"We created the Mobilis Student Lab because schools have fewer opportunities for students to carry out physics and chemistry experiments that put theory into practice. To this end, we have set up a space on the ground floor where children can follow the lectures from the stands, and three special classrooms where they can try out experiments." said Dr Tibor Dőry, Managing Director of the Mobilis Interactive Exhibition Centre, explaining the essence of the programme. 

He added that over the past four years, nearly 8,000 students from 20 partner schools have participated in the programme, visiting the centre in several grades. He stressed that the collaboration between the centre and the schools had given the students a great experience, making them more open to the world and more receptive to science. The aim is also to encourage young people to choose Széchenyi István University, in the neighbourhood of Mobilis, as a place to study after secondary school.

Dr Tibor Dőry, Managing Director of Mobilis Interactive Exhibition Centre (Photo: Csaba József Májer)

The European Union has granted 262 million forints in non-refundable funding to the project, which was made possible through the cooperation between the Győr University Public Benefit Association (GYEKE) and the Mobilis Interactive Exhibition Centre. Dr Szabolcs Rámháp, President of GYEKE, said that the programme enabled children to learn science in an experiential and competence-based way through outsourced lessons and theme days.

"As Győr is an important centre for the automotive industry, there is a great need for a supply of professionals, young people with a scientific orientation and an interest in engineering careers. Seeing the enthusiasm of the children, I feel that the Student Lab has achieved its goal," Dr Rámháp underlined.

Dr Szabolcs Rámháp, President of the Public Benefit Association for the University of Győr (Photo by Csaba József Májer)

Szabolcs Rákosi, Manager of Corporate Relations and Career Guidance at Mobilis, shared some interesting data with the audience. 

In four years, 1,766 sessions were held, attended by 7,927 young people, with a total attendance of 105,121. He pointed out that during the COVID pandemic, when attendance in person was not possible, a Student Lab Suli TV was launched, with more than 350 videos.

These have already been viewed more than 150,000 times. Interestingly, the number of views is still close to 30,000 in 2022, so the materials were not only useful during the pandemic, but also complement classroom education. In addition to the video content, online competitions were also held, with tests completed by almost 28,000 participants.

Participants shared their experiences of the programme (Photo: József Csaba Májer)

In his presentation, Milan Molnár, the project's technical manager, spoke about the structure of the programme, which was designed to meet the needs of schools, teachers and students.

Nearly fifty schools participated in the preliminary needs assessment, and on the basis of this experience, the focus was placed on experimental demonstrations and student experiments. The popularity of the programme was also demonstrated by the schools' representatives, who shared their experiences in a round-table discussion at the concluding stage of the event.