Gunskirchen, 29th June, 2018 – On Friday, 29th of June 2018 the closing event of the two-year project “flyRIC” took place in the Welios in Wels. This project was organized by the Regional Innovations Centrum (RIC), a subsidiary from BRP-Rotax in Gunskirchen, and realized by cooperating with many popular partners. The aim of this project was to fill children with enthusiasm for natural science and technique (NAWITEC) and wake their interest for this topic.

With the motto „flying connects“, the aerospace topic has been taken up and linked with science and economy. Moreover, interscholastic (net-)working was promoted. The integration of pedagogic staff, teachers and parents into the activities provided a sustainable project success right in time.

The Kick-off event already took place on 5th of October 2016 in the Welios in Wels. At that time, around 300 guests, project participants, as well as parents and friends visited the event in order to experience the performances of the two astronauts Rick Hieb from the USA and Erik Masserschmid from Germany.

In the following months diverse flying machines, single planes as well as team planes, were developed and built by pupils. The children and adolescents were taught theoretical knowledge, excursions were made and they learned how to construct a cockpit. Furthermore, another focus lied on the topics migration and integration. Amongst other things, children and adolescents acquired knowledge about teamwork, working across groups and project management. Finally, their works were displayed at the Welios in Wels and open to the public.

The project participants as well as the project owners attended the closing event on 29th of June 2018 and presented the results to the invited people and the media and press representatives. Dr. Carmen Köhler, the first analog astronaut of the Austrian Weltraum Forum (ÖWF), who participated in the Mars-simulations AMADEE-15 and AMADEE-18, gave the impulse lecture, followed by the science-show “liquid nitrogen”. At the end, there was a tour where people could have a look at the flyRIC exhibition models.

Dipl. Wirt.-Ing. (BA) Josef Fürlinger, general manager of the RIC GmbH said: „We wanted to fill the children and adolescents with enthusiasm for natural science and technique and integrate the parents, teachers and all partners on a long-term basis. We have succeeded and it is fantastic to see how much fund the children and adolescents had and with what openness, curiosity and enthusiasm they learned something new.”

The project „flyRIC“ was supported by the „Talente regional“ initiative of the Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Innovationen und Technologien (BMVIT) and the Austrian Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft (FFG).

The kindergartens of Edt bei Lambach and Gunskirchen, the elementary schools of Bachmanning and Gallspach, the IBMS Wels, the new secondary school of Europaschule Linz, the BG-BRG Dr. Schauer Straße in Wels (US), the Polytechnic school of Schwanenstadt, the HTL Wels and the BRP-Rotax apprenticeshop all together make up the school partners.

The consortium consists of the Regional Innovations Centrum (RIC) as consortium leader, BRP-Rotax, Johannes Kepler University (Department for Diversity & Gender Management), FH Upper Austria, Verein ScienceCenter Netzwerk, ÖWF, Welios Wels and blue danube airport Linz.