The university welcomed a total of 32 girls and 9 boys from grades 5-10 to its Hof, Kronach and Münchberg campuses as part of this year’s Girls’ and Boys’ Day. The nationwide day of action on April 25 offers pupils the opportunity to get a taste of careers and promotes career guidance based on interests and talents rather than gender stereotypes.
In addition to Girls’ Day, which has been successfully offered for many years, Hof University of Applied Sciences offered two Boys’ Day programs for the first time. The boys were able to gain an insight into applied nursing or textile design and thus get to know professions that have so far been predominantly practiced by women.
Girls’ Day at the Hof and Münchberg campuses
At the Hof campus, the girls were able to choose between two workshops.
Six of the participants opted for the MISS ENGINEERING & TECH TESTER workshop. There, the girls had the opportunity to build their own SmartSeat (cell phone chair) and were allowed to use various tools and a CNC machine to do so. After having lunch together in the canteen on Campus Hof, the group moved on to the “TECH TESTER” workshop and immersed themselves in the world of 3D printing.
The “SOLAR WATER MILL & VIRTUAL REALITY/ROBOT TRAINER” workshop also started at the same time. Under the guidance of René Göhring, 6 girls also built a water mill out of plywood, which was equipped with a solar-powered water wheel. On the way to lunch, the wheel was tested directly in the sunshine. After the lunch break, the girls started experimenting with the robots. Using computers, the participants were able to give commands that were executed by the robots on the ground. The girls enthusiastically created chains of commands that made the robots wave, walk or say different sentences. At the same time, virtual reality goggles could be tested. The girls immersed themselves in different worlds and explored them with a 360-degree tour.
At the Münchberg campus, the schoolgirls made their own game boards in the printing lab and their own soaps in the chemistry lab or designed their own towel, which they could then weave on the looms. One pupil was so enthusiastic about the Girls’ Day program in Münchberg that she came all the way from Bayreuth.
Picture gallery Girls’ Day Hof and Münchberg
Boys’ Day Campus Münchberg and Lucas-Cranach-Campus Kronach
In addition to Girls’ Day, where girls can try their hand at classic male domains, a Boys’ Day program was set up for the first time at the Münchberg textile site and the Lucas Cranach Campus in Kronach. The boys were able to find out whether they are interested in professions that are still predominantly practiced by women today. In Münchberg, they were given an insight into the topic of design in the “On Design – Über Gestaltung” workshop and had lots of creative ideas for transforming old men’s shirts into casual summer shirts in the “Second Chance” workshop.
At the Kronach campus, where the university offers the “Innovative Healthcare” Bachelor’s degree course, the boys were able to get a taste of the nursing profession, which is dominated by women.
Our boys were enthusiastic about our workshop program “Laboratory tour WohnXLab” and “Dive into the world of the smart home…”, which offered exciting insights into the world of sensors and the smart home for people with disabilities and the opportunity to directly experience various limitations in the “WohnXLab”. The boys showed a huge thirst for knowledge, asked lots of questions and had the urge to learn and try out new things. We would like to repeat this success next year and are already looking forward to Boys’ Day 2025.”
Prof. Dr. Dirk Reinel, Chair of Data Management, especially for health data
Picture gallery Boys’ Day Münchberg and Kronach
