Second site of the “International Daycare Center” in Villach opened

The second site of the International Daycare Center (IDC) was officially opened in Judendorferstraße in Villach today. Carinthian Governor Peter Kaiser and the Mayor of Villach Günther Albel attended the opening ceremony together with CFO Oliver Heinrich, who represented the ICD cooperation partner Infineon Austria.

The new IDC opened its gates on 9 September this year and 70 children currently attend the facility. The provision is in four groups; three of them are nursery level for toddlers aged one to three, plus a kindergarten group for children from three to six years of age. The day care center is located on the “Wirt in Judendorf” premises, a former inn. Gerhard Mosser Vermietung und Verpachtung GmbH acquired the building and adapted it in only five months of construction. The public day care center is operated by the non-profit Sonnenstrahl GmbH organization, which also operates the IDC in Siemensstraße and two other establishments in the city of Villach. Sophie Nelhiebel, managing director of Sonnenstrahl GmbH: “The concept is very popular with parents and also the business community. Thanks to this additional center we are now able to meet the growing demand for high-quality kindergarten and all-year nursery places to some extent. This is very helpful especially for parents who cannot fall back on a local network of supporters. With the help of the day care center, they are able to reconcile family and professional life. The day care center is also conducive to successful integration in Villach. The English language and our intercultural approach create a common framework that makes parents and children feel welcome here.”

Infineon Austria as a cooperation partner

After the IDC in Siemensstraße, Infineon Austria is now also a cooperation partner for the new day care center. Oliver Heinrich, CFO of Infineon Austria: “Besides the interesting jobs that Infineon offers, reliable child care is one of the key factors for people to decide in favor of our company; i.e. it is an asset when it comes to attracting experts from Austria and other countries to our company. The IDC with its educational concept has proven its worth for our company and our employees who come from around 60 different nations. Demand has always been high and it will stay high – especially in the light of the expansion of our site. Reason enough for us to cooperate with Sonnenstrahl GmbH also for this second IDC location in Villach.”

Innovative educational concept and high child-to-teacher ratio

As with the IDC in Siemensstraße, the public day care center in Judendorferstraße also pursues an innovative educational concept of an international character; two languages (English/German) are spoken and the focus is on technology and natural sciences. The children come from 18 nations and are looked after by 16 members of staff, four of whom are English native speakers. Lunch and snacks are prepared fresh in the kitchen of the former restaurant that has been adjusted to the demands of the day care center. The Sonnenstrahl kitchen was awarded the Carinthian “Healthy Cuisine” quality seal earlier this year. In line with the requirements of today’s working world, the IDC is open all year round, from 6.30 in the morning until 5.30 in the afternoon (with the exception of the week from 24 December until 1 January).

The Province of Carinthia and the City of Villach are pleased with the new day care center

Governor Peter Kaiser: “The possibility to reconcile family and working life is just as important for a successful business location as enterprise-oriented action and investments made by companies in their sites. Infineon’s investment of 1.6 billion euros is a good example of the impact that expansion efforts have on all the various areas in the entire environment. After all, jobs will only be gladly accepted when employees know that their children are taken good care of, that the opening hours of the day care center are in line with their working hours and that the quality of their children’s education is good. This in turn is the basis for a smooth economic cycle in our province. Carinthia pursues a clear goal: We want to become the most child-friendly region in Europe. This includes care and education from a very young age.” The Mayor of the City of Villach, Günther Albel says: “The new International Daycare Center is an important addition to Villach's kindergarten provision. Our city is growing rapidly – every two to three years by about 1000 new citizens. This is why infrastructure in this area needs to grow along with population growth. We are delighted by the committed involvement of Infineon.”

About Sonnenstrahl GmbH

Sonnenstrahl was founded as a non-profit association by parents for parents in 1997. The association was converted into a limited liability company in 2015 with the parents’ association Sonnenstrahl as its single shareholder. Each year, parent representatives are elected for each group to boost the participation of mothers and fathers. The IDC embraces and shares values that are derived from an open and tolerant attitude towards other people regardless of origin, religion, skin color, gender or language. The development of social skills is an equally important focal area as the development of the child as an individual. IDC promotes the development of children as well-rounded and thoroughly capable individuals taking their individual character and learning speed into account.

Experiencing science and technology in a playful way

Innate curiosity, observation and questioning – they form the basis of the scientific and technical experiments carried out in the miniLABs together with the young researchers. Lifelong, research-based learning is actively promoted at the IDC. The children actively experience nature and the changes of the seasons in the near-natural gardens and on Forest Days. Nature is a playground for movement, learning and experimenting.

Sonnenstrahl - IDC: Facts and figures

Infineon Technologies Austria AG is a group subsidiary of Infineon Technologies AG, a world-leading provider of semiconductor solutions that make life easier, safer and greener. Microelectronics from Infineon reduce the energy consumption of consumer electronics, domestic appliances and industrial facilities. They make a major contribution to the convenience, security and sustainability of vehicles, and enable secure transactions in the Internet of Things. 

Besides Germany, Infineon Austria is the only subsidiary within the group that pools competencies for research and development, production as well as global business responsibility. The head office is in Villach, with further branches in Graz, Klagenfurt, Linz and Vienna. With 4,201 employees from around 60 countries (including 1,813 in research and development), in the financial year 2018 (ending in September) the company achieved a turnover of € 2.9 billion. An R&D expense rate of €498 million makes Infineon Austria the strongest industrial research company in Austria.