IT summer party - "Letting ideas grow"

There was a large crowd last Tuesday in the largest lecture hall at the university’s Görlitz campus. The department of computer science’s 2016 IT Summer Festival kicked off with a ceremony themed “Let Ideas Grow” in the packed lecture hall. Prominent figures from business, politics, and universities delivered their opening remarks at the start of the event. A highlight was the first-ever presentation of the IT Ideas Award, sponsored by Saxonia Systems. The winner is Paul Weinhold, who completed his computer science studies at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences with a Master of Science (Computer Science) degree at