On 27 February 2025, the regional competition ‘Jugend forscht’ took place on the TU Ilmenau campus. Over 70 pupils presented their work in the fields of work, biology, chemistry, mathematics/computer science, physics and technology to a panel of experts. The nationwide ‘Jugend forscht’ competition took place this year under the motto ‘Turn questions into answers’. Participants had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the exciting world of research and science and turn their visions into reality. The range of topics covered by the competition entries was broad: from safety in pushchairs and methods of water treatment in East Africa to topics from the fields of sustainability and renewable energies. TU Ilmenau has been a partner of the event since 2013.
Children and young people from mainstream schools and grammar schools in Eisenach, Gotha, Ilmenau, Neudietendorf and Ruhla took part in the West Thuringia regional competition. An expert jury assessed the projects and the public were also able to see the expertise and inventiveness of the participants for themselves at the project presentation. The best entries will qualify for the state competition on 2 April in Jena. The competition round will conclude with the 60th national ‘Jugend forscht’ final from 29 May to 1 June 2025 in Hamburg.
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology and the Förderverein Elektrotechnik und Informationstechnik e. V. Ilmenau organised a special prize for the first time this year for competition entries in the fields of sustainability and renewable energies. The prize included a book voucher worth 50 euros and an invitation to visit the faculty in person. The winner is Oskar Hollatz, a pupil in Year 10 at the Goetheschule Ilmenau.
Oskar Hollatz entered the competition with the project ‘Energy generation for charging a mobile phone with a bicycle dynamo on the way to school’. He investigated whether it is possible to charge one's own mobile phone on the daily journey to school by bike with the help of a hub dynamo. Speed and electrical power were measured and analysed in a series of tests. Oskar soldered a charging circuit himself for the experiment in order to charge the mobile phone with a bicycle dynamo. He used simple electronic components such as resistors, capacitors and diodes, which he assembled into a circuit with a rectifier and voltage converter. However, an evaluation of the results showed that it was not possible to charge the mobile phone with the given components and discontinuous speeds and that further consideration of the problem was necessary.
When awarding the special prize, the jury decided in favour of this entry as the topic was highly original and related to everyday life. Oskar Hollatz's detailed specialist knowledge, the development of the measuring and charging circuit and the programming of the measured value evaluation, a well-structured and creatively realised stand design and a very convincing project presentation underlined his achievement. Furthermore, the critical analysis of the results, with the derivation of new research approaches, emphasises Oskar's scientific work. - We wish Oskar Hollatz every success in his future academic career and continued energy and great curiosity for his extracurricular activities!
Source: Jenny Gramsch, Central Student Counselling and Orientation; Carsten Gatermann, Department of Electrical Energy Supply