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selectedGood education not only gives direction to each and every one of us, it also forms the basis for a fair society, for the future prosperity of our country, and for our democracy. This is why Würth supports numerous institutions that contribute to the continued personal and professional development of employees, their families, as well as customers and other interested parties.
WÜRTH FOUNDATION
Bettina Würth founded the independent school Freie Schule Anne-Sophie in Künzelsau in 2006. Its sister school opened in Berlin in 2011. Both schools are state-accredited and offer education from primary school to high school graduation for more than 1,000 students. The Würth Foundation is the supporting organization behind the schools. The focus in Berlin is on bilingual education in German and English. Freie Schule Anne-Sophie Künzelsau has been a “Global Ethic School” since 2018. Despite the considerable challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the school communities showed true dedication in 2020 in providing children and young people with a certain degree of normal school life and carefully accompanying them along their learning journeys.
Besides the concept of target- and performance-based learning in an actively shaped learning environment, the main focus lies on acquiring independent learning skills and developing social skills. Appreciation, mindfulness, willingness to learn, and confidence are the four basic attitudes of Freie Schule Anne-Sophie. They are upheld in the daily school routine with a common goal: Every child should leave the school as a winner. This is how Bettina Würth explained her motivation for setting up the school back in 2006.
Talents are promoted: Junior gymnast Jonas Albrecht from
Freie Schule Anne-Sophie did a spontaneous backflip when he received one of eleven gifted scholarships worth EUR 1,000 for
the 2019/20 school year.
WÜRTH FOUNDATION
Promoting entrepreneurial thinking and action at schools in Baden-Württemberg, the Competence Center for Economic Education in Baden-Württemberg has been committed to this objective for 15 years now. Founded in 2005 at the initiative of Prof. Dr. h. c. mult. Reinhold Würth under the umbrella of the Würth Foundation, today’s portfolio includes numerous programs: The Würth Education Prize supports outstanding economic projects in schools. The company placement program allows teaching staff to partake in placements in the corporate world. Managers from schools and the business community exchange ideas at symposia. The “HANDWERKSTATT” (TRADES WORKSHOP) offers students career counseling in the trades. With the federal state prize for graduates of secondary technical schools, the Würth Foundation supports special achievements and voluntary commitment.
In 2020, a study launched by the Competence Center showed that the subject of economics in vocational and higher education, introduced in Baden-Württemberg’s general high schools in 2016, is starting to have an impact for grades 7 and 8.
Seventh and eighth graders who study the subject of economics in vocational and higher education are more interested in the world of business. Prof. Dr. Günther Seeber from the University of Koblenz-Landau hands the economic literacy study over to Stefanie Hagenmüller, Head of the Competence Center for Economic Education.
WÜRTH FOUNDATION
The Würth Foundation is the supporting organization for the Foundation for the Promotion of Reinhold-Würth-Hochschule of Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences in Künzelsau. With around 1,500 students, the Künzelsau campus is home to the Faculty of Engineering and Business at Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences. The university offers eleven hands-on bachelor’s and master’s degree programs, most of them organized as online programs in 2020 due to the pandemic. The foundation’s work helps to strengthen the university itself. Two of the biggest initiatives supported in 2020 were the further internationalization of the faculty and Würth's Robotic Learning Center.
In 2012, the Würth Foundation established the Markus Würth Endowed Professorship for Pediatric Neuro-Orthopedics and Cerebral Palsy at the Technical University of Munich, which is currently held by Professor Renée Lampe. At the University of Tübingen, the Würth Foundation supports the Tübingen Poetry Professorship (Tübinger Poetik-Dozentur) within the German Seminar.
Around 1,500 students are enrolled in a total of eleven bachelor’s and master’s degree programs at the Reinhold-Würth-Hochschule university.
For more than 25 years now, the “Fit mit Würth” (Fit with Würth) health management program of Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG has been offering a wide range of activities such as special activity and health days, seminars, and a variety of courses designed to comprehensively promote and enhance health and well-being. The health program is aimed at employees and their family members. It covers the areas of ergonomics, exercise, nutrition, well-being, and occupational health and safety.
In January 2020, Fit mit Würth, the BKK Würth health insurance fund, and the Works Council gave employees access to the “Humanoo” health app, which features workouts, mindfulness exercises, nutrition tips, and recipes. Additionally, in a year dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, classes and active breaks were accessible to all employees via Skype at lunchtime and in the evening in 2020. The topic of health is also playing an increasingly important role in the subsidiaries of the Würth Group: The Würth Elektronik Group, for example, launched an in-house health program called “WEtality” at its sites in Germany.
Be it to build muscle, lose weight, or reduce stress, in addition to digital formats, a wide range of courses helps individuals achieve their personal health goals.
Math, German, and the trades: In the 2019/20 school year, 250 schools in Germany incorporated “MACH WAS! (DO SOMETHING!) The trades competition for school teams”, a Würth initiative under the patronage of the trades association Aktion Modernes Handwerk e. V., into their class schedule. A total of 3,820 students in grades seven to ten embarked on a project to increase the appeal of their school premises in February 2020. They received expert tips from craft businesses in the region. Würth provided support in the form of a work kit and T-shirts for all participating students, along with a budget of EUR 1,000 for each school team. The aim of the competition is to get young people excited about the trades, to show them options for potential careers while making sure they have fun in the process, and, in doing so, to counteract the shortage of skilled workers.
The students spent around nine months planning, screwing, sawing, and drilling. The best ideas were selected by online voting, and a jury of experts decided on the prizewinners: Staatliche Realschule Neustadt bei Coburg took first prize. Second place went to Freie Waldorfschule Oberberg, with KGS Wiesmoor coming in third. Freiherr-vom-Stein School in Hünfelden was awarded the special prize for “Innovation”.
Ninth-grade students from Realschule Neustadt bei Coburg build seating made to look like books for their school library.
Continuing education is a key component of corporate culture at Würth. In addition to commercial, logistics, and technical apprenticeships, Würth also offers twelve bachelor’s degree courses in these areas in collaboration with Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University.
Akademie Würth was established in 1991. It facilitates individual further education and lifelong learning extending beyond initial vocational training. This is why Akademie Würth Business School offers all Würth Group employees academic continuous education programs for working professionals. The programs are also open to all interested individuals who do not work for the Würth Group, with a large number of well-known companies taking advantage of them. In cooperation with several distance learning universities, Akademie Würth Business School offers bachelor’s degree courses such as business administration and industrial engineering, and master’s degree programs such as the Master of Science in Digital Management and Transformation.
Together with the University of Louisville in Kentucky, USA, Akademie Würth Business School has also been offering a part-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Global Business for working professionals since 2001. This MBA degree is awarded by the University of Louisville after 13.5 months of study. During this period, two stays in Louisville give participants the opportunity to experience studying at a renowned research-intensive American university.
Since this year, interested individuals have also been able to work towards a Master of Science degree majoring in “Family Business” while continuing to work at the same time. The courses last six months and are offered in cooperation with Heilbronn University of Applied Sciences.
The Würth-sponsored initiative “MACH WAS! (DO SOMETHING!) The trades competition for school teams,” which provides career guidance to seventh to tenth graders, is now firmly established thanks to the very positive response to the program. In the third round, which will start in the 2021/22 school year, 250 schools from all across Germany will be able to participate. The aim of the initiative is to get young people interested in the trades, to show them options for potential careers while making sure they have fun in the process and, in doing so, to counteract the shortage of skilled workers.
