Under the patronage of former Hamburg senator Alexandra Dinges-Dierig, the NCL-Foundation is now a proud learning partner for A-level specialization. The objective is to raise awareness among high school students about rare diseases using concrete examples. 

Teaching is structured close to reality, and therefore takes advantage of strategic and vital partnerships with professional researchers. This includes the laboratory of Dr. Fenner & Colleagues as well as the Natural Science Technical Centre (NWZ). Jointly, schools are offered a modular learning package with the specialization ''Health.'' In addition to the work relating directly to content, various job descriptions are also presented to the pupils. 

The concept for the learning partnership can be found here.      

The following schools are participating during the 2011/2012 school year:

In addition to the communication of information about the disease NCL, Module 1 also deals with further topics such as inherited autosomal-recessive diseases, mutations and the definition of rare diseases.

After special preparation, in Module 2 a fictional human genetic counseling session (PCR) is performed. This is led by the human geneticist Dr. Krasemann. Further modules include the practical implementation of PCR at the Natural Sciences Center (NWZ) in Billstedt (Module 3) as well as communication of a diagnosis by a doctor and a visit to the human genetic diagnostic center of Dr. Fenner & Colleagues (Module 4).

At the end of the learning period, the NCL-Foundation informs pupils about research approaches for an NCL therapy and together with varying experts, students hold an ethical consensus conference (Module 5) in which they express their own views on the topic of genetic research and represent these in the group.

Then, the students organize a project week or a so-called “self-set task,” and students organize a charity event (Module 6).  Through this final module, students learn to deal holistically with the society, medical, technical and ethical aspects of the problem and actively structure the learning unit. The pilot project was launched in autumn 2009.

On June 16th 2010, the Frankfurter Allgemeinen Zeitung reported on the school project of the NCL-Foundation. The title of the article by journalist Ina Wahl is  “Knowledge, thinking, pipetting” and is kindly provided here with permission. Mrs. Wahl shadowed the Süderelbe Grammar School through all modules of the program.