Smart school bags for the new school year: Infineon Austria supports 120 children at the Caritas learning cafés

Villach, Graz October 10, 2024 - The children and young people at the Caritas learning cafés in Carinthia and Styria are well equipped for the new school year. To ease the burden on families, Infineon Austria is once again supporting the pupils in the learning cafés in Villach and Spittal/Drau as well as Graz and Mürzzuschlag with necessary materials for everyday school life this year: around 120 children and young people are delighted to receive Infineon school bags - filled with drinking bottles and a colorful selection of school utensils.

Infineon board members were personally involved as guest learning assistants

This year there was a special feature: Infineon Austria CEO Sabine Herlitschka and CFO Jörg Eisenschmied personally distributed the school bags to the pupils in Villach. They took the opportunity to give them an insight into the big world of small things at Infineon. An exciting explanation of topics relating to microchips was followed by a short quiz with interesting questions such as: What are semiconductors? How clean is a cleanroom and why do some Infineon employees in Villach wear jogging suits? Finally, they both took on the role of learning assistants themselves and helped the students with their homework.

Sabine Herlitschka, CEO of Infineon Austria: "Education is the central basis for recognizing and developing one's own talents. By promoting the joy of learning, we help students to strengthen the skills and self-confidence they need for a self-determined path in life. Our long-standing partnership with the Caritas learning cafés is an absolute model for success. I am particularly pleased that this year a student from the learning café decided to pursue a career in microelectronics and started as an apprentice at Infineon."

Jörg Eisenschmied, CFO of Infineon Austria: "I am delighted that we have been able to accompany young people on their educational path for five years now and thus contribute to greater educational equality. It is a personal concern of mine that everyone has fair access to education. This not only pays off for the children, but ultimately also strengthens our society. The visits to the learning café are definitely special appointments in my day-to-day work."

Infineon also supports the Caritas leaning cafés in Graz and Mürzzuschlag with funds from the Infineon Education Fund and volunteer learning assistants. The filled school bags were handed over personally in Graz by Stefan Rohringer, Head of Development Centers at Infineon Austria: "Thanks to the Caritas learning cafés, we can not only provide the pupils with the school materials they need on an ongoing basis, but also give them a good start for successful school learning. A big thank you also goes to all the Infineon volunteer learning assistants who accompany the children and young people through the school year."

Showing prospects and creating opportunities

In the Caritas learning cafés, pupils aged six to 15 are given the opportunity to do homework and study for tests with trained and voluntary learning assistants. Especially in times of social and economic uncertainty, this free service is proving to be very valuable for disadvantaged families and thus contributes to equal opportunities in education. The fact that this support is bearing fruit is reflected above all in the success rate: 99 percent of learning café pupils completed the past school year with a positive result.

105,000 euros for the Caritas learning cafés in Carinthia and Styria

Infineon Austria has been making an important contribution to promoting the school education of disadvantaged children and young people with the Infineon Education Fund since 2020. A total of 105,000 euros in 2024 will be used to support around 120 children and young people in the Caritas learning cafés in Villach, Spittal/Drau, Graz and Mürzzuschlag. In addition, nine Infineon employees are volunteering as learning assistants. Ernst Sandriesser, Caritas Director Carinthia: "If you have a good education, you can stand on your own two feet and provide for yourself. Thanks to Infineon, we can put the children and young people in our learning cafés on the right path. Education is the best prevention of poverty, the best pension and healthcare provision and the best investment in the economic future of a country. We are very grateful to Infineon for supporting our learning cafés!" "Education opens doors: it is the key to integration and the prerequisite for a life in secure social circumstances," adds Caritas Director Nora Tödtling-Musenbichler from Styria: "Infineon's support helps us to give children a good start so that they can start their lives in a safe environment.

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 the strongest research company in Austria.