Electrical Engineering and Information Technology

Advent calendar with a twist! Some of our first-year students have come together to share their entertaining Advent calendar projects with you. Today, tutorial 15 shows you what first-year students experience when it comes to understanding time in an academic context.

The current situation presents us all with new challenges but also opens up new opportunities to get creative. A big thanks to Sascha Neske and Duncan Steven, through whom we were able to present our TDEI mug this year in a very special way. Every year, graduates receive a mug filled with small gifts as a graduation gift. We have collected each of these mugs and reminisce about the wonderful moments with our graduates over our morning coffee or tea.
In 2019, our mug was first released with our TDEI emblem and of course, because it was so beautiful, we immediately ordered way too many.
So if you would like to have such a beautiful mug, feel free to contact us for more information – of course only available while the supply lasts.

You would like to order a TDEI 2019 mug?

Contact:

letzner@fb6.rwth-aachen.de

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Advent is also the time of fairy lights. In the dark season, people have a need for light. Chains of lights without any number, in off-white, warm white or with color-changing functions, some even with remote control and several alternative flashing programs illuminate the darkness in many places. So let’s remember today the people who so reliably generate and distribute the electricity needed for this – energy technicians – our gratitude goes out to you.

Top Sentences of Online Teaching that we probably never would have said last winter semester

Online teaching has accompanied most of us for almost a whole year now. That’s why we have put together the top sentences of the online teaching that everyone has probably already heard. Which sentence is your favorite? Which phrases are particularly common in your online classes? Please let us know!

Professor X, Mr. Y is in the waiting room, can you please let him in?
… Always have an eye on the waiting room.

Then I will now divide you into break-up rooms.
…As we know and love it!

It would be great if you could all turn on the camera.
…I really don’t think so – for your sake.

Ms. X, do you have a question, or have you forgotten to put your hand down?
…Of course, the latter.

Mr. X, your micro is on!
..Who has it never happened to before?

Does anyone have the link to the lecture?
…It’s easy to lose track.

Can you tell Professor X that my internet connection is bad?
… Standard situation – suddenly people are able to disappear in the midst of a meeting.

We cannot hear you – you are on mute.
…Was I not on mute before?

Ms. X, you have a sweet cat!
…One cat is always there – always.

Oh, Mr. X, are you on the beach today?
…Even people in fish tanks are no longer unique.

Feel like Zumba or circuit training again? The University Sports Center of the RWTH offers some parts of the sports program as digital events. In addition to the classic offers, you will also find the “Pausenexpress online”, where you can stay physically active while working in home office. Not every offer is designed for breaking a sweat – in the digital offer you will also find yoga or progressive muscle relaxation if you prefer to simply relax.

Are you interested? You can find the link to the Digital Workouts here

Some may have seen this construction site before. But do you also know what will be built there? Today we would like to give you a small insight into the new building on the RWTH campus Melaten, because this is not just a new institute building, but one of the most modern clean room centers in Germany.

This is especially important in our field of research Micro- and Nanotechnology. The clean room center can be used across institutes and furthers the interaction and exchange between the five institutes. The new building was not only functionally but also creatively well thought out. For example, the color concept is intended to support the effect and function of the laboratory and institute building as an entrance portal to the RWTH campus.

Since 1999, the Day of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology has been the day of coming together of all faculty members, students and project partners and at the same time a festive celebration for our graduates. This year. we also managed to come together – this time virtually.
But even a virtual event requires a lot of preparation, especially if it is organized according to the current hygiene regulations.

We have prepared a tiny glimpse behind the scenes of the Day of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology for you and would like to show you how our host, our speakers and our technical staff have worked together from different locations to guide you through the event.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our contributors who are not shown on these photos.

Image: Arno Bücken

Image: Arno Bücken

Image: Arno Bücken

A university entirely in Online Teaching: Who would have expected this before Corona?
Instead of sitting in a lecture with fellow students, you now sit alone in front of your computer at home. Online teaching and digital courses pose new challenges for teachers and students alike. How can you make the best use of digital courses?

Be prepared – have all the materials you need for the course ready. This includes not only lecture notes, notepad and pencil, but also a small snack, refreshments and the coffee or tea. Having to run somewhere quickly during the lecture to retrieve forgotten things is inconvenient and distracting.

