Every day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., 13 students from grades 9 to 11 were allowed to try out, learn and get creative. The bootcamp started with an introduction to programming and the MIT App Inventor, which participants used to program apps. One task was to create a simple calculator. Students also controlled Lego Mindstorms robots, which can use sensors to keep their distance from objects, for example, or stop when they pass over a certain color.
Part of the boot camp also involved the young people working in teams to pursue their own project. Here, the students were allowed to choose between programming their own app and a course for the Lego Mindstorms robots. Among other things, they created an app with a color puzzle or a truth-or-dare game as well as solution paths to master the robot course. The projects were presented on the last day of the Summer School. All participants received a certificate.
In addition to programming, breaks with shared meals were not neglected. The concept of learning to program together in a relaxed atmosphere was well received. "I think it was a lot of fun and also sparked an interest in programming," was the feedback from one participant.
The bootcamp is led by Prof. Dr. Dany Meyer, who is a professor of software engineering at HNU. In 2020, she received the "Award for Outstanding Digital Teaching" from the Friends of HNU. She was supported by a team of students and a research assistant. The HNU Summer School is a program of the HNU Women's Representative and aims to specifically encourage female students to try programming.
