This Monday saw the launch of the last interactive whiteboard in Chemnitz, which was funded by the Digital Pact for Schools. The board was put into operation by Mayor Ralph Burghart.
Thanks to the Digital Pact for Schools, it was possible to install nationwide Wi-Fi at Chemnitz schools. Around 13,000 mobile devices and around 2,000 digital display systems are now in use in the schools. The number of devices to be managed by the school computer centre increased from 8,500 (2018) to 25,000 (2024) as a result of the digital pact.
Digital pact for schools
From 2019 to 2024, the federal government made €5 billion available for investment in digital education infrastructure. In 2020, a further €1.5 billion was added due to the coronavirus pandemic. The aim of the Digital Pact is to establish a modern digital education infrastructure across the board. The federal states committed to implementing digital education by means of pedagogical concepts, adapting curricula and reorganising teacher training and further education.
In Saxony, the Digital Schools Directive formed the basis. According to this, the city of Chemnitz - school authority for 84 schools - received a grant totalling around 12.5 million euros. Other projects funded by the Digital Pact and the increased federal funding from 2020 increased the grants by a further €5.5 million to a total of €18 million. In addition to the federal funds, the City of Chemnitz financed its own share of €1.2 million in the area of equipment and €3.2 million in the area of building-side data network expansion.
20 years of the SyS-C school computer centre
Increasing technology in schools requires expert administration. This task is carried out by the Chemnitz City Education Authority with the School Computing Centre team. Between 2004 and 2007, Chemnitz University of Technology, the teachers' working group and various companies developed a system solution for the city of Chemnitz's schools to support the interdisciplinary use of new media. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the European Social Fund subsidised the solution as one of four projects. The resulting school computer centre team, SyS-C for short, now manages the operation of the IT infrastructure at the municipal schools in Chemnitz.
The main components are the centralised user administration and the associated services. The entire system is designed to take account of the special requirements of everyday school life and to relieve teaching staff of administrative tasks.
In 2009, the City of Chemnitz received the Public Private Partnership Innovation Award for this project. Today, 14 employees are responsible for day-to-day operations, supported by the educational IT coordinators in the schools. The solution is still a benchmark in Germany today.
100 years of the Media Education Centre
The Media Education Centre (MPZ) is a municipal institution of the city of Chemnitz. It has now been in existence for 100 years and serves to support media education and digitalisation in schools. Teachers on secondment, who can rely on their practical experience in schools, impart their in-depth expertise to teachers and educators in training courses and consultations. They support schools and day-care centres in practical media work, advise schools on technical equipment and the creation of media education concepts and provide support in the planning and implementation of projects and media education days.
There are 13 media education centres in Saxony.