We are mint & pepper – an outreach project of Wyss Zurich, a center of ETH Zurich and University of Zurich. We provide children and young people in Switzerland with access to top international research.
With direct access to current research and with our eventful and specially designed offers, we inspire children and young people for STEM subjects – Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (MINT in German), life sciences and entrepreneurship. Within these, they gain a better understanding of our technology shaped world. They develop solutions to real-life challenges not only with their heads, but also with their hands.
Finally, it is all about helping children and young people to gain their inner strength. A spirit of discovery, creativity, responsibility, reflection, perseverance, humor and empathy are just a selection of the qualities that come out within the teamwork of our challenges. Through our offerings, we help children and young people to explore their talents. They broaden their horizons for their choice of education and career and use their individual strengths – just pepper – to shape their future and the future of us all.
Our coaches are students and apprentices from ETH Zurich and ABB. On the one hand, they convey the content of our workshops - in a way that builds on mutual support and cooperation. They also act as role models for the children and young people - by giving them an insight into their professions and study programmes.
In 2011, the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering and the Autonomous Systems Lab at ETH Zurich received a request from a primary school teacher, who wanted to discover the world of robotics together with her students in a practical and up-close way. This is how the first mint & pepper workshops came about, which quickly had an impact. One student, for example, said: "First I'll become a professional ice hockey player, then an ETH professor." Over the next few years, numerous requests from other schools followed, and interest grew to such an extent that Stefan and Hanna (the two drivers of the initiative) began looking for ways to institutionalize mint & pepper.
Thanks to the support of Prof. Dr. Roland Siegwart, who has become a driving force behind the initiative, and thanks to the long-term partnerships formed at camps, mint & pepper became affiliated with the Wyss Zurich Translational Center (ETH Zurich / University of Zurich) in April 2018. What started as a simple request has evolved into a project that has reached thousands of children and young people in Switzerland to this day. In addition, hundreds of teachers could be supported in the implementation of the “Curriculum 21”.
With the affiliation to Wyss Zurich, mint & pepper has also expanded its portfolio of workshops to include so-called education services. Partners can thus be supported in the development and expansion of engineering and concept development for the promotion of young talent, because – together we are stronger! For example, mint & pepper developed the CYBATHLON-@school modules for the CYBATHLON of the ETH Zurich. Furthermore, mint & pepper was part of the project team for the development of ROTECO.
New mint & pepper offerings provide special insights into life sciences and entrepreneurship in addition to STEM topics. To complement the broad promotion of young talent, mint & pepper is launching the Wyss Zurich BioSTARS program in 2023 - thanks to the initiative of Prof. Dr. Dr. Simon P. Hoerstrup. The world is facing many challenges. To solve them, we need exceptional talent. Switzerland, with its excellent universities, offers the ideal environment to educate and nurture gifted individuals and thus secure the next generation for research and entrepreneurship in the long term. This is where Wyss Zurich BioSTARS comes in and accompanies talented individuals from the age of 16 onwards specifically on their educational path.
Wyss Zurich is a unique accelerator embedded in ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich, whose projects it supports. It focuses on the development of treatment protocols and clinical therapies, as well as novel technologies and intelligent systems in the emerging fields of regenerative medicine, robotics and related technologies. By integrating projects from different disciplines and providing access to world-class resources, Wyss Zurich applies science to improvements in quality of life while fostering entrepreneurship.
We work together with a strong network of sponsors and partners.
Together with our supporters and partners, we exchange ideas in a collaborative network of STEM and life science enthusiasts and support each other, because - together we are stronger!
