BITZER’s SCHAUFLER Academy celebrates tenth anniversary with a focus on supporting young talents

Rottenburg-Ergenzingen/Sindelfingen, 21.09.2026. The SCHAUFLER Academy, BITZER’s international training centre, celebrated its tenth anniversary on 17 September with a special event. Supporting young talents took centre stage: at an open day and a science slam, around 310 visitors gained practical and entertaining insights into science and technology.

Since 2016, the SCHAUFLER Academy in Rottenburg-Ergenzingen, Germany, has been offering application-oriented education and training in both face-to-face and online formats. Its programmes are aimed at BITZER customers and partners from around the world, the company’s employees and young talents in the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sector. Over the past ten years, 100,000 participants from 129 countries have attended 2,000 seminars and training courses.

During face-to-face training sessions, participants work on modern systems and practise the safe handling of components, applications and refrigerants under real operating conditions. Experienced BITZER engineers and technicians teach both theoretical knowledge and its practical application. The training programme is continuously adapted to reflect technological developments and regulatory requirements in the refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pump sector.

‘For ten years, the SCHAUFLER Academy has been a place for building knowledge and exchanging technical expertise within our industry. When it opened in 2016, our aim was already to provide application-oriented knowledge, support young talents and work with higher education institutions and universities to promote dialogue on the key issues of the future,’ says Volker Stamer, Director of the SCHAUFLER Academy.

Young people discover science and technology

During the afternoon of the anniversary event, visitors with an interest in technology – particularly school pupils and students – explored a range of scientific and technical topics in an engaging and practical way. At 18 activity stations and live demonstrations, BITZER employees, youth research centres, higher education institutions, universities and other partners presented subjects ranging from energy and space travel to robotics and refrigeration technology.

Science presented in an entertaining way

In the evening, scientists explored unusual research questions relating to refrigeration, heat, climate and energy in front of an audience of 110 at a science slam. The presentations explained scientific concepts in an accessible way and actively involved the audience. In the audience vote that followed, Dr Johannes Brunder was the clear winner with his presentation, ‘Could making ice cubes and throwing them out of the window be a viable heating concept?’ Using refrigerators, heat pumps and flying ice cubes, he gave an entertaining demonstration of how heat really works.

‘With event formats like these, we want to inspire young people to take an interest in science and technology and encourage them to help shape the innovations of tomorrow with their ideas,’ says Volker Stamer.

Looking ahead, the SCHAUFLER Academy plans to continue providing practical technical knowledge, developing its education and training portfolio and promoting dialogue within the industry.