To promote particularly gifted high-school students, the Schering Stiftung has supported the so-called Pupils Academies organized by the non-profit association Bildung und Begabung since 2004. The annual, 17-day academies take place during summer vacations.

The academy program provides highly gifted and motivated teenagers from Germany and abroad with an opportunity to deal with topics from a wide range of disciplines in the sciences, the humanities and the arts – topics which normally get only short shrift in the regular school curriculum. The course work is supplemented by numerous interdisciplinary activities (e.g. sports, music, theater, field trips, lectures).

The academies aim to provide the young achievers with an intellectual and social challenge, promote their skills and abilities, put them in touch with each other and make them work on difficult assignments in their fields of interest under the supervision of qualified instructors. The level is frequently that of a first-semester university seminar. A key objective of the academies is to provide the young people with new perspectives for their future development and careers by introducing them to a variety of scientific disciplines, fostering interdisciplinary thinking and work and expanding the students’ horizons.

The Schering Stiftung has supported the science-oriented academies because it wants to motivate and encourage young people to grapple with difficult scientific issues that are not part of the standard school curriculum and to test their skills and talents. The Foundation also supports the goal of the academy to strengthen the dialogue and mutual understanding among young people from a variety of cultural and economic backgrounds.

For further information, please visit:

German Pupils Academy