(source: Courtesy of Kia)
Increasing the interest of children in studying technical specialisations was the main aim of the week-long camps organised by the Automotive Industry Association (ZAP), universities and the three carmakers active in Slovakia.
In addition to presenting the technical studies in a playful way, the project aims to open discussion on threats to the competitiveness of the automotive industry that result from the students’ limited interest in technical studies, the TASR newswire reported.
The situation is more than serious so ZAP decided to join in the process of transforming the current education system, which should satisfy the needs of employers, said the association’s head Juraj Sinay.
The Automotive Junior Academy took place at the premises of the faculties of Slovak University of Technology (STU) in Bratislava and Trnava, and Žilina University.
In Žilina, 43 children attended the camp. In addition to receiving information at the university, they also visited the carmaker Kia Motors Slovakia in Teplička nad Váhom.
“They were interested in the process of attaching the body to the chassis,” Branislav Hadar, head of the education department at Kia Motors Slovakia, told the public-service broadcaster RTVS.
The Automotive Junior Academy took place also in Trnava and Bratislava.
