School girls are coding computer games to help people

“How can you support people in their recovery using computer-aided physiotherapy?” This is the key question of the new project days “HelpIT”, which are conducted for the first time in the Stuttgart region by the Initiative Junge Forscherinnen und Forscher (“Young Researchers Initiative”, IJF). The initiative started with the Mädchengymnasium St. Agnes (“St. Agnes Grammar School for Girls”). There, girls of the eighth grade participated in the project days, which took place in December and January. “It’s particularly important to us that there are many events and workshops offered in the STEM subjects,” says Julian Pfab, who is a teacher at St. Agnes. “It was really great to see the enthusiasm and commitment with which the girls of year eight got involved in the IJF project,” he points out, “especially since the topic of information technology can be tainted with stereotypes in young women.”

The workshops are run by teaching degree students of the University of Stuttgart. The university has been working together with the IJF since last year. “We want the students to gain preliminary insights and practical experience at schools,” says Prof. Ronny Nawrodt from the Institute of Physics (5) at the University of Stuttgart. In the current and the upcoming school years, the two cooperation partners will be offering further training specifically for grammar school teachers in the Stuttgart region in addition to further project days.

In the two-day workshops, which are jointly offered by the IJF and the Vector Foundation, school students develop products, try out new creative methods, and get to know STEM professions. The girls from St. Agnes learned about the basics of communication, data, using a programming language, and the interaction between hard- and software. They explored through play the importance of IT systems, learned to code their own therapy games, and built suitable input devices using everyday materials.

With its self-developed programs, the initiative aims to arouse interest in STEM subjects among young people and give authentic insight into the world of work 4.0. The Vector Foundation is supporting the initiative. “On the new project days, the school students work on therapy games for people with orthopedic problems, using modern methods of product development. This embedding in a meaningful context is very important if you want to inspire girls in particular, to get involved in IT topics,” says Christina Luger, who is the project manager of the Vector Foundation. “It was exciting to see what a short period of time and with how much fun the girls were coding realistic therapy games.” Teacher Mr. Pfab, too, was enthusiastic about the project: “We’ll definitely further establish this project at our school. The content reference to a medical topic, together with the coding in Scratch, generated a lot of enthusiasm in the girls.”

“The pandemic shows how important science, technology, and IT are in our everyday life,” says Christoph Petschenka, who is the managing director of the IJF. “STEM professions have excellent prospects. That’s why we are pleased that we were able to start the new project days at a girls’ school.” Pascal Hauser, who is the advisor on educational questions and the project manager of the IJF, explains: “We give advice and support to the teachers and their students in practice- and action-oriented learning. In the process, we rely on learned methods and ideas that the teachers can then apply themselves.”

The educational initiative has conducted further-training days and workshops free of charge [de] in the Stuttgart region since 2019. On Tuesday, March 15, there will be a workshop by the IJF for grammar school teachers on the topic “Future-Oriented Skills Using the Example of IT“. The workshop will take place at the University of Stuttgart from 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m..

Since 2010, the Initiative Junge Forscherinnen und Forscher e.V. (IJF) [de] has been committed to supporting children and young people in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg in regard to STEM subjects. With the project “Skilled for the World of Work 4.0 - Trying Out Work Methods of the Future by Means of STEM Topics”, the IJF wants to open up educational opportunities for young people, strengthen interest in science and technology and, in this way, counteract the shortage of skilled workers in technology professions in the medium to long term. In addition, the initiative offers further training for teachers.