New talents for the materials industries

The shortage of skilled workers and the lack of young talents are also clearly felt in the aluminium industry, with negative consequences affecting both companies and the national economy as a whole. Many companies are already acutely affected by the lack of skilled workers: More than 50 percent of the companies see this as the greatest threat to their business development.¹

Skilled workers and junior staff are a fundamental economic factor; they ensure growth and competitiveness, innovation and quality. Securing the demand for skilled personnel is one of the major and important challenges for all actors in politics, business and science.

As demographic change is hitting particularly hard, the next generation and young talent are now also very important! One of several ways to gain a foothold in the aluminium industry is to study materials science and engineering.

The “Studientag Materialwissenschaft und Werkstofftechnik e. V.” (StMW) is an association of currently 39 German universities with study profiles and teaching offers in materials science and materials engineering. Together they pursue goals such as the development of teaching in this field and the promotion of integrative training concepts, the profiling of materials science and materials engineering as a key discipline and the strengthening of its public perception, as well as mutual support and networking with external strategic partners.

The study programme in Materials Science and Engineering is universal and rich in opportunities, as it is respected in many industries, such as the aluminium industry, and includes numerous fields of activity. Students learn the most important key disciplines for technical and technological progress here. For example, what loads must a material withstand during a rocket launch into space or in a crash? What properties must materials have that are used in electronic components, such as microprocessors or storage media? What about materials that repair themselves at the atomic level? Can different materials, e.g. steel and metals or concrete and textile fibres, be combined to form new innovative materials? These and other questions give a first insight into the diverse tasks and areas of application of the discipline. Hardly any other discipline is repeatedly confronted with such varied tasks – tasks whose solutions can bring about significant changes in all our lives.

In order to draw the attention of young people in particular to the topics, BVMatWerk and StMW, together with other organisations and associations, have launched a large video competition. Within this framework, participants are to creatively present how indispensable materials are. Pupils, students, trainees and young material enthusiasts may present their ideas, opinions and perspectives in a self-made video. There are no limits to creativity – from scientific explanations, visions of the future, experiments or game ideas, everything should be possible to discover the world of materials and share the vision.

Among other things, the campaign aims to inspire school leavers and young students to pursue a career in this field. The three best videos will be awarded with prize money. The closing date for entries is 31 July.

More information and the conditions of entry for the competition can be found here: https://stmw.de/videowettbewerb

Information about the studies: https://stmw.de/vielfalt-des-matwerk-studiums

1 BMWK