SET Chemistry, the Erasmus+ project between Scalda College and Jobelmann Schule A selected group of students in process and laboratory engineering participated in a two-week exchange between Scalda, the Netherlands, and the Jobelmann Schule located in Germany. This exchange is part of the Erasmus+ project SET Chemistry (Sustainable Energy Through Chemistry).
The set-up of the program dates to early 2020 when Scalda was approached by teachers from the Jobelmann Schule in Stade, Germany, to explore a partnership. By then several representatives of Scalda traveled to Stade to shape this project. Due to the corona pandemic, the exchange was postponed, but luckily in 2021 it was possible to continue the cooperation. Where the representatives of Scalda already visited Stade, it was time for the teachers of the Jobelmann Schule to visit the locations of Scalda to get a good impression of the structure of the school and its courses.
In the SET Chemistry project, the teachers of both Scalda and Jobelmann cooperate in the field of hydrogen and the selected group of students work on related assignments. Those assignments are put into practice via companies, and this is also the part where Dow comes into the picture. As Dow operates both a plant in Terneuzen and Stade this gives a good impression for the students what it is like to work abroad, both in the Netherlands and in Germany, and get acquainted with a company and its values. Other companies participating in the project are AOS, Döhler, Unilever and LAVES.
And who to better ask about the projects’ experiences than the students themselves? A few days after their visit to Stade, Hugo van Rooijen and Sven Wittiber, both teachers at Scalda, visited Dow together with six students who participated in the project and were eager to share how their two weeks looked alike. The students traveled to Stade by train and stayed at a hotel on walking distance to the Jobelman Schule. On the first day a school tour, cultural lunch (Currywurst + Pommes), meet & greet with the German students, and of course an introduction to the project work-plan (SET-chemistry) were scheduled. Where for the second day a company visit and city tour through Stade were planned. The students relate to their first two days as a good immersion culture wise. The following days consisted of the student collaboration on the project ‘’Hydrogen in Colors’’, which compiles basic information about hydrogen and its ‘’colors’’, following classes at school, and performing aligned activities at Dow Stade. Interested get some visual insights? Have a look at their Instagram page.
“What I definitely like about the educational system in Germany is that it is quite
practically oriented while in the Netherlands we focus more on theory, but in the end, a theoretical focus is more efficient if you want to continue studying and obtain a bachelor or master’s degree,” a student said.
Besides working on the EU-funded project, the students expanded knowledge of foreign languages and intercultural communication throughout activities, organized by the Jobelmann students, like visiting the city of Hamburg and going out for dinner all together in Stade. This June, the students from the Jobelmann Schule will complete their part of the exchange and like the students from Scalda, we, as Dow, are looking forward to showing them our Terneuzen site.
