LANXESS’s "Practice and Vision" workshop aims to pass on know-how, unlock creativity and show young people what working in the chemical industry involves. Once a year during the summer vacation, the company invites around 40 schoolchildren with an interest in and talent for science to attend a five-day workshop at Group headquarters in Leverkusen. The up-and-coming young researchers can look forward to an exciting and challenging program. Assisted by experts from LANXESS, they work on concepts for sustainable chemistry from a theoretical and practical perspective.

“High-tech plastics made easy!”

That was the slogan of LANXESS's “Practice & Vision” workshops for school students in 2011. 40 students – 13 from Leverkusen, six each from Dormagen and Cologne and 15 from Krefeld – focused their attention on this versatile material from August 29 to September 2. High-performance plastics are indispensable in everyday life today. They open up a whole host of new design options in all spheres of life. LANXESS plastics can be found in cars, vacuum cleaners, coffeemakers, stadium seats, fishing rods and much more besides. They make vehicles lighter because they replace metal parts that are many times heavier – without sacrificing stability and safety. Less weight means less fuel consumption and therefore lower CO2 emissions.

The aim of the four-day student workshop was to develop plastic innovations and generate new impetus for the future. The young people were invited to give full rein to their spirit of inventiveness and creativity. They presented their product ideas during the “Future Forum” that brought the workshop to a close – witnessed by mayors, LANXESS representatives and proud parents!

The H₂O Challenge
Workshop topics are always closely linked to LANXESS’s core business. In summer 2010, for example, participants explored the topic of water, which will be of vital significance in the future. They identified the major challenges – globalization, climate change and dwindling resources – and actively sought ways in which the chemical industry can help solve the global water problem. The power of chemicals to clean water was then also explored in practical lab tests. Among other things, the schoolchildren used ion exchange resins to filter salt out of mains water.

Synthetic Rubber  -  a true allrounder
In summer 2009, “Practice and Vision” was devoted to the LANXESS rubber year. To explain how synthetic rubber is produced, LANXESS experts got the schoolchildren to make their own fruit gums in the training lab. Like rubber, the gums are made from polymer compounds. In a future workshop, the group sought to identify applications in which rubber’s strengths can be used to maximum benefit. To round off the event, participants presented their ideas and visions in project films they made themselves

A platform for new ideas
“Practice and Vision” made its debut in August 2008. Under the slogan “Environmental protection through chemistry”, participants explored the options offered by “green chemistry” and experienced day-to-day company practices at first hand in LANXESS’s own laboratories. They also received training in creativity and communication techniques. The climax of an eventful week was the presentation of their results to members of the LANXESS Board of Management, politicians, parents, fellow students and teachers – a great platform for new ideas.