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‘Inventing the Future’: exposing young people to innovation and jobs in manufacturing

The European Finale of the “Inventing the Future” initiative took place on 15 June. Throughout the school year, the programme launched by JA Europe and Arconic Foundation involved some 500 young people (15-19 years old) supported by Arconic volunteers in France, Germany, Hungary and United Kingdom.

Students took part in innovation camps at national level, focusing on manufacturing industries and exposing them to innovating technologies and products. Ultimately, the partnership aims to prepare tomorrow's workforce for successful, rewarding careers that advance the future.

In each country, student teams were asked to present their solutions on how the next generation of materials can help transform urban mobility by 2030. They had to put forward concrete ideas for the urban vehicles of the future based on their learnings about new materials, disruptive technologies and new material applications.

The winners of the national finals presented their innovative ideas to a jury during the European online finale. Team Germany (Alexandros Liapis, Carl-Antonius von Lüninck, Leon Zimmermann, Paul Hense), developed the idea of a hydrogen powered hybrid car which can be fueled by Oxy-Hydrogen gas or charged by electrical energy e.g. coming from the outlet. In the hybrid version a diesel engine can be used, while the car uses special wheels that reduce energy loss. During their presentation, they proofed a broad understanding of the connection between materials and emissions of greenhouse gases. Their idea was selected thanks to its very professional presentation and a comprehensive approach as well as solid scores in all criteria assessed by the jury.

“We wish to thank Arconic for this exciting opportunity, we feel very grateful! Under this initiative we have learnt a lot about team-spirit and improved our knowledge about issues like material innovation and sustainable transport,” said Alexandros and Carl-Antonius from the winning team.

“It was fascinating to see the different solutions presented by the student teams and the passion they put into developing those projects. All 4 teams showed very good team work and they put forward great ideas, therefore it was hard to come to a decision for the jury. Finally, we decided to reward the team that put together most aspects from the comprehensive idea to innovation. I congratulate to the winning German team and my message for them would be to think beyond borders of any kind and expose yourself to as many ideas and people you can. By doing that, you learn and discover new opportunities every day.”  - Francesca Stevens, Director European Government Affairs and Business Development.

“Arconic leads innovation in the industry with advanced materials and technologies which contribute to transform our society and the way we work. Thanks to Arconic Foundation, we are now also able to offer a unique window to new opportunities and career paths for young people,” explains Caroline Jenner, CEO, JA Europe.

Learn more about the European Finale:

The jury:

• Francesca Stevens, Director European Government Affairs and Business Development, Arconic
• Maximo Miccinilli, Director Public Affairs and Communication, European Aluminium Association
• Giulia Catini, Institutional Relations for EMEA regions, CNH Industrial
• Veronica Mobilio, Policy Officer, DG EAC, European Commission

The Award

Winner 2018:The German team was awarded with the opportunity to spend 2 days in Brussels in October to visit Arconic’s premises and participate in JA Europe’s FERD’s list event recognizing inspiring entrepreneurs and leaders.

About JA Europe
JA Europe is Europe’s largest provider of education programmes for entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy, reaching 3.6 million students in 40 countries in 2017. JA works with the education and business communities as well as governments to provide young people from primary school to university with experiences that build the skills and competences they will need to succeed in a global economy.

About Arconic Foundation
As the charitable arm of Arconic – which works in close partnership with customers to solve complex engineering challenges to transform the way we fly, drive, build and power – Arconic Foundation supports programs that help prepare the 21st century engineering and advanced manufacturing workforce. Arconic Foundation is an independently endowed foundation with assets of approximately $320 million. Through collaboration with our nonprofit partners, our initiatives make quality STEM education opportunities available to students; support engineering and technical skills training through community colleges, vocational technical schools and universities around the world; and help to create access for underrepresented individuals to the STEM fields. The work of Arconic Foundation is further enhanced by the thousands of Arconic employee volunteers who share their talents and time to make a difference in their communities. Established in 2016, Arconic Foundation is active in 26 countries around the globe. For more information, visit www.ArconicFoundation.com  and follow our programming on social media.