AUTHOR Cornelia Amtenbrink
PUBLISHED 21. FEB 2015
TUMO Lüdenscheid – Center for Creative Technologies
‘TUMO is a place where students can come after school to experience and experiment with technology.’
– MARie Lou Papazian (CEO – TUMO)
TUMO is an innovative free educational concept for young people between the ages of 12 and 18 that was developed in Armenia and introduced in Germany through the KfW initiative. In the worldwide centres named after the Armenian poet Hovhannes Tumanyan (abbreviated to TUMO), young people can learn skills in digital technologies and creative methods. The students develop their own – digitally supported – learning path in self-learning sessions and workshops.
The aim is to enable young people to deal with the challenges and opportunities of digitalisation in society and the world of work. With 14 centres worldwide, 28,000 participants currently take part in over 600 monthly TUMO workshops every week. In Germany, TUMO Lüdenscheid is the fourth TUMO centre to open its doors, alongside the centres in Berlin, Mannheim and Hirschaid.
A TUMO centre will be set up on around 700 square metres in the SternCenter in Lüdenscheid’s city centre on the premises of the former Targo Bank. At the end of 2023, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) approved funding of around 6.5 million until 12/2027.
The centre will give young people access to modern technologies and educational opportunities, including topics such as digital media, robotics, design and programming. As a subsidised model project in a rural region, the FernUni Hagen is conducting the accompanying research, which is also funded by the BMBF.
At TUMO Lüdenscheid, young people learn important digital skills that qualify them for the labour market of the future. They will learn a positive and empowering approach to digital media and tools through the playful and self-efficacy-based educational concept.
By specifically addressing and involving children and young people from all educational backgrounds, TUMO Lüdenscheid can contribute to equal opportunities in the education system and reduce the ‘digital divide’ in our society. Last but not least, companies should benefit from the fact that children and young people from the region lose their fear of digital tools and learn skills that are urgently needed in the region. The aim is to give young people the courage and skills to help shape the world of tomorrow with their individual talents and abilities.b.invest gGmbH was founded in October 2023 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the city of Lüdenscheid with a focus on investing in education. The aim is to establish and operate an innovative education centre in the region based on the Armenian TUMO model.
With a core team as well as workshop leaders and coaches at TUMO Lüdenscheid, b.invest enables future-orientated education for all 12 to 18-year-olds from the region.
Source: b.invest_briefing_press_talk_28.11.2024
07.02.2025 Cornelia Amtenbrink