Water is life - water is the source of life! The handling of the most valuable resource on our planet can be examined from different perspectives and can be explored using a wide range of knowledge sources. The Erasmus+ project "Well of Water Science" (WOW's) aims to make students from different schools aware of the importance of water as the basis of all life. The sustainable use of the resource "water" as well as its appreciation in personal, social and industrial everyday life is in our focus. During the project period, students and teachers from high schools in the partner countries Norway, Italy/South Tyrol and Germany will work on the topic of water in an action-oriented and experiential way from various perspectives (agriculture, climate change, tourism, production factor, hydropower, drinking water supply, water pollution and transport routes). The three partner schools from Norway, Italy/South Tyrol and Germany have different cultural and ecological backgrounds, which should strengthen mutual understanding and tolerance in the European context. Within the framework of the two-year project, students aged 15 to 18 years from the school types Berufskolleg, Wirtschaftsoberschule (business high school) and commercial-technical high school will participate. Each partner school forms a project team of 15 students and at least 3 teachers. Our project WOW's enables students to learn from and with each other and to explore country-specific similarities and differences in the sustainable use of the resource "water". For this reason, various thematic areas are being jointly developed, all of which have a connection to the European natural and cultural heritage of water: agriculture, climate change, tourism, production factor, water pollution, hydropower, drinking water supply and transport routes. The topic "Water in agriculture" is organized by the Wirtschaftsoberschule Franz Kafka (Italy) and the Friedrich-List-Schule (Germany). The project compares different irrigation systems and analyzes the effects of liquid manure, pesticides and fertilizers on our groundwater. In this context, the Franz Kafka Business High School is researching the effects of the increasing glacier melt on agriculture and tourism. The Askøy vgs (upper secondary) (Norway) and the Franz Kafka Business School are developing the module "Water as an important production factor" based on the example of salmon farming and snow production and derive effects on water pollution and tourism. Against this background, Norway is carrying out joint activities on the subject of seawater pollution using the example of microplastics. The two partner schools also share the field of energy production from hydropower. The Friedrich-List-School again organises action-oriented activities on the topics of drinking water supply, wastewater management and water as a means of transport. The students learn about country-specific challenges in dealing with water, derive effects on the environment and everyday life and understand that water is to be understood as a European and global challenge. In connection with an increased appreciation, a pronounced awareness of the importance of water as a decisive criterion for the development of human society is created. Against this background, it is of increasing importance for our young people to promote the conscious use of water in school, personal everyday life and future professional life and to get to know the country-specific differences and similarities in the European context. Through intensiv cooperation with companies and institutions at regional and international level, students are trained in key competences such as methodological, social, professional and personal skills. The young people prepare themselves intensively for the working and professional world and increase their career opportunities. Through international exchange, students learn about the relevance of international cooperation at school and in the workplace, which is highliting the importance of foreign language competence in the world of work and occupation.
Water is life - water is the source of life! The handling of the most valuable resource on our planet was examined from different perspectives as part of the Erasmus+ project "Well of Water Science" (WOW's) together with the partner schools from Norway, South Tyrol and Germany and researched using diverse sources of knowledge. The Erasmus+ project "Well of Water Science" (WOW's) aims to make schoolchildren aware of the importance of water as the basis of all life. The focus was on the sustainable use of the resource "water" and its appreciation in personal, social and industrial everyday life. During the three-year project period, pupils and teachers from the different types of schools in the partner countries work on the topic of water in an action- and experience-oriented manner from different perspectives (agriculture, climate change, tourism, production factors, water pollution, water analysis, hydropower, drinking water supply). The three partner schools from Norway, South Tyrol and Germany have different cultural and ecological backgrounds, which strengthened mutual understanding and tolerance in the European context. Pupils aged 15 to 19 from the vocational college (technical college entrance qualification), business high school (Abitur), business high school (Abitur) and commercial-technical high school took part in the project. Each partner school formed a project team of around 15 students and at least 3 teachers. Our "WOW's" project made it possible for students to learn from and with each other and to explore country-specific similarities and differences in the sustainable use of water as a resource. Therefore, various subject areas were jointly developed, all of which have a connection to the European natural and cultural asset water: agriculture, climate change, tourism, production factor, water pollution, water analysis, hydropower, drinking water supply. The theme "Water in Agriculture" was organized by the Business School Franz Kafka (South Tyrol) and the Friedrich List School (Germany), comparing different irrigation systems and analyzing the effects of manure, pesticides and fertilizers on our groundwater. In this context, the business school Franz Kafka researched the effects of increasing glacier melt on agriculture and tourism. The Askøy vgs (upper secondary) (Norway) and the business school Franz Kafka develop the module "Water as an important production factor" based on the example of salmon farming and snow production and derive effects on water pollution and tourism. Against this background, Norway carried out joint activities on the subject of seawater pollution using microplastics as an example. The two partner schools also shared the task of generating energy from hydropower. In turn, the Friedrich List School organized action-oriented activities on the subject of water analysis including country-specific comparison, water in agriculture using the example of a table raised bed with automatic drip irrigation from rainwater, water in religions as well as drinking water supply and waste water management. The students got to know the country-specific challenges in dealing with water, derive effects on the environment and everyday life and understood that water is to be understood as a European and global challenge. In connection with an increased appreciation, a pronounced awareness of the importance of water as a decisive criterion for the development of human society was created. Against this background of country-specific differences and similarities, it is all the more important for our young people to promote the conscious use of water in school, in everyday personal life and in future professional life. Through intensive cooperation with companies and institutions at regional and international level, the students were trained in key skills such as methodological, social, technical and personal skills, which enabled the young people to prepare themselves intensively for the world of work and profession. Through the international exchange, the students got to know the relevance of international cooperation at school and professional level, which made it clear to them, among other things, the great importance of foreign language skills in the working and professional world.