lmenau, 09.04.2024 – Nine female students from Thomas-Mann-Regelschule in Erfurt visited Brandenburg Labs and Technische Universität Ilmenau to gain insight into life as an inventor and careers in the STEM sector. Karlheinz Brandenburg, known as the co-inventor of MP3, shared his personal path to becoming an inventor with the students. Then, they immersed themselves in the everyday life of media technologists and programmed their own music synthesizers. The program was supported by the European Inventor Network with the aim of empowering the next generation of women in science and technology.
Female inventors and media technologists for a day. Nine students from the ninth and tenth grades of the Thomas-Mann-Regelschule in Erfurt traveled to Ilmenau for the day. After arriving on the Ilmenau campus, the students were given an insight into the career of Prof. Dr.-Ing. Karlheinz Brandenburg, particularly his contribution to the invention of the MP3 format. In his presentation, Prof. Brandenburg emphasized the importance of promoting women and girls in science as well as the challenges and opportunities for female scientists in STEM fields. Ulrike Sloma, Research and Development Associate at Brandenburg Labs, then shared her personal experiences with the students.
After a brief introduction to audio technology, e.g. how sound propagates in a room, the students took part in a practical workshop. In small groups, they programmed their own music synthesizers with the support of the audio engineers from Brandenburg Labs. We would like to take this opportunity to celebrate our colleagues who created the creative tasks and implemented them with the students.
To round off the day, the students explored the media labs at TU Ilmenau with the staff from the Electronic Media Technology group. From autonomous acoustic measuring robots to green screen technology, the young women were able to experience technology and research first-hand.
Our special thanks go to the European Patent Office for the financial support that made this event possible. Karlheinz Brandenburg is an active member of the European Inventor Network set up by the European Patent Office. The main mission of the network is to empower young people to realize their potential and discover the wonders of science and technology.
Last but not least, we would like to thank the TU Ilmenau for opening its doors to our project and the Electronic Media Technology group for the enriching and interactive lab tour at their facility.