The Question!

At the moment, I am an active member of UNIKAT, participated in the PracticING program and successfully completed the Ilmkubator Class 2021. At the Ilmkubator, the start-up service of the TU Ilmenau, we worked on our start-up idea in various workshops. In the process, I got the feeling that I could actually get my company off the ground. At PracticING and UNIKAT, I learned that I like to tinker with my own projects and how I can best realize my ideas. The practical work also gives you a better understanding of the material taught at university. The teaching content sounds totally abstract and useless at first, but in practice you learn what is important and where the focus lies. You also only learn what your own strengths and exact interests are when you try out practical projects for yourself.

I am with PracticING, the successor to the Basic Engineering School. We offer students from different matriculation years project work in which they can try their hand super in the areas of mechanics, programming and electrical engineering. For me, the greatest added value from practical work comes from trying things out. You are confronted with new problems - even with errors that you can't always foresee in theory and only occur in practice. I take away a lot for myself that I can use in my professional life as well as in my private life. Not only do you build up more competence on a professional level, but above all you develop a better feel for working with other people on a social level.

Currently, I am active in the hsf, the student radio on campus, besides my studies. I manage new members, I'm available for questions and problems, but I also sometimes host broadcasts as a presenter. Anyone who wants to be behind the microphone or otherwise contribute to the program can join us. Working at Hochschulfunk helped me a lot for certain exams during my studies: I was allowed to unscrew microphones in the studio and take a close look at the technology. That way I knew how the whole thing worked in a practical context. Practical work alongside your studies is definitely worth it - you can try things out, find out what direction you want to go in later, and meet lots of great people in the process!

Since 2019 I am a member of UNIKAT, the open university workshop. Here students can use all kinds of tools for their university or hobby projects. If you want to tinker with electronics or wood, you've come to the right place. But most students come here for our main attraction, the 3D printer. I have great opportunities at UNIKAT: I learn on machines that cost tens of thousands of euros - I couldn't even look at them privately. You should simply take advantage of the fact that you have tools and the opportunity to try things out here. It's always useful to know how to design or build things. I can only recommend gaining practical experience alongside your studies to everyone!

At the moment I'm with Ilmpressions - an association of students who produce a film independently from start to finish. I was allowed to get a taste of all the departments there: I started in the casting department. Then I was head of the Script & Continuity Department, where we tried to avoid connection errors in the production design. In addition, I was allowed to assist the camera and hold the sound control panel. From a technical point of view, the practical experience is priceless - I learned a lot in a short period of time and got input from people who simply have more plan and have been doing it for a few years. You should dare to take this step into practice, even if none of your friends are around right now. You'll never get this chance again.

I'm with Remote Lab, an interactive online lab at TU Ilmenau. We make practical experiments accessible via the Internet by opening them on a platform and then programming them via various interfaces. I helped implement various experiments, including developing different application scenarios for a moving robot. The practical work is a good change from the theoretical lectures in my studies. I can educate myself further and, above all, reuse content from the lectures - this also consolidates knowledge once again. The self-organized work and thinking outside the box certainly prepares you for your future career. In the end, practical experience always helps!