What happens when you make vocational training about more than passing exams? What if it also stimulates heart and mind? At the Nationales Automuseum, apprentices from the Friedhelm Loh Group enjoy technology not just as a subject, but as an experience. They experience history, not just as something to look back on, but as something that inspires. The educational campus that is continuing to take shape around the museum offers an extraordinary learning environment where young talents take on new responsibilities and explore their creativity in exciting projects.

Sparking enthusiasm

“The Technikum builds on these ideas. It aims to make technology something young people can experience on an intuitive level,” says Daniel Wirth, Head of Training at Rittal. Together with his team, he organises project-based training phases during which groups of apprentices from the whole group work on exhibits and other ways of presenting information.

At the heart of it all is the desire to teach about technology – both as an economic and cultural benefit and as a personal opportunity. Prof. Friedhelm Loh, initiator of the museum explains, “I’ve always been captivated by the daring of Mr Ferrari and Mr Bugatti, and by the technology and design skills of the engineers through the years.” Loh adds that it is important to pass on this sense of wonder to young people – not least as an answer to the question of why technical professions are shaping the future now more than ever before.

Whether it’s feeling for themselves how different carbon and steel doors are or even developing a wind tunnel, the apprentices learn that technology combines thinking and doing. Project Manager Jan-Frederick Templin and classic car expert Uwe Schüler – after whom the Technikum is named – ensure this is a place where ideas come to life. “It is my honour to get young people excited about technology,” says Schüler, who works closely with Prof. Loh on the vision for the museum as a whole.

Input from a pro

One highlight for the young people was an exclusive presentation by Prof. Wolfgang Henseler. The design expert, who works with the museum, provided the apprentices with practical examples of the interplay of good design and strong presentation. Drawing on iconic brands such as Apple and Porsche, he explained how strategy, aesthetics, and emotion can turn a product into an experience. His knowledge of AI, experience design, and storytelling was particularly in demand. Apprentice product designer Fenja Hildebrandt, for example, got a real “aha moment” from this workshop. “I feel very inspired. The workshop provided lots of new perspectives that I would like to start exploring right away.” This practical focus is very much what the Automuseum is about – same as the Friedhelm Loh Group.