May 10, 2022
Lightweight Engineering light! on GIRLS‘DAY 2022
Girls'Day Group 2022.
Girls'Day - Girls' Future Day offers young women a great opportunity for career orientation. On this nationwide action day, schoolgirls are introduced to so-called MINT professions and fields of study in which the proportion of women is less than 40 percent. On April 28, 2022, ten girls were able to immerse themselves in the world of lightweight engineering and polymer technology at the ILK and dispel different prejudices and clichés in this field.
We introduced the girls to our way of working, in particular with lightweight materials such as carbon fibers. Another topic was how lightweight engineering can draw inspiration from the nature, such as connecting structures modeled on cacti. Our employees, Dr. Anja Winkler and Rebecca Bräuer, told the girls about their careers as engineers and answered their questions. During a tour through the technical halls of ILK at Johannstadt Lightweight Campus, the girls gained an in-depth insight into various production and testing methods. They experienced everyday working life at the Lightweight Structures Innovation Centre (LIZ), Polymer Application Center (KAZ) and Process Development Center (PEZ), witnessing many practical demonstrations. They inspected the braiding and winding of preforms before they can be further processed into fiber composite components, or the testing of crash structures in the drop tower using high-speed measurement technology. Another highlight was certainly the visit in our 3D printing lab, where highly individualized lightweight structures were currently being produced. Finally, all participants successfully completed our lightweight engineering course and received the junior engineer diploma for their efforts. Thereafter, they also made buttons with fiber composite materials as their souvenirs.
Impressions - Girls'Day 2022 at the ILK.
For sure, we answered the question with which the majority of the girls came to us - namely, what does lightweighting actually mean? They left us with a good overview of the field of lightweight engineering and now know what exciting tasks will await them if they decide to pursue a career in this area. For us, it was just as well a stimulating morning - with open-minded young women, their different previous knowledge and inquiring questions. Many thanks to Dr. Anja Winkler, Rebecca Bräuer and Florian Lehmann, who guided the girls through the day, and to many other ILK employees who welcomed us at the respective stations, explained their work and answered the girls' questions.
Further information:
Girls'Day: Girls'Day
Uni-Testen - the offer for pupils at the TU Dresden, including the ILK