Litvínov, November 16, 2018 – A total of 23 students of the Schola Humanitas secondary school have received scholarships from Unipetrol for their excellent study results in the school year 2017/2018. The ceremony took place in the school auditorium. Almost CZK 160,000 has been distributed among the students and the remaining sum of the total donation of CZK 200,000 was used to buy a data projector for the chemical laboratory and for prices for chemic-biological competitions for elementary school pupils organized by the school. Earlier this year, the school succeeded in the Unipetrol Foundation’s grant programme supporting secondary schools when it received a grant of CZK 500,000. Unipetrol has been supporting this secondary school and its students on a long-term basis, whether directly or via its foundation. Many students execute their study projects at the company or get a student job; graduates are welcomed to seek for a position at the company because Unipetrol currently has about 160 open position at its Litvínov plant.
Students receive scholarships based on a points system. The points reflect their long-term study results and involvement in student projects and competitions as well as representation of the school. Twenty-three students were rewarded for their study results for the past school year – fourteen for excellent results; eight for their results in Olympiads and one for specialized secondary-school activities.
“In the past school year, we granted a total of CZK 200,000 to Schola Humanitas. In addition to this donation, we also welcomed 38 students who received practical training on our production premises in Záluží. Students can see real chemical operations and can absorb a lot of information from our experienced staff,” Michał Chmiel, Unipetrol’s HR Director, explains.
Schola Humanitas has obtained additional funds as part of the grant programme of the Unipetrol Foundation supporting equipment of secondary schools. It received CZK 500,000 from the Foundation in the past school year. “We really appreciate the varied cooperation not only with Unipetrol, but also with its Foundation. With their support, our students were able to build a small hydrogen-powered car, and this spring, we took part in an international competition of hydrogen car models. Furthermore, we bought a gas chromatograph and data projector for the school,“ Ladislav Turbák from Schola Humanitas, enumerates.
Unipetrol has been collaborating with this Litvínov-based school since school year 2016/2017 when it contributed the first sum to celebrate the school’s 25th anniversary. Since then, Unipetrol has been organising excursions for students, offering student jobs and lectures; teachers are invited to educational workshops and debates. The company also supplies chemical glass and some chemicals for instruction purposes. Students also appreciate that they can be involved in dedicated research at Unipetrol – for instance, they analysed soil samples at Unipetrol laboratories in October. When preparing their final school-leaving projects, they can also use the expertise of people from practice. Production and testing of a car model with a hydrogen drive was a significant student project of the past school year. A six-month project headed by Pavel Janíček culminated with the participation of the student team in the final race with car models in Prague. Unipetrol has also supported project-based instruction with a set of aids and a construction set for a car with a hydrogen drive.
Litvínov-based Schola Humanitas is a secondary school specialising in science and ecology and is the oldest school of its type in the Czech Republic. It offers modern interactive instruction in a friendly, homely environment. Specialized subjects which are taught at laboratories with state-of-the-art equipment are supplemented with field activities that emphasise the application of the theoretical knowledge to practice. The school-leaving examination includes a specialized final project and its defence. Students also regularly win top positions in district, regional and nationwide specialized competitions and Olympiads.
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