The Jugend forscht contest

“We are looking for the scientists of tomorrow!” Henri Nannen, the editor-in-chief of stern magazine, coined this slogan when launching the first Jugend forscht contest in 1965. This is as true today as it was then. In science, technology and engineering there is an unbroken demand for highly qualified people. As a result of declining student numbers in these subjects and due to an increasing global competition, the current lack of specialists is going to get even worse. Jugend forscht believes that the education of young people and the development of their careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is a crucial task for our society. This is how we will be able to meet the challenges of the future. Jugend forscht makes an important contribution to identifying and supporting the highly gifted people we need in business and academia.

Partners from Business and Science Jugend forscht is largely financed by the German business. For five decades this concept has been central to making the contest such a lasting success. Currently about 250 partners provide the financial support needed for the contest, and this amounts to an annual total of approximately € 9 million. The money comes from medium-sized enterprises and global corporations, universities, research institutions, foundations and associations. Our partners run the contests, donate awards, and organize other activities such as alumni meetings. Without their collaboration and support the contest could not take place. Henri Nannen devised this financial model. In fact, this innovative approach was quite unique in Germany when the Jugend forscht was founded. Sponsorship and joint partnership is increasingly becoming the norm in the educational sector. And, last but not least, the concept forms the basis for the ongoing expansion of Jugend forscht, which now has 120 contests on the regional, state and national levels.

NATUS - Jugend forscht corporate sponsor since 2010

For more than 10 years, NATUS has been committed to youth research foundation “Jugend forscht” and, as corporate sponsor, hosts the annual regional competition “Jugend forscht – students experimenting in Trier”. The idea behind the competition, which was launched in 1965, was to encourage students and young people to do research and set themselves on the path to doing something useful. Supporting this idea was the motivation for us to enthusiastically take over the sponsorship.