It is expected that 8 to 10 billion people will be living on the Earth in 2050, all of which will have a right to provision with basic supplies, consisting of water, food and energy. The demand for end products (cars, mobile phones, computers, etc.) will also continue to rise constantly, as will the demand for employment and various services (health, transport systems, housing). This presents humanity with massive new challenges, which can only be solved by means of new technologies. These technologies require an interdisciplinary approach, which is indispensable if one wishes to solve the major problems of our time.

Interdisciplinarity mans that the researcher, the student, the schoolchild is placed in the position of being able to combine themes from classic sciences such as chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, pharmacy or materials sciences, in order to make his or her own use of the entirety of available knowledge. The interdisciplinary use of the classic sciences is called nanotechnology. In Germany, 47 universities now offer nanotechnology as a key course element, 15 of which have a genuine course of studies in nanotechnology (BA/MA). The situation is the same in almost all industrial nations throughout the world.

This all inevitably affects our educational system, because we already have to start in schools with the conveying of the knowledge needed to solve complex challenges and to be able to recognise the interrelationships of global problems. We, as Advanced Materials Science rano GmbH, make our contribution by providing high-quality teaching materials.

The quality and education of following generations has always been decisive for our future. Education needs to keep pace with this enormous development and ensure that we continue in future to have qualified personnel who are equal to the tasks. Education here has to adapt to new conditions, strengthen interdisciplinary thinking and already start at school, at the place in which our children’s urge to experiment and interest in the world is awakened.