As a leader in the petrochemical and refining industry and a major employer in the Czech Republic, we are constantly striving to raise public awareness of the importance of chemistry in everyday life, to try to intensify the interest of the younger generation in the study of chemistry and to support students and schools in their study and educational efforts. Every year, over a thousand students visit the production plants of the ORLEN Unipetrol Group as part of excursions, around 100 students completed a work placement or paid part-time job. 111 high school and university students received scholarships to support their study efforts. Overall, Unipetrol and its foundation distributed almost eight million crowns among students and schools in the past school year.
The
EDU 360 concept focused on comprehensive education support is described
here.
The Unipetrol Foundation started its activities in 2017. During its existence, it has distributed CZK 6.5 million to 196 secondary school and university students of natural sciences and technical fields within the framework of a scholarship programme. Within its grant programme, it has distributed CZK 8 million among 49 elementary and secondary schools from all over the country to support educational and scientific activities.
It has addressed 3,200 pupils through the
EduBus project, which stimulates student interest in chemistry using unconventional methods in a specially adapted mobile laboratory. The
Wonderful Day with Chemistry show has been seen by 4,400 pupils.
The main goal of the long-term cooperation with the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague (UCT), which has been going on for 17 years, is to popularise chemistry among young people, to help the UCT in its educational activities and to encourage students to study in the form of scholarships. Common activities include, for example, the
Modern Chemistry Hour project, during which students from the UCT perform at primary and secondary schools all over the Czech Republic with an interactive demonstration class full of experiments. Other joint projects include the annual
Chemistry Olympics for students of the highest grades of secondary schools. Projects aimed at teacher education include the
Summer School for Secondary School Teachers and Secondary School Students and the
Autumn School for Chemistry Teachers. Within the framework of the
Student Scientific Conference project, students from secondary schools are rewarded each year for the best presentation.
The long-term cooperation with the UCT, which started in 2002, culminated in the foundation of the University Centre UCT Prague – Unipetrol in 2015, which is located directly in the ORLEN Unipetrol production area in Záluží near Litvínov. In the Centre, university educators can combine theoretical teaching with practice.
Another activity in support of study efforts and the development of experience is the Student Scientific Conference which we have been organising since 2015 in cooperation with the Institute of Chemistry and Technology and the ORLEN UniCRE Research Centre. Every year, at the end of November, a conference is held in which students present the results of their research work. The works are divided into around 60 sections according to their professional orientation, and each competing student presents their work in front of a professional committee in the form of a short lecture or poster. The best works in all the sections are rewarded with valuable prizes.
The journey to the mystery of oil opens the virtual gates to the refinery in the premises of the chemical plant in Litvínov. This interactive programme describes oil processing and production processes. Although designed primarily for primary and secondary schools, it is a useful and interesting tool for acquainting the individual with the processes that take place in the Litvínov chemical plant, thanks to the teacher's interpretation (created in the programme). You can view the programme directly in the
online version.
Chemistry might not be boring. Primary and secondary school students can make sure of this. Join us and become our fan at
www.facebook.com/zazijchemii, where you can watch competitions for interesting prizes, new events or videos.
Since 2013, an exhibition called Chemistry Around Us has been part of the display at the National Technical Museum. This area is very popular with museum visitors. The National Technical Museum in Prague was established in 1908 and extensive collections have been created here documenting the development of many technical disciplines, natural sciences and industry in the territory of today's Czech Republic.