Visitors from Singapore observe training in Sindelfingen

Partnership between the Gottlieb Daimler Schools in Sindelfingen and a school in Asia has been in place for 25 years

The partnership that exists with the Institute of Technical Education (ITE) in Singapore is a firmly established part of life at the Gottlieb Daimler Schools. The Singaporean Minister of Education has now paid a visit to Sindelfingen.

In 1991, the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg concluded a cooperation agreement with the City State of Singapore with the aim of boosting economic relations. The establishment of school partnerships formed one element of this agreement.

At the school level, these arrangements were implemented and nurtured by two former principals of the Gottlieb Daimler Schools (GDS), Wolfgang Wirtky and Robert Kienle. The work they started has now endured for a quarter of a century.

Exchange programmes have been organised at various levels since the beginning of the partnership. Singaporean trainees visit GDS 2 on a regular basis in order to attend lessons and complete internships at local companies. Trainee technicians have already been involved in executing joint projects, and cohorts of pupils from the Technical Upper Secondary School of Environmental Technology at GDS 2 have had the chance to visit the ITE in Singapore.

Unlike in Germany, where the dual system has very much proved its worth, vocational training in Singapore is entirely school based. This means that it largely takes place without company practice.

"By way of contrast, we work closely with our dual partners," says GDS 2 Principal Karin Bieber-Machner. "This is what interests our guests in particular." For this reason, the Singaporean Minister of Education Ong Ye Kung, who was paying a visit on the occasion of the extension of the partnership agreement, was extremely keen to visit the Technical School Centre in Sindelfingen.

A high-ranking delegation viewed the state-of-the-art equipment in the mechatronics laboratory, where the school-based element of training is delivered. The group then moved onto Daimler AG, the most important partner company of the GDS.

The South-East Asian Region is considered to be an important hub for many companies based in Baden-Württemberg. For this reason, companies are supporting the school by making internships available and by sponsoring part of the leisure programme for Singaporean trainees.

Source: krzbb.de (website of the German newspaper Kreiszeitung Böblinger Bote), revised by iMOVE, May 2016