Words Open Worlds

Open to all students who wish to "loosen up" and write with more creative ease. Writing exercises with props, pictures and games may inspire some actual works of literary brilliance, or at least readability! Work will be read aloud among the group (but only if you wish) and thoughts shared – giving and receiving feedback (not criticism) is a key element of improving one’s writing skills. But do leave the "inner critic" at home! You may complete this course alone for 0.5 credit point (0,5 Leistungspunkt), or combine it with Creative Writing 2 to obtain one full credit point (1 Leistungspunkt).

To participate in this workshop, you will have attended Workshop 1 OR you will have done some writing on your own, recently or in the past. You will have the opportunity to focus on what you would like to write, be it short stories, poems, creative non-fiction or a novel. We will share our work and give feedback. Tips on various aspects such as hooking the reader, refining the plot, character development, writing from experience and finding your own voice will be provided. You may complete this course alone for 0.5 credit point (0,5 Leistungspunkt), or combine it with Creative Writing 1 to obtain one full credit point (1 Leistungspunkt).

Linking attitudes and values to sustainable behaviour

Why do some people behave in a more sustainable manner than others? Are wealth levels or infrastructure availability, e.g. good bicycle paths, always the root cause? Or are there some deeper underlying attitudes and values concerning sustainable behaviour that lie at the base and may be subconsciously directing our biases towards the topic of sustainability. This short lecture seeks to address these questions by exploring several potential origins of sustainable behaviour. It is part of an ongoing study that analyses how shifts in attitudes and values shape our sustainable behaviour and perception by correlating datasets from two large international organizations: The Environmental Performance Index and the IMD’s World Competitiveness Yearbook.

In today’s globalized world, intercultural competence is a key factor for success – in academics, in the workplace, and in everyday life. Our interactive training "Intercultural Collaboration" offers practical insights into the following topics: • Intercultural communication – how can mutual understanding be achieved? • Working in intercultural teams – how can we collaborate effectively and respectfully? • Unconscious bias – how do unconscious patterns shape our behavior, and how can we deal with them consciously? Through interactive methods, peer exchange, and hands-on exercises, you’ll discover how to use cultural diversity as a resource – to collaborate more effectively in your studies, navigate daily life with confidence, and prepare for a successful start to your career.

Measurements inside the small water- and wind tunnels of the laboratory for numerical mechanics and flow measurement will be conducted. Especially hot-wire probe measurements and measurements with Particle-Image Velocimetry (PIV) will be carried out.

The workshop introduces and discusses basic ideas of post-colonial theory from a number of different vantage points. It will actively encourage students to reflect upon post-colonial thought through a range of different media (film, radio, social media, press, etc.). Students from different disciplines are welcome to use different examples coming from their specific fields of interest and expertise. The lecturer has taught at the universities of Luxembourg, Freiburg and Göttingen.

This two-day workshop will provide students with a chance to consider and discuss social and ethical issues surrounding next-gen AI systems. Students will learn about core concepts such as hidden bias, autonomy and data privacy through a set of case studies that illustrate the tensions and challenges that arise when AI systems trained on user data are deployed at scale. The workshop will also compare and contrast US and EU approaches to AI regulation, and conclude with an exercise in which participants are encouraged to develop positive, human-centered visions for how AI might shape our world.

A hands-on workshop that will teach students the core concepts behind generative AI tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini. Students will learn the fundamentals of machine learning, model training and evaluation, use toolkits such as LangChain to implement an end-to-end solution, and then explore more advanced techniques such as RAG to add functionality. The workshop will also include a design thinking component in which students work together to conceptualize a problem and rapidly iterate on solutions in real time.