Tag Archives: sponsoring

Xceptance Supports Young Explorers with Donation to Witelo e.V.

The little Ozobot speeds around the corner, flashing colorfully, winds its way along a spiral, collides briefly with one of its colleagues and finally finds its way through the maze. It is navigated to its destination by color sensors on its underside, which allow it to follow a defined route. The miniature robot was not programmed by a high-tech engineer, but by Magnus, 10 years old, and the son of our co-founder Simone Drill.

During a programming workshop, he learned to give commands to the Ozobot and to control it with the help of color codes.  This was made possible by witelo e.V. from Jena, who offer working groups and experimentation courses at schools, as well as extracurricular learning formats. These scientific and technical learning venues were founded to promote so-called STEM education, with computer science as one of its components. Students learn the basics about coding, robotics and algorithms in research clubs, on hands-on days and during a wide range of vacation activities. In this context, Magnus also had the opportunity to playfully gain his first programming experience and took his enthusiasm from the workshop home with him.

Source: Ozobot

Word of Witelo’s work quickly spread among the Xceptance staff, and numerous children followed Magnus’ example. Here, the offspring are following in the footsteps of their parents, who are also involved in programming, software testing and development at Xceptance.

“It’s close to our hearts that our children remain curious and have the chance to test their skills, so we would like to contribute to the dedicated work of the association with a donation”, says Simone Drill. “We want to spark young people’s excitement for IT topics and help them to gain perspectives for their career choice.”

With more than 80 network partners from research institutions, companies, associations and initiatives, witelo has established itself excellently in Jena over the past ten years. In addition, there are schools from Jena and the surrounding area, as well as many private individuals who enrich the educational landscape with their commitment. This positive development encourages managing director Dr. Christina Walther in her work: “Students should learn how important an understanding of science and technology is in their everyday lives – but also what great job opportunities the STEM subjects offer.” That’s why she stays in close contact with the parents of her course participants and promotes partnerships with companies like Xceptance. This ensures that the valuable cooperation between schools, science, and business continues to enrich the technical education of young people and that fun and learning don’t exclude each other.

Managing Director Dr. Christina Walther at witelo headquarters

About witelo e.V.

Witelo is the network of science and technology learning sites in Jena. The goal of its work is to get children and young people excited about STEM subjects, i.e. mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology. A broad alliance of city, business, and institutions supports witelo – the work of the association is financed by supporters and sponsors.
You can find further information on the numerous offers and activities on the witelo website.

Xceptance at 11th Charity Relay in Jena

Yes, we did it again. We’re athletic and we care for our community, so we took on another sports challenge and had three of us participate in the 11th Relay Race in Jena, a charity run covering a 3x2km distance.

We had a lot of fun and did pretty well but most importantly we’re happy that this year’s funds will be donated to the Kindersprachbrücke Jena e.V., a local organization devoted to helping refugees and migrants, especially children and their families, learn German and find a new home in Jena.

Open-Air in Jena – kulturarena 2015

Logo KulturarenaWe are again supporting Jena’s widely acclaimed KulturArena Open-Air to contribute to local arts and culture. The international festival, which is held right in downtown Jena, is famous for hosting musical acts from all over the world.

This year’s performers include well-known artists such as Tanita Tikaram, Roachford, and Element of Crime. As always, visitors can also go to movie nights and theater performances. We’re excited to be a part of the biggest open-air event in Thuringia.

So come on out and enjoy exciting summer nights in Jena!

Applications Open for E-Commerce Professorship

The Department of Industrial Engineering of the Ernst Abbe University of Applied Sciences Jena, Germany, invites applications for an endowed full professorship in E-Commerce / E-Business commencing March 1st 2014.

Xceptance supports the university’s bachelor’s degree program that is to comprise classes such as shop management, social media, or online marketing. We believe that education and innovation are major essentials for both personal and national development and therefore want to contribute to this program by providing both financial resources and professional knowledge.

Detailed information can be obtained from the website of the Ernst Abbe University, Jena in English and German.