Infineon Education Fund 2024: 105,000 euros for Caritas learning cafés and a visit to the "big world of very small things"

Graz, Villach, February 21, 2023 - What exactly are semiconductors? Why does it take several weeks to produce an energy-saving chip? What does a cleanroom look like? And why do so many employees at Infineon in Villach wear jogging suits?

Infineon employees answered the questions of a special delegation in Villach at the beginning of February: 15 young pupils from the Caritas Lerncafé in Villach paid a visit to Infineon Austria: they spent an afternoon immersed in "the big world of very small things". During the guided tour of the factory premises, the young people experienced first-hand how microchips are developed and produced, were able to take a look inside the production halls and research laboratories and learned about the global topics of the future that are being researched with technology "made in Villach".

The young people were particularly impressed by the fact that they were not only allowed to look over the shoulders of researchers, but also to slip into the lab coat themselves. The structure of a microchip was playfully explored using an electron microscope and lasers and X-ray equipment were also used. Caritas Lerncafé student Karo Avetisyan: "What I liked best was that we were able to try out so much. When I don't understand something and learn something new, it really interests me." And his colleague Ali Al Shareefi adds: "I really enjoyed the tour, it was exciting to learn so much about chips and also what the factory and the machines cost." Isabella Lobnig, head of the Lerncafé Villach and learning assistant Aida Mirzakhanyan: "We would like to thank you for the great afternoon, it was a really interesting insight for our young people and they were fully interested".

Jörg Eisenschmied, CFO of Infineon Technologies Austria AG, who welcomed the Lerncafé delegation at Infineon: "We are very pleased about the great interest of the young people in our industry! Today, microchips are an almost unnoticed part of our everyday lives - whether in telephone calls, contactless payments, e-cards, passports, but also in servers, electric cars, PV and wind power plants. A sound basic education and a love of learning are the most important ingredients for a successful career start. The microelectronics industry offers a wide range of job profiles with meaning and prospects - a major topic for young people."

The Caritas Lerncafés
Show prospects and create opportunities - this is exactly what the Caritas Lerncafés aim to do. Here, compulsory school pupils with and without a migration background aged between six and 15 are given the opportunity to do homework with voluntary learning assistants and study for upcoming tests and schoolwork - free of charge. Especially in times of increased social and economic uncertainty, the Caritas learning cafés are proving to be important anchor points and offer children and young people a stable environment. Infineon Austria has been supporting the learning cafés with the Infineon Education Fund since 2020 and has been continuously expanding the cooperation since its inception. Infineon employees also volunteer as learning assistants.

105,000 euros for four Caritas learning cafés in Carinthia and Styria
Infineon Austria will continue to support four Caritas learning cafés in Carinthia and Styria in 2024 with a total of 105,000 euros, thus contributing to the promotion of school education for disadvantaged children and young people living in poverty. Two learning cafés in Carinthia are supported with a total of 60,000 euros per year. In the Caritas Lerncafé Infineon in Villach, for example, 45,000 euros per year are used to fully finance learning assistance and tutoring, while the Lerncafé in Spittal an der Drau is supported with 15,000 euros per year. Two Caritas Styria learning cafés are supported with 45,000 euros per year: the Lerncafé Lend in Graz with 30,000 euros per year and the Lerncafé in Mürzzuschlag with 15,000 euros per year.

Support for over 120 children and young people
In Villach, 35 children and young people attend the Infineon Lerncafé in Brauhausgasse and in Spittal there are 20 pupils at the Lerncafé in Litzelhofenstraße. In Graz, 27 pupils attend the Lerncafé Lend in Mariengasse and in Mürzzuschlag in Wienerstraße there are currently 34 children. In the four learning cafés, a total of 87 volunteer learning assistants give the girls and boys confidence in their own abilities and thus enjoy learning. Nine existing or former Infineon employees are involved in the learning cafés as learning assistants.

Jörg Eisenschmied, CFO of Infineon Technologies Austria AG: "I am delighted that we are continuing our cooperation with the Caritas Lerncafés in 2024. Here we can make a direct contribution to greater educational equality and support young people on their educational path. The outstanding success rates of children and young people in the Caritas learning cafés show how important the commitment to the key issue of education is. Everyone benefits from education - the young people, their families and, in the long term, society and the economy. And who knows, maybe the visit to Infineon has also sparked a new career aspiration for one of them for a later career in microelectronics!"

Ernst Sandriesser, Caritas Director Carinthia: Carinthia's Caritas Director Ernst Sandriesser is delighted that the cooperation with Infineon is continuing. "This is good news for the children in Carinthia. Infineon has been supporting Caritas' innovative educational work for young people since 2020," says Sandriesser. The Caritas director continued: "Education is the best way to prevent poverty. That's why we must leave no child behind. Economically disadvantaged children in particular have the opportunity to receive good support on their educational path. Caritas will continue to fight for the idea of learning cafés so that no child is left behind."

Nora Tödtling-Musenbichler, Caritas Director Styria and President Caritas Austria: "Education is the key to good integration and the prerequisite for a life in secure social circumstances," adds Caritas Director Nora Tödtling-Musenbichler from Styria: "The support from Infineon helps us to give children a good start so that they can shape their own lives according to their abilities and talents."

Caritas learning cafés with a success rate of 98 percent
The Caritas learning cafés - 2,100 children and young people are supported in 66 facilities throughout Austria - are a real success project of Caritas Austria. In Carinthia, 99 percent of children and young people made it to the next school level in the last school year, in Styria it was 97 percent. 252 pupils currently attend the nine learning cafés in Carinthia, compared to 280 girls and boys in Styria. There are five learning cafés in Graz and one each in Leoben, Leibnitz, Knittelfeld and Mürzzuschlag. In Carinthia, Caritas offers tutoring in three learning cafés in Klagenfurt. There are also two learning cafés in Villach and one each in St. Veit an der Glan, Spittal an der Drau, Wolfsberg and St. Gertraud in Lavanttal. The first Lerncafé in Austria opened in Graz in the fall of 2007. The learning cafés in Carinthia have been in existence for twelve years.

Infineon Technologies Austria AG is a subsidiary of Infineon Technologies AG, a global semiconductor leader in power systems and IoT. Semiconductors are essential for mastering the energy-related challenges of our time and helping to shape the digital transformation. Infineon's microelectronics drive decarbonization and digitalization and enable groundbreaking solutions for green and efficient energy, clean and safe mobility as well as a smart and secure IoT.

Infineon Austria 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, Innsbruck and Vienna. With 5,886 employees (including around 2,500 in research and development) from 79 nations, the company generated revenue of EUR 5.6 billion in the 2023 fiscal year (ending 30 September). With research expenditure of 672 million euros, Infineon Austria is one of the strongest research companies in Austria.