Elite Traveler Spring 2022

etr li at ve eler SPRING 2022 55

“It was very important for us to say to our students: Here’s a challenge. Here is adversity. What are we going to do about it?”

Having attended Rosenberg when he was young, Gademann admits that his time at the school has had a big impact on his personality and his outlook, which he now uses as headmaster to improve Rosenberg and prepare for its future. He says there “One thing is the diversity in terms of nationality and backgrounds — we have over 50 nationalities at the school,” he says. “But another type of diversity we have is students who are maybe third-, fourth- or fi fth-generation wealth, and those who are fi rst- generation wealth. There’s always a risk that family enterprises or o ffi ces, at some stage, forget their origins. To preserve that hunger, that interest and background, is really important.” “I always say to our graduating class, ‘remember this: You’re privileged, and that’s a beautiful thing. But you’re sitting in a seat here today because someone in your family decided to take a massive risk. They decided not to be ordinary, and it’s thanks to them that you’re here today. So that means you owe something to your family — and you also owe something to society.” Thankfully, the students at Rosenberg naturally have an understanding and sense of their responsibility, according to Gademann. Many of the school’s charity and philanthropy events are produced thanks to the students’ initiative, and every project at Rosenberg has a sustainability aspect to it. In fact, the school’s approach to sustainability goes as far as having its own experimental facility, known as the Future Park. It began with a Climate Garden project featuring two domes: One is set to the climate of Switzerland today, and the other predicts the climate of Switzerland in 2085. Part of the reason for the Future Park is to allow students to ask questions and predict what life could look like in the future. “We often don’t know the outcome of a project [at the Future Park],” Gademann admits. “If students have a question that we don’t have the answer to, our artisans are not afraid of saying: ‘Well, that’s a great question. I don’t know the answer, so let’s fi nd one together.’” are many reasons why being able to attend Rosenberg was a “valuable experience.”

The Future Park is also home to an autonomous farm bot that does everything from watering plants to removing weeds — and Gademann notes that this is one of countless robots on Rosenberg’s campus. “We have many [robots] at the school,” he mentions. “Little ones like arms and robot kits for younger students.... We also have three industrial-grade robots that are usually only used in industry and a Boston Dynamics robot called Spot.” Spot is particularly interesting — students always have curious reactions to meeting the robot, and there are myriad ways that it aids learning of all kinds. For example, Gademann says, “Primary school kids immediately have an emotional connection to the robot. And it’s fascinating to look at a robot like that and ask our future artists, what does it mean for art? Could the robot paint something? It’s important for us to take a 360-degree view on this — we’re not a tech school, we’re a school for the 21st century.” It’s not just within the Future Park that the school is preparing for, well, the future. Gademann is very focused on the ways that our world may change, and how he can help prepare his students for what

entrepreneurship will look like in 15 years time. He argues that our future lies with intelligent machines, which means having to decipher what skills humans need to focus on. “The world is changing rapidly; machines can be trained and programmed to understand complex problems and solve them,” he says. “So it’s creativity and problem solving — the interpretation of data — that will become key skills for the future, regardless of the industry.” With this in mind, Rosenberg has recently launched a new quali fi cation that students can obtain as part of their education called Humanix. Gademann explains that the new program has been designed to “give students all the skills and understanding they must have for the world today, in order to seize the challenges of the future and be successful. We want our students to be the drivers and shapers of the future.” It’s not just the students that are learning at Rosenberg, either. Gademann admits that working with these future leaders and entrepreneurs has helped him and his team stay in touch with trends and fresh concepts. The school’s artisans are just as willing to learn and grow as the students they teach, helping the school stay ahead of the curve. “I think this is the fi rst truly enlightened generation,” Gademann muses, as our conversation comes to a close. “Young adults today are quite idealistic — it’s a beautiful thing to see. In the ’90s, when we were growing up, art and culture were so cynical. It was all about sarcasm.” “They want to do better; they have an understanding of their responsibility and they want meaningful things,” he continues. “Young adults nowadays want to be much more authentic. There is a desire to make a real di ff erence. They’ve learned that if you believe in a thing, you should stand for it — and whatever the issue, we now have so many more tools than the generations before us to address those problems. So I think there’s a real chance they will succeed — and I truly believe in that.”

Clockwise from top left Institut auf dem Rosenberg and a Boston Dynamics robot named Spot; Future Park; Humanix Pavilion; Bernhard Gademann, director and headmaster of the school

instrosenberg.ch

Photos Jan Thoma