MINToringSi: Familiarization day for new participants at the University of Siegen

The program is designed to run for a total of three years, two of which fall during the participants' time at senior school. If they subsequently decide to study at the University of Siegen, they also benefit from the support of MINToringSi during their first two semesters. Thanks to the cooperation with the Siegerland Metal Industry Association, contact with local companies is also guaranteed at all times.

Five MINTees from Johannes-Althusius-Gymnasium Bad Berleburg, three from Evangelisches Gymnasium Siegen-Weidenau and one participant from Gymnasium Netphen took part in the introductory day. The MINTees will be supervised by the team of MINToren: Pawel Malicki, Dr. Steffen Jaschke, Dr. Thomas Schulte, Stefan Lippert, Florian Steffens and Laurin Wentzel. Jan Krumnow is currently coordinating the program on behalf of the Siegerland Metal Industry Association (VdSM).

After a brief welcome from Dr. Thomas Reppel, coordinator of the program at the University of Siegen, and a round of introductions, the introductory day began with a university rally. This was a fun way for the participants to get to know different areas and campus buildings of the University of Siegen. They visited stations from several STEM disciplines: the agenda included a visit to the wind tunnel in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, where the MINTees were given an insight into fluid mechanics issues. In the field of hydraulic engineering, the group was introduced to the classic Torricelli discharge experiment, in which they experimentally investigated the relationship between water level and discharge velocity.

Mathematics was not neglected either: in clear experiments, the students dealt with questions from topology and integral calculus, among other things - in a slightly different way than in school lessons, namely with the help of a letter scale. The program was supplemented by two offers from the fields of electrical engineering and computer science, which provided further insights into possible fields of study.

The varied day ended with a joint pizza lunch, where the MINTees and MINToren were able to exchange ideas in a relaxed atmosphere.

MINToringSi is a joint program of the Verband der Siegerländer Metallindustriellen e.V. (VdSM), the School of Science and Technology at the University of Siegen and the Arnsberg district government. The aim of the program is to support prospective high school graduates in their study orientation in a STEM subject (mathematics, computer science, natural sciences and technology) and to accompany them during the transition from school to university.