Inspiring young people to study STEM subjects, strengthening their skills in a targeted manner and enabling them to make a smooth transition from school to university - the Junior Engineer Academy of the Deutsche Telekom Foundation is one of many formats TU Dresden promotes to strengthen STEM subjects.

The project week has been taking place at various chairs of the university since 2022 in collaboration with the Tschirnhaus-Gymnasium Dresden, a school that cooperates with TU Dresden. The format, in which pupils in year 8 take part in the “Natural Sciences” profile, has since established itself.

This year, after a thematic introduction, the participants visited the “Railway Construction Laboratory” of the Chair of Railway Track Engineering and the “Signalling Laboratory” (SIL) of the Chair of Railway Signalling and Transport Safety Technology. In addition to informative lectures, the students were given the opportunity to work practically on the respective test stands. This included determining parameters for rail traffic safety and programming a balise. During a visit to the "Oberbauaustellung" in front of the Gerhart Potthoff building, the participants were able to try their hand at setting a switch.