Silence please! – Make sure that you are undisturbed. If the flatmate wants to chat with you, the washing machine in the background beeps and the cat jumps on your keyboard and the computer shuts down – all this is an unnecessary distraction. Set up a workstation and make sure that you are undisturbed there and everyone knows that you are now concentrating on your work.

Participate – Every course, not only online, lives from participation. Speak up and ask when things remain unclear. Find out how this can be done in your courses. In the chat this is possible without interrupting the lecturer and for word contributions there is the zoom hand to get in touch.

Giving feedback – The online concept is also new for the teachers. Not every digital course is already running optimally. Constructive feedback and suggestions are welcome. Where is there potential for improvement? What is already going great? If you like something particularly well, tell the teachers so that they know how their new concepts are received.

In addition, the digital formats open up new possibilities. Events are streamed live and can be followed from anywhere. Other lectures are available as download on demand and can therefore be accessed at any time. Both formats have their advantages and everyone should find the best way to participate. Live lectures open up the possibility to participate in the events without having to travel. Especially for enquiries or interactive formats, participation is possible in this way. Questions can be asked and ambiguities eliminated via chat or microphone. Direct interaction between teachers and students is thus possible.

In contrast, on-demand lectures offer maximum time freedom. Whether in the morning, at noon or in the evening: the lecture is just a click away. If dinner is just about ready or you need a short break for fresh air or coffee, click once on Pause and continue later at the same place. And if you’ve lost the connection, you can easily rewind and listen to the lecture again. Even when dealing with content that you can already do and do not want to repeat, you can simply rewind a bit and continue with new and interesting topics.

Ideally, courses offer both. If the recording is uploaded after the live event, one can participate interactively in the event as well as access the content during the learning phase and thus prepare oneself optimally. In the same way, a missed event can be easily made up for. Life always gets in the way of planning.

Written by: Iris Heisterklaus

Advent calendar with a twist! Some of our freshmen have come together to present their entertaining Advent calendar projects. Tutorial 7 shares their seven pearls of wisdom that you need to know as a student in Aachen.

A university completely taught online: Who would have thought?

Instead of sitting in class with your fellow students, you now sit at home, alone, in front of your computer. Online teaching and digital courses present new challenges for teachers and students alike.

How can you make the best use of digital courses?

Be prepared – Have all the materials you need for the course ready. This includes not only lecture notes, notepad and pencil, but also a small snack, refreshments and  coffee or tea. Having to hurry somewhere quickly during the lecture to fetch forgotten things is inconvenient and distracting.

Silence please! – Make sure that you will not be disturbed. Your roommate wanting to chat with you, the washing machine beeping in the background and the cat jumping on your keyboard – all this is unnecessary distraction. Set up a workspace, make sure that you will not be disturbed and that everyone around you knows that you need to focus on your work.

Participate – Every course, not just online, lives from participation. Raise your hand and ask questions when things are unclear. Find out how this can be done in your classes. Using the chat function, you can easily ask questions wihtout interrupting the lecturer In the chat this can be done easily without interrupting the lecturer and for oral contributions, you can usually find a virtual hand to raise in the online conference tool you are using.

Giving feedback – Online classes are not just new terrain for you. Giving your teacher constructive feedback and suggestions can be very helpul in order to optimise the quality of the digital courses.  Is there potential for improvement? What is already working great? If you like something particularly much, tell the teachers so that they know how their new concepts are perceived.

Live lectures open up the possibility to participate in classes without having to travel. Especially for questions or interactive formats, you can actively participate via chat or microphone –  questions can be asked and unscertainties resolved. Direct interaction between teachers and students is thus possible.

In contrast, on-demand lectures offer maximum freedom of time. Whether in the morning, at noon or in the evening: the lecture is only a click away. If dinner is just about ready or you need a short break for fresh air or coffee, click on Pause and continue later. And if you have lost internet connection, you can rewind the video without any difficulties and listen to the lecture again. Also, when dealing with content that you can already know and dont want to repeat, you can simply forward the video and continue with new and interesting topics.

Ideally, your courses offer both formats. If the recording is uploaded after the live event, you can participate interactively in the event as well as access the content during your study phase and thus prepare yourself optimally. A missed event can also be easily made up for – Life gets in the way of planning from time to time.

Written by: Iris Heisterklaus