Mentees on a discovery tour between the disciplines of Computer Science, Architecture and Civil Engineering

Department of Computer Science

The day started at the Lamarr Institute with a workshop on Artificial Intelligence. The mentees started by collecting examples from their everyday lives. It quickly became clear that AI is much more present today than many had initially assumed. Recommendations from streaming services, voice assistants and intelligent search functions - all of these are based on technologies that work with data and learn from it. By discussing this and using some illustrative examples - such as old telephones, typewriters or cassettes - the participants realized how much technologies have changed over time. Many applications that are taken for granted in everyday life today would have been almost unimaginable a few decades ago.

After this introduction, the mentees were able to get active themselves. In interactive tasks, they tested how machines recognize patterns and make decisions. For example, they analyzed pictures of monkeys and considered together which cues a computer could use to recognize different moods. The mentees considered which facial features could indicate whether a monkey is rather calm or whether it might be about to bite.

Many of the girls were surprised to learn that computer science is not just about computers in the traditional sense, but about very different topics and applications. This also became clear once again when, at the end of the tour, there was a brief discussion about possible courses of study in Computer Science and it became clear how diverse the subject areas are.

Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering

After this insight into the digital world, the group moved on to the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering. A practical challenge awaited them there: Using paper and glue, they were to build towers as high as possible. Before the teams started building, they considered together which factors are important for buildings. It quickly became clear that height alone is not enough; stability also plays an important role.

Then it was time to start building. With a lot of creativity, the groups developed their own ideas, rolled paper, reinforced their structures and repeatedly tested whether their constructions were stable enough. Some of the towers were so high that some teams had to move their structures from the table to the floor in order to be able to build any higher.

The final presentation showed how important good construction is. Some towers were surprisingly stable, while others were much more fragile. At one point, a small gust of wind was even enough to cause one of the towers to collapse, which initially caused surprised faces and then a few hearty laughs. At the same time, it became very clear how important stability and well thought-out construction are in civil engineering.

The workshop day offered the schoolgirls two different perspectives on STEM subjects. While in the morning they were able to experience how versatile and relevant Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence are to everyday life, in the afternoon it became clear how much planning, creativity and technical understanding is behind buildings. Above all, trying things out for themselves made the day a special experience for many and showed how exciting science and technology courses can be.

Author: Diana Schneider, Mentor