Inspiring the next generation to explore science

Solar has renewed our contract with JetNet, a non-profit organisation aiming to inspire young people to pursue a career in science and technology. The purpose of our partnership is to build a bridge between education and business life, inviting youngsters into Solar to get a feel of how they can form a career in practical life.

Last year, Solar in Vejen opened the doors to 28 young minds from a local school, Grønvangskolen. A handful of Solar Danmark’s  technical specialists invited the students in for a day to hear about their work lives, their jobs and their thoughts on the trade. The students were introduced to work cases displaying tasks and challenges from real work situations, and were asked to solve specific problems in groups. All with the purpose of giving them a sense of how they can turn knowledge into practical work, when they are ready to start their own work lives.

”Solar’s employees have shown a lot of enthusiasm in this project and taken the opportunity to show the students what they work with and how Solar adds value to our customers and the society we are a part of,” says Søren Andersen, head of our technical staff in Southern Denmark. “From Solar’s extensive product portfolio, we have selected energy and energy saving technologies as our focus areas for the students’ projects. This enables us to talk about anything from major issues like heating to more down-to-earth topics, e.g. why it is important to remember to turn off the lights in your room.”

Influencing tomorrow’s workforce

The event was part of a national campaign, Wise Hands, where companies all over Denmark invited students in to experience a workday within their fields. In short, it is about demonstrating to the youngsters the many ways they can shape their careers, no matter what they choose to study. There is no one way of working if you become e.g. an electrician. You can go the traditional way for sure, but an electrician can also be part of a business process, developing advanced products and shaping bigger solutions to their customers.

“Solar is active in our partnership with JetNet and Grønvangskolen because we believe that we can make a difference when it comes to motivating children and young people to go for educations within technology and science,” says Tore Håkonsson, Senior Vice President in Solar Group. “Children today decide on the direction of their careers at a relatively young age, and often before they move on to upper secondary school. We want to stimulate the young people’s curiosity in time and make them understand their own potential. And maybe, if we’re lucky, one day they will be part of our workforce, contributing with the expert knowledge and curiosity which was fostered during a visit with us,” he finishes.

With the renewed partnership between JetNet and Solar, we have initiated yet another project with Grønvangskolen, this time preparing a group of 9^th graders for a project which will be part of their final exams.

You can read more about JetNet here