For Walther Blohm (1887-1963), training and further education of employees was an important response to the rapidly changing technical challenges.
In memory of him, his wife and three children set up the Walther Blohm Foundation in 1964 with the purpose of “promoting talented young people in aerospace engineering” by granting aid
a) to study at technical universities and technical colleges;
b) for further training of young engineers;
c) for doctoral students;
d) to study trips that serve to further educate this group of people.
The Walther Blohm Foundation is intended to help ensure that top performance in the field of aerospace in Germany continues to be achieved in the future.
In the first ten years, the foundation supported up to 30 people with a total annual volume of the equivalent of 25,000.00 to 30,000.00 euros, as Hamburger Flugzeugbau GmbH (HFB), from 1969 onwards Messerschmidt-Bölkow-Blohm GmbH (MBB), was large made payments to the foundation. Personalities on the board of trustees and the advisory board of the foundation from aircraft construction, universities, politics and business in Hamburg identified the talented and needy students for training or study. Some scholarship holders later found employment in leading positions in aircraft construction or the German economy, including Dr. Rüdiger Grube, currently head of Deutsche Bahn.
The Walther Blohm Foundation's work experienced a slump in funding volume at the end of the 1970s, as BAföG funding created new opportunities for needy students.
Changes to the statutes in 1976 and 1997 adapted to the development. The awarding of prizes was included in the statutes and the board of trustees and the advisory board were replaced by a foundation board, which today includes senior employees and professors from Airbus, the HAW (University of Applied Sciences (HAW) Hamburg, Department of Automotive Engineering and Aircraft Construction) and the TU Hamburg-Harburg belong.
Every year, the foundation awards the Walther Blohm Prize to the best graduate of the HAW, Department of Automotive Engineering and Aircraft Construction, and the Walther Blohm Study Prize to students of the TU Berlin, Department of Aircraft Construction, who have produced an excellent thesis. Walther Blohm completed his diploma in mechanical engineering there in 1914 and was made an honorary senator of the university in 1960.
The Walther Blohm Foundation fulfills its statutory purpose by awarding scholarships in recognition of special achievements. The focus is on supporting projects, especially if the scholarship holders acquire special qualifications through stays abroad.