Gala event honoring winners of the 8th MINT Competition
In the coastal town of Neustadt, the eighth edition of the MINT competition took place last Thursday, with a focus on climate-related challenges. Organized by the Neustadt Coastal Gymnasium and the Rotary Club Neustadt-Ostsee, the competition aims to inspire the professionals of tomorrow for MINT careers at an early age.
The MINT competition, which has been running since the 2015/2016 school year, involves Mathematics, Informatics, Natural Sciences, and Technology, crucial for understanding, participating in, and shaping the modern world. Last week, five projects were presented, all of which were awarded.
One of the standout projects was Katharina Tock's "CO2 Sponge Shoes," which proposed using shoes with cartridges containing activated carbon in the soles to filter CO2 from the air while walking. The innovative idea won the 2nd Prize for the Middle and Upper School. The project estimates that 10,000 people could absorb between three and nearly five tons of CO2 from the air.
Another winning project was Lilli Knauff and Janice Braun's "Streets 2.0 - The Streets of the Future," which explores the possibility of building future roads as "spongy roads," using puzzolanes, zeolites, and cellulose as building materials. This project won the 1st Prize for the Middle and Upper School.
The Lower School also saw some impressive projects. The "Plant Watering Pot" (Kalle Bouman/Phil Wenzel) won the Second Prize, while the "Moss Walls" (Ermira Maliqi/Leonie Geue) won the First Prize of the Lower School. Moss walls, known for their ability to filter 20 grams of fine dust per square meter from the air, can be 100 times more effective than comparable forest areas in filtering CO2 and fine dust from the air.
Pio Kleinwort expressed concerns about the potential impact of AI on the social climate in school, but the MINT competition's focus on fostering the interests and abilities of students at the Coastal Gymnasium, securing both individual future prospects and the competitiveness and future viability of the economy, seems to be a step in the right direction.
For precise details about the 8th MINT competition in Neustadt in Holstein regarding its goals, winners, and other aspects, I recommend consulting official websites or press releases from the event organizers, local educational institutions involved in STEM outreach, or regional news outlets covering educational events in July 2025.
The MINT competition, with its focus on climate-related challenges, incorporates environmental-science projects such as Katharina Tock's CO2 Sponge Shoes and Lilli Knauff and Janice Braun's Streets 2.0, demonstrating the importance of science education and self-development in addressing environmental issues. The competition also encourages younger students to engage in MINT careers through projects like the Plant Watering Pot and Moss Walls, which showcase the impact of these fields on the environment.
