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Research & DevelopmentInfrastructure reading time: 5 min publication date: 16.12.2022

START FOR KINDERGARTEN AND “MINI EDUCATION LAB”

© Stadt Villach
Kinder und Politiker:innen auf der tpv Baustelle

The ground-breaking ceremony for the new kindergarten in the tpv Technology Park Villach took place on Thursday. In the course of the kindergarten offensive of the city of Villach, four new groups are created here. The new kindergarten will also have a so-called "mini educational lab", which is unique in Carinthia.

 

Due to the constantly increasing need for childcare places, the city of Villach launched a kindergarten offensive in 2020 and has already implemented most of it. The next step took place in the presence of Governor Peter Kaiser, the ground-breaking ceremony for the new kindergarten in the tpv Technology Park Villach.

A Carinthian-wide unique selling point of this new kindergarten is the addition of a "mini educational lab": This is a research facility that is specially tailored to the needs of three to six year olds. It will also be available to kindergartens throughout the state and will teach important skills in the "STEM" subjects, i.e. science, technology, engineering and mathematics, in a playful way.

Provincial Governor Peter Kaiser: "The state of Carinthia has set itself the goal of becoming Europe's most child-friendly region. We ensure this by making childcare available nationwide free of charge. We have a comprehensive concept with the clear goal of making work and family compatible and to lay the foundation for a continuous education."

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The compatibility of family and work is extremely important to Villach. We also know that this combination offer is now a hard location factor - especially for us as a high-tech city! That's why we're investing around 45 million euros in the coming year alone in the field of education. With the Mini Lab, we want to train the researchers of tomorrow today and promote the spirit of discovery.

 

- Mayor Günther Albel

Villach's education officer, Deputy Mayor Sarah Katholnig: "Our Villach kindergarten offensive has created around 200 new childcare places in recent years and is continuing apace. The new kindergarten in the tpv is one of them. With the new Mini Lab, we are making even more and even younger children curious about the important topic of technology. It's particularly important to me to get the girls on board, to give them a playful yet exciting approach to technology and to get them enthusiastic about it in the long term."

Building officer City Councilor Harald Sobe: "As a city, it is our job to ensure that our children feel comfortable in their learning environment and find the best conditions. That is why we have been investing a lot of money in expanding the infrastructure of the educational institutions for many years and thus creating optimal conditions for our offspring."

"For the content of the program for the mini research laboratory, we will draw on the experience of Lakeside Park Klagenfurt with the educational lab there, in the interests of the central region of Carinthia," says Mayor Albel.

The project is also funded by the Carinthian Economic Development Fund (KWF) and the state of Carinthia.

DATA & FACTS

 

  • Construction costs: Around 6.5 million euros
  • Use possible from: Beginning with the school year 2024/25
  • Four groups, one of which is a daycare group
  • Use of the mini educational lab: up to three groups of 25 children each per day possible