Entrepreneurship: Number of BEAM schools to more than double by 2026/27

For over a year, pupils work in small groups to develop their first start-up idea. Input is provided by external experts.

This idea, which Steffen Haschler, co-founder of SPARKS, adopted from BEAM-USA and adapted to local conditions, is a success story: he started it at his school, the English Institute in Heidelberg, over a decade ago. The programme connects schools with the business world: external experts share their knowledge with students and give them a glimpse into the professional world. BEAM students have not only founded companies as a result, but some of them are also working as student interns at BEAM partner companies.

But why isn’t this great opportunity available at other schools? That was the moment sparks4school was founded: there are so many good ideas, but no one to scale them up. And so the person who anchored the start-up idea in schools with BEAM became a founder himself! We want to take the best, most innovative ideas in the educational landscape and turn them into easy-to-implement modules for the classroom, making them available to teachers free of charge: user-friendly, top quality and with the SPARKS effect – broadening horizons for pupils!

BEAM then grew every year: the number of BEAM partner schools tripled annually – from 1 to 3, from 3 to 10, from 10 to 30. Everything is going according to plan!

We are also expanding our reach regionally: we started in Heidelberg, then moved on to the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. This year, schools in the Stuttgart area joined us. Next school year, we will be turning our spotlight on Freiburg and – if all goes well – Frankfurt!

sparks4school is a reliable partner for all BEAM schools, recruiting external experts and coordinating schedules with the schools. SPARKS also organises a cross-school kick-off event at the beginning to spark the entrepreneurial spirit in the new BEAM students: What are the problems in the world? What specific problem did you encounter today? How could it be solved? Young founders inspire with their stories. Coaches moderate throughout the half-day event. The *SPARKS* fly, and the desire to get things done is ignited.

Let’s get started on the next successful BEAM year! We’re looking forward to it!