Litvínov, March 29, 2019 – Twenty-six talented students of the Educhem secondary school in Meziboří have received scholarships in the total amount of CZK 86,000 in the ceremony room of Wallenstein Castle in Litvínov. Scholarships are traditionally awarded by the school’s management to the students of Applied Chemistry and with the financial support of Unipetrol. This year, there is a total of 54 students studying Applied Chemistry in three years.
“Educhem has been our partner secondary school for a long time where we seek to fulfil our vision to attract more young people to technical and engineering fields. Scholarships represent a motivating opportunity how to support students of chemical fields and find new talents among them,” says Tomáš Herink, a member of the Board of Directors of the Unipetrol Group who is in charge of investment, research and development.
“Funding to students is provided once in six months based on their study average, participation in competitions and representation of the school. This is the second time we award scholarships in this school year. That means that a total of CZK 136,000 has been distributed in motivational scholarships among 48 students,” confirms Helena Kripnerová, principal of Educhem. “We also work together with the Unipetrol Foundation which donated CZK 240,000 last year. Thanks to the financial support of the foundation, five students are this year setting up a hydrogen-powered race car model which will take part in the racing finals in Ostrava in April. We will keep our fingers crossed for them,” Helena Kripnerová adds.
The collaboration between Educhem and Unipetrol takes several forms: in addition to motivational scholarships, higher-year students take part in a two-week practical training at Unipetrol’s laboratories in Litvínov-Záluží in spring. Nineteen students attended this training course last year. The school and the chemical plant also organise excursions, debates and workshops, both for students and their teachers. For instance, joint meetings address the issue of the future focus of students in cooperation with Unipetrol. After their school-leaving examination, students can start working in production operations as operators or continue their studies at the branch of the University of Chemistry and Technology directly on the premises of the Litvínov plant.
Cooperation with Unipetrol Foundation
Educhem also cooperates with the Unipetrol Foundation. This year, it has granted funds for the participation of a team of five Educhem students in the international competition Hydrogen Horizon Automotive Challenge – or H2AC – with the finals comprising races of hand-made hydrogen-driven RC models. In 2018, the school received a CZK 240,000 grant from the foundation. It has used this sum of money to organise chemical seminars for the public in the Most area with the aim to popularise chemistry and attract new students. The school has also received laboratory aids from the foundation. Within its “Chemical Charity Fair” project, the foundation collects used, yet fully functional laboratory equipment from the Unipetrol Group which is subsequently distributed to schools.