Every year, BIOTECHNICA is host to a number of awards ceremonies. This time, the MTZ-Foundation and BIOPRO jointly awarded the MTZ BIOPRO graduate prize, which goes to high school graduates with the best performance among vocational high schools specialised in biotechnology in Baden-Württemberg, and which had also caught the eye of the biotech branch at the BIOTECHNICA fair.
(Text: Research in Germany, 2009)
The MTZ®-BIOPRO Student Prize
A motivating step on the way to studying Life Sciences
BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH and the MTZ® Foundation signed an agreement for the MTZ®-BIOPRO Student Award, effective for the 2007/2008 school year. Until 2020, this award was presented to the student with the best high school diploma in biotechnology at the 31 biotechnology high schools in Baden-Württemberg.
In Baden-Württemberg, knowledge about biotechnology is taught from an early age. For years, vocational high schools have offered a biotechnology program. This award recognized the achievements of the best high school graduates in the field of biotechnology, a technology of the future.
A motivating step on the path to studying life sciences - the MTZ®-BIOPRO Student Award made it possible to recognize the achievements of students in the field of biotechnology and highlighted the importance of the “biotechnology high school” program, particularly with regard to its significance for medically oriented cell and gene research. The prize was awarded annually to the best high school graduates in the subject of biotechnology per biotechnology high school. It consisted of a book prize and a certificate. The award ceremony was held on site as part of the high school graduation ceremony at the respective school.
The MTZ® Foundation has always viewed this award as an important motivational step on the path to a university degree in this field. The prize therefore played a role that should not be underestimated in the overall concept of the MTZ® Foundation and the ensemble of individual exceptional MTZ® Awards. The aim was to create an incentive to receive one of the coveted MTZ® Awards after successfully completing a university degree in this field.
Interdisciplinary work shapes many work processes - as a state-wide innovation agency, BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg provides targeted support to research institutions and companies in the biotechnology and life sciences sector. As part of its activities, BIOPRO is also actively involved in promoting young talent with its Biotech & School project. "We are delighted to be able to set an example for biotechnology high schools in Baden-Württemberg. We hope that some of the award winners will find their future careers in the life sciences industry. And in the MTZ® Foundation, we have gained an excellent partner whose foundation's purpose is anchored in this very same goal," explains Dr. Barbara Jonischkeit, the project manager responsible at BIOPRO Baden-Württemberg GmbH. Biotechnology is considered a cross-sectional technology and will also make an important contribution to innovation in other established industries in the future. “Even high school graduates who go on to study law or process engineering, for example, can still benefit from their school education later on, because networked thinking and interdisciplinary work already determine many work processes today and will be even more in demand among the employees of tomorrow,” explains Barbara Jonischkeit.
