“Independent, responsible and open-minded”
Interview with Dr. Bernhard Straub
The Robert Bosch Foundation and UWC Germany founded UWC Robert Bosch College ten years ago. What was the aim behind it?
We wanted to bring the UWC idea to Germany and build a school that brings together talented young people from all over the world, regardless of their parents’ income. A place that offers them a unique educational opportunity and encourages them to work for peace and international understanding. At Robert Bosch College, students are not only challenged academically. They grow into tolerant and responsible young adults who want to change the world for the better after their school days and work for a sustainable future. This fits perfectly with the goals of the Robert Bosch Stiftung.
Are there more parallels between the UWC movement and the Robert Bosch Foundation?
For more than 60 years, the United World Colleges have represented respect and tolerance, peaceful understanding between cultures and the commitment to a just society. These values and principles also apply to the Robert Bosch Stiftung, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. This is no coincidence: Kurt Hahn, the spiritual father of the UWC movement, and Robert Bosch have shared political and educational ideas since their first meeting at the end of the First World War.
Hence the name Robert Bosch?
Yes, Robert Bosch was very committed to education in his own company, but also beyond that. The promotion of education is one of the central tasks in his legacy. On September 23 in 2011, on his 150th birthday, the renovation and building works started. Three years later, on the 50th anniversary of the Robert Bosch Stiftung, the school was officially opened.
Why is it so important to have a school such as the Robert Bosch College in Germany? How can it serve as a best practice example?
Every day, teachers experience that topics such as war, hatred and exclusion do not stop at the classroom doors. Often, they don’t know how to deal with it. Schools should be places where young people learn to respect and understand each other. This also includes accepting and enduring other opinions. We can see how this can be achieved at Robert Bosch College. Those who live together in such a small space do not fight each other. Rather, the realization is growing that problems can be solved better together. The graduates carry on this attitude for the rest of their lives.
You have been CEO of the Robert Bosch Foundation since 2021 and have encountered many students at the College. What impression has stayed with you?
On one of my first visits, I was greeted by three students who accompanied me throughout the day – from a campus tour to lunch to my appointments with the school management. This left a lasting impression, which was confirmed in all further encounters and conversations: independent, responsible and open-minded. For me, this is proof that the time at Robert Bosch College sets in motion a development that produces an attitude in a very heterogeneous student body that is not identical among all students but follows the same spirit.
In 2024, the Robert Bosch Stiftung will celebrate its 60th anniversary, which goes back to the legacy of Robert Bosch. The entrepreneur and founder formulated the double mandate to ensure the continued existence of the company and to continue his social commitment. Today, the foundation works in the fields of health, education and global issues. It is non-profit, independent and non-partisan. The foundation maintains its own facilities, develops innovative projects and provides support at international and local levels, bringing the results of its funding to the professional world and the public debate. The foundation holds around 94 percent of the shares in Robert Bosch GmbH and is financed by its dividends. The company and the foundation act independently of each other. Since its founding in 1964, Robert Bosch Stiftung has spent around 2.3 billion euros on its charitable work.
