To get off to a successful start on a STEM degree programme, it is essential to be well prepared for the demands of the course, particularly in mathematics and physics.
The AG cosh sees itself as a bridge-builder between school and university, helping first-year students navigate this challenging transition.
cosh stands for cooperation school-university.
The AG cosh is a cooperation team of teachers from schools and universities in Baden-Württemberg who work together in constant exchange to develop measures to ensure that first-year students interested in STEM subjects are as well prepared as possible for university studies. One result of this work is the minimum requirements catalog for mathematics published in 2014. This provides information on the content that is considered helpful and desirable in mathematics at the start of a degree course. Here you can access the AG cosh website and the minimum requirements catalog for mathematics. In the meantime, the work has been extended to the field of physics and a minimum requirements catalog for physics has been created, which you can find here.
In the Ulm/Neu-Ulm region, the cosh team at THU is working with teachers from other regional universities and schools to develop measures to smooth the transition in the fields of mathematics and physics. In WiMINT-AGs, pupils have the opportunity to take part in additional courses in mathematics and physics even before they start their studies. These clubs in the schools are led by THU students, which creates initial contact with the university. At Campus meets Classroom, the cosh-vor-Ort afternoon, there is the opportunity for networking between regional university lecturers and teachers from different schools. During the afternoon, current topics are presented and discussed and, if possible, a guided tour of laboratories is offered.
A regional core team for the Ulm/Neu-Ulm region was founded to facilitate closer exchange and to plan the next cosh-vor-Ort afternoons.
Nine volunteers were found from the THU, the Neu-Ulm University of Applied Sciences, three large vocational schools in Ulm, the FOS/BOS Neu-Ulm and the IHK. There are also plans to involve the general secondary schools. The first meeting of the regional core team took place on September 30, 2019 at the THU. Since then, regular meetings have been held to exchange ideas and plan cosh on-site events.
If you are interested in joining the regional team or are interested in coshcontent, please get in touch with the regional team contacts or the cosh team in general .
The current team is presented opposite.
An overview of the regional cooperation partners can be found on this map.
The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts funded the cosh on-site activities and the cosh joint project of Karlsruhe University of Applied Sciences, Stuttgart University of Applied Sciences, Esslingen University of Applied Sciences and Ulm University of Applied Sciences in an initial funding phase in 2019 and 2020. In the funding phase in 2021, Aalen University of Applied Sciences and Reutlingen University of Applied Sciences will also be part of the cosh joint project.
From 2024, the MWK will fund a cosh office for 5 years. This is divided into two parts, with Jochen Schröder in Karlsruhe for mathematics and Ben Schwarzenbach in Ulm for physics.
The Ministry of Culture has been funding the annual conferences and meetings of the core team meeting for several years. In addition, the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs has been funding the cosh group with €50,000 per year for an initial period of two years since 2025. This will help the group to further expand its activities and secure funding for the WiMINT working groups.
