The Hacker School is a non-profit project from Hamburg that promotes the digital education of school students between the ages of 11 and 18. The aim is to work together with companies with civic involvement, get young people excited about information technology and programming, and showcase the various career opportunities in the IT industry. The team at Hacker School and employees at Continental pass on their passion for programming, IT, and computer science to young people, thus fostering the talents of tomorrow.

Starting a Career in the IT Industry with Continental

Young people should all be given the opportunity to program and learn the basics of information technology. Together with Hacker School gGmbH and the IT trainees and dual-study students at Continental, we want to spark interest in information technology and programming. The students of the Hacker School will also get to know Continental as a software company and gain an insight into the different areas of the IT industry. The first pilot projects in Bremen, Darmstadt, and Hanover were a complete success, so we can now offer a collaboration with Hacker School across all locations. Our trainees and students from different locations pass on the knowledge they have learned in various workshops and write small programs or games together with the Hacker School students.

Hacker School Enjoys a Constantly Growing Community

Hacker School gGmbH and Continental work together across all locations. Virtual programming workshops and hackathons at different schools create a community among the participants, and programming is no longer seen as insoluble. The content of each program is based on the age and previous knowledge of the participants – there is also a special program for girls: the GIRLS Hacker School.

Förderverein zur praktische Berufsorientierung von Schüler:innen und Jugendlichen e. V. was founded in Waltershausen in 2010 and consists of 24 companies from the region – including the Continental location in Waltershausen. The initiative also cooperates with Realschule Waltershausen, the FöBi education center, and the STIFT foundation in Thuringia. The aim of the association is to promote and support practical career guidance for students between the ages of seven and ten. The aim is to stimulate interest in the natural sciences among pupils from the 7th grade onward – from the 9th grade onward, the focus is on career guidance.

BOWACO has three main areas of work:

1. Career orientation, including internship placements: students receive advice on career guidance and support in arranging internships. Among other things, the students can complete an internship at the Waltershausen location.
2. Bionics center: with around 26 experimental stations on the topic of “biology meets technology,” entire school classes can conduct experimental days here. In doing so, scientific interest is aroused and team spirit is encouraged.
3. Student Research Center: here, apprentices are supported with seminar work and supervised with “Jugend forscht” projects. There is also a student workshop and a robotics working group.

Together with the Gesellschaft für Jugendbeschäftigung e. V. (gjb), the training location in Frankfurt supports apprentices as they embark on their professional career. We help young people with career guidance, the search for an apprenticeship, and applying for a job. The gjb makes it easier for apprentices to get in touch with participating companies. The students visit companies and get to know the different apprenticeships, e.g., at Continental. During applicant training, participants receive feedback on their application, among other things, and are trained by Continental employees and trainees.

In addition to career guidance and career planning and the placement of apprenticeships, the Gesellschaft für Jugendbeschäftigung e. V. and Continental are also involved in the placement of internships, provide support to apprenticeship seekers in difficult circumstances, develop solutions to conflicts, and prevent young people from dropping out of training.

Together with MINT-Labs e. V., Continental Regensburg aims to stimulate young people’s interest in MINT careers and attract young professionals in the fields of mathematics, computer science, natural sciences, and technology. In addition, Continental and MINT-Labs e.V. are committed to providing advanced teacher training for STEM didactics. In addition to the University of Regensburg, OTH Regensburg, and the City of Regensburg, Continental Regensburg is a founding member of the association, which celebrated its opening on July 1, 2021.

The initiative offers a wide rangeof programs, practical work, and individual research opportunities, which can be implemented in its own workshops, laboratories, and the student research center. Apprentices aged eight to 18 are supported by members of the University and the OTH Regensburg, as well as employees of regional companies such as Continental Regensburg.

With our Junior Engineers Academies in Frankfurt and Regensburg, we give technology enthusiasts an insight into the working world of engineers at Continental. In doing so, we aim to stimulate interest in technical professions and impart soft skills and technical content. At the same time, we take advantage of the dialog with teachers and apprentices.

At the Junior Engineers Academy Regensburg, trainees from the 8th and 9th grades of the Goethe-Gymnasium have the opportunity to learn more about technical careers via an elective subject. The various training opportunities at Continental are presented, and projects and lectures on current trends at Continental are offered.

The Junior Engineers Academy Frankfurt is held in cooperation with the Wöhlerschule and the Ziehenschule in Frankfurt. Here, too, students interested in technology can gain an insight into technical careers at Continental via an optional subject. The trainees from our partner schools spend a week at the Continental site in Frankfurt, where they gain an insight into the practical work, can talk to our engineers and dual-study students, and take part in technical project work.

Future Day at Continental is a cross-site event aimed at all high school students with an interest in technology or IT. During Future Day, Continental as a company, along with the various products and the different job profiles, are presented. Each location offers an individual supporting program.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the previous Future Day was transformed into a virtual Future Day across all locations – up to 150 places can be allocated for this purpose, and the feedback was consistently positive. The focus was on careers in the IT and Software field. The participants were able to take their first steps in programming – with many experiences of success. In addition to an introduction to programming and an initial insight into the apprenticeships offered at Continental, Future Day also featured an apprenticeship event where the current apprentices were able to talk about their experiences at Continental and answer questions from the students.

In cooperation with the newspaper Mittelbayerische Zeitung Regensburg, students in 7th to 8th grade are given the opportunity to get to know Continental Regensburg as a location. “Zeitung in der Schule” (Newspaper at School) is a project to promote reading and media use, which also aims to convey IT content and future trends. In workshops on the topics of IT and technology, we present Continental as a training company, and our current trainees and dual-study students exchange ideas with the participants. At the end of the project, the trainees from the partner schools write a newspaper article about a topic of their choice – e.g., about future technologies, which they were particularly enthusiastic about.

#AFTERSCHOOL e.V., an association founded by employees from Continental and Straub-Verpackung in Villingen-Schwenningen, operates under the motto #AFTERSCHOOL – career guidance with fun factor. The aim here is to think differently about career guidance and to treat students at all levels on an equal footing.

At an #AFTERSCHOOL event, trainees can come into contact with a wide range of companies from a host of sectors such as trades, commerce, and industry in a relaxed atmosphere and get a little closer to their future. The participants present training occupations and courses of study. In the form of “speed dating,” apprentices can secure a training place directly here. Live music and food trucks provide a suitable supporting program.

Together with a strong regional network, the aim of the association is to make career guidance approachable and tangible for apprentices in Villingen-Schwenningen.

Together with Code Week Bavaria, Continental co-created a Code Week at the Regensburg location for the first time in 2022. Code Week Germany has existed since 2013 and aims to inspire children and young people for the digital world. Every year, IT enthusiasts can try their hand at working with hardware and software in joint workshops and hands-on activities. There is something for everyone, whether in the field of game development, soldering, digitalization, or robotics.

Trainees can take part in workshops over a period of two weeks. Continental Regensburg offers an exciting program on the topics of autonomous driving, playful programming with the Calliope Mini and Arduino, as well as app development for mobile phones and tablets. Continental Regensburg also offers programming courses for high school teachers as part of Code Week.

By the way: Code Week is not just a hit with school students throughout Germany. Code Week 2021 organized 78,000 events and workshops across Europe, reaching four million people.

Smart City Days is an annual event dedicated to the topic of cities of the future. Companies, experts, interested parties, and students come together to discuss and exchange ideas on innovative solutions and concepts for a sustainable city in the future.

During the Smart City Days, students from the 9th grade and above can participate in various activities, such as workshops or lectures.

The results of the “Improvers” project will also be presented. This is an initiative that works together with students from Hanover. In the project groups, the students develop different solutions for a smart, sustainable, and livable city. Continental accompanies a school class through its design thinking process, offers a glimpse behind the scenes, and presents the students with real problems from day-to-day business that need to be solved.