RWU Heads to New York

Professor Dr. Theresa Breckle from the School of Mechanical Engineering and Anja Konzept from the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science are collaborating on a research project. They presented their work in February at an international conference in New York. In this interview, they explain what “ELEVATE” stands for, what a 12-by-12 matrix has to do with it, and which song is sung at the German Embassy to conclude a conference.

Caroline Kolb: You’re both currently working on the “ELEVATE” project. The acronym stands for “Educational Learning Eco System for Applied Teaching Experiments.” What does that mean exactly?

Anja Konzept: We’re developing a hands-on elective course in which we aim to teach students about the generation, use, and storage of renewable energy. All RWU bachelor’s students can participate—regardless of whether they’re studying social work, business administration, or mechanical engineering. That was important to us because the topic affects us all.

Theresa Breckle: We’ve developed simple and safe experiments that allow students to explore the topic for themselves—from solar-powered calculators to electric cars.

What will it look like in practice when students from such diverse disciplines come together in the same lecture?

Theresa Breckle: Thecourse is structured like a 12-cell matrix. On one side, we have the four topic areas: energy generation, energy storage, energy use, and the interconnected system that results from them. On the other side are the three groups: beginners, intermediate students, and experts. For each topic area, there are experiments and learning content at all three levels. 

Anja Konzept: Weworked with high school students to develop and test the beginner section of our lecture. The advanced section is designed for students who may be studying a technical field and have prior knowledge. The last column of the matrix is for experts with a background in electrical engineering who want to deepen their knowledge. 

Theresa Breckle: Oneadvantage of this system is its flexibility. For example, if someone is technically a beginner but is nevertheless well-versed in energy use, that person can work through the experiments and learning content in the advanced section. Each individual has his or her own personalized learning path through the course.

When will you start the course?

Anja Konzept: We’ll be offering the course for the first time this winter semester—as a pilot run that we can evaluate. I think we’ll still notice a few things we can improve. After that, we hope to offer it every semester.

Who else besides the two of you is involved in the project?

Therese Breckle: Professor Dr. André Kaufmann from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a large project team are working with us on “ELEVATE.” We have staff members from mechatronics, automotive engineering, the Master’s program in Vocational Education, and product development in mechanical engineering. In total, there are seven people working full-time on the project, plus a few student assistants.

What motivated you to design an entire course on renewable energy?

Theresa Breckle: Energyand climate protection are issues that will shape the future. For us, educating peopleabout these topicsand clearing up misconceptions is an integral part of fostering democracy. We want to present the material in a way that encourages students to reflect on their own actions afterward and understand where they can make a difference in their daily lives. Our goal is to provide food for thought on what each of us can do on a small scale.

Anja Konzept: Electric mobility was particularly close to our hearts. This topic will eventually affect everyone, but many people are still hesitant to try it. We want to dispel myths and provide reassurance.

Your project will run for a total of two years. How are you funding it? 

Theresa Breckle: We submitted the idea for “ELEVATE” as a project proposal to “Freiraum.” This is the project line of the “Foundation for Innovation in Higher Education,” which provides financial support for research projects. We’re receiving just under 400,000 euros in funding for the two years. For us, this is largely funding for staff to help us move the project forward and build up our knowledge. As a professor, I myself would never have had the time to delve into these topics the way our staff members are now able to.

You were together at a conference in New York in February and presented the project there to an international audience. How did that come about? 

Theresa Breckle: That’s right—we attended “Bridging Well-Being and (Teacher) Education: A Globalized Perspective on Science Diplomacy.” We learned about the conference through one of our project staff members. We were particularly drawn to the idea of receiving different perspectives and feedback.

How did this conference compare to others you’ve attended in your academic career?

Theresa Breckle: Itwas a completely new experience for us. In our field, you usually write a paper and then give a presentation on it. In New York, there were presentations as well, but the conference was organized in cooperation with the UN. For the first part of the program, we were at the UN building and were able to attend and participate in a resolution. The second part of the conference then took place at Columbia University’s Teachers College. 

You presented “ELEVATE” in New York to an international audience of colleagues. What did you take away from the feedback?

Anja Konzept: We realized how important it is not just to talk about climate change and environmental protection, but to give people the tools they need to take action themselves. You often hear that there’s not much we can do about climate change. That makes people feel helpless. 

Theresa Breckle: Inconversations with teachers from other parts of the world, it also became clear to me just how free and unrestricted we are in Germany in terms of research and teaching—and what a precious asset that is.

What’s your takeaway from the conference?

Theresa Breckle: The conference was exciting because it was such a different experience for us. Everyone was very nice, and there was a large proportion of women, which was unusual for us. The atmosphere was different from that at technical conferences: much more relaxed, open, and less reserved. In the meetings, everyone just spoke freely. The presentations were also structured quite differently from what we’re used to, which is due to the different types of research. For example, there were psychologists who presented individual case studies. No one would ever do that in our discipline. 

What was your personal highlight of the trip to New York? 

Anja Konzept: It was very impressive to walk into the UN building and see how debates take place there. You don’t usually get that opportunity. 

Theresa Breckle: Onour last evening, we were invited to the German Embassy. During the champagne reception, two people suddenly struck up a conversation with us in Swabian—that was funny. But the highlight was the end of the evening: Everyone in the room sang John Lennon’s “Imagine” together. The atmosphere was so wonderful, and I felt a real sense of connection in that moment. You could just feel that the conference really put people first.