 May 2009, an electricity workshop was opened at the Staakenweg primary school in Oldenburg.

The energy education project (TP 7 Sachunterricht) provided the first teaching concepts on the subject of energy for the electricity workshop, which are now being tested by the teachers and pupils.
Teacher training courses on the electricity workshop will be offered shortly. Information on this can be found at www.ofz.de

Press release Electricity Workshop

The subject teaching sub-project organised a painting competition. Primary school pupils drew over 800 pictures on the subject of "Energy in your environment". The best pictures were honoured with a small ceremony on 11 May 2009. The pictures painted by the children are the basis for an evaluation of the concept of energy among children of primary school age.

1st prize: Leonie Harb, 7 years old, Georg-Ruseler-School, Varel

On Thursday, 05.02.2009 from 15:30 the kick-off event of the project "Energy education for a sustainable energy supply and energy use" took place in the lecture hall centre of the University of Oldenburg. The event consisted of a festive programme and an exhibition. More than 130 interested people (teachers, company representatives, representatives of the city of Oldenburg, university members) took part in the event.

Welcoming address by

Prof Dr Mathias Wickleder, Vice President of the University of Oldenburg

Greetings by

Prof. Wolf-Dieter Hasenclever, Director of the Lower Saxony State Office for Teacher Training and School Development (NILS)
Prof. Dr Gerd Schwandner, Mayor of the City of Oldenburg
Dip. - Ing. Thorsten Janßen, Board Member OLEC, Director bfe

Introduction to the project

Prof. Dr Ilka Parchmann, Project Spokesperson
Prof. Dr Dr h. c. Heinz Kaminski, Project Spokesperson

The project "Education for sustainable energy supply and use" begins on 1 November 2008.

The joint project of the University of Oldenburg, consisting of 11 sub-projects, has been approved. It will run for 3 years and is funded by the Lower Saxony Future and Innovation Fund foundation.