Fill has been offering career guidance services to interested children and teenagers for more than 15 years. The “Fill Future Lab” concept was implemented three years ago and has been a hit with visitors of all ages ever since. More than 6,000 children and teenagers from surrounding districts and regions have already taken part in workshops at the Future Lab. With the help of games and age-appropriate robots, the lab aims to get children interested in technology and innovation from an early age. Andreas Fill presented the successful concept to a trade audience at the 37th Alpbach Financial Symposium, held on October 11th–13th, 2023.
Gurten, October 30, 2023 – The Future Lab is a real labor of love for Fill. It is where the future generation is being equipped with technical skills and knowledge through workshops, tours and small events. “As a child, I always wanted to be a downhill skier like Franz Klammer. If we ask children today what they want to be when they grow up, we often hear things like hacker,” says Andreas Fill about the paradigm shift. The Future Lab has been created as a facility that caters to what children and teenagers are actually interested in.
Boosting the business location
However, the machine engineering company Fill is already thinking one step ahead. Within the next five years, the ambitious vision “The Next World Project” is set to come to life, elevating the standard of training and education in the Innviertel to a whole new level. An even bigger Future Lab, enhanced partnerships with schools and an expanded workshop curriculum that includes science and environmental subjects will form the backbone of this state-of-the-art educational center. In addition, there will be training programs for small apprenticeship firms in the region that lack the necessary resources. This will make it possible for Fill to teach individual modules to apprentices from other companies as well, thereby helping to strengthen the business location of the Innviertel overall.
Alpbach elementary school students discover the wonder of technology
Alongside the presentations at the Financial Symposium, Verena Hohensinn and Raphael Zweimüller from the Fill Future Lab training team also held hourly workshops titled “Future Lab 2 go – Kids discover technologies”. The robots Dash and Alpha Mini wowed the elementary students with cool dance sequences, Kung Fu moves, and other commands issued via voice or tablet. The Cubetto MINT, a wooden coding robot, enables kids as young as three to take their first steps in the world of programming. Over at the Media Lab, youngsters got hands-on experience creating their own videos using green screen technology. Through VR goggles, they were transported into a virtual world where they tackled basic motor tasks. More than 70 students rotated through the “Future Lab 2 go” stations over the course of the two-day conference. The excitement was palpable. As a token of appreciation for their excellent involvement, Alpbach’s young talents were invited to visit the Future Lab in Gurten in the near future.
Corporate data
Fill is a leading international machine engineering company based in Gurten, Upper Austria. With sophisticated high-tech systems and custom manufacturing solutions for metal, plastics and wood, Fill makes its customers the best in their fields. The automotive, aviation, sports and building industries all benefit from Fill’s expertise. Since it was founded in 1966, the company has distinguished itself through enormous innovative strength, strong values and the best jobs. “If you are seeking the best solution, shape your future with Fill” is the guiding principle of the company’s more than 1,000 employees. “Wir sind 1! We are one!” is their vision and stands for togetherness not only with the team, but also with customers, suppliers and partners. The company is 100 percent family-owned and managed by Andreas Fill (CEO), Martin Reiter (CFO), Alois Wiesinger (CTO) and Günter Redhammer (COO). In 2022, Fill recorded sales of around 187 million euros.
Further information can be found at: www.fill.co.at
