A look into the future: Future Day 2024 at CSA Engineering AG

The concept

On Thursday, November 14, 2024, National Future-Day occurred again, as it does every year.

Future-Day aims to question role models and offer pupils the opportunity to get a taste of professions that often do not correspond to their typical gender stereotypes. We have advertised two places for this and accepted three more participants directly. It was a great opportunity for us to introduce the young talents Dariia, Nino, Kilian, and León to the fascinating world of technology and show them how diverse the work in our industry is.

We are pleased to present our insights and a few impressions here.

The discovery program

Soldering a metal detector

After the welcome, the day started with a great deal of skill: the children had the task of soldering a metal detector kit. With patience, care and the support of our expert Thomas, they assembled their devices step by step. What is special about this project is that it shows very well what function the individual components have and how they work together. The moment when the red LED lit up and the devices were able to recognize metal was a real sense of achievement for everyone - and that before lunch!

Pizza and a good mood

After so much concentration in the morning, it was time for refreshments. Together we went to the Casablanca restaurant, where the landlady gave us a friendly welcome. With a delicious pizza, our visitors had the opportunity to share their previous experiences and ask questions - a relaxed atmosphere of exchange and conviviality.

Programming with the micro:bit

In the afternoon, we delved into the world of programming with the micro:bit.
This is a microcontroller with versatile sensors and actuators. Our expert Ben used it to introduce the children to the world of programming. With the help of the visual programming language Scratch, which some of them already knew from school, they created their first small projects. Flashing LEDs, melodies, and even their first small programs. Ben was on hand with help and advice when things got tricky and helped them to master the challenges. The pride of having developed their program was written all over the children's faces.

What the children say

At the end of the day, we were curious as to how the children experienced our program and what impressions they took away with them:

“I learned how to solder. I particularly enjoyed being able to practice soldering while assembling a metal detector. The lunch was very tasty and the day was over far too quickly! I enjoyed the future day with you - thank you very much!”

“I had fun soldering! It was the first time I was able to solder. I learned how to program, how games can be programmed, and even how to hack ;o) It was fun and super organized!”

Our conclusion: learning, laughing, soldering, coding

The Future Day was once again a complete success! The pupils tried out technical skills and gained exciting insights into our everyday working life. It was an inspiring day that brought young people together and showed them how they can actively shape the future of technology. It was great to see how curious and enthusiastic they were. This experience motivates us to continue offering Future Day to children and young people in the future. It's a great opportunity to show our commitment to education and equal opportunities.

And who knows - maybe one or two of them will soon be part of the next generation of engineers.

We're already looking forward to next year when it's time for soldering, pizza, and programming again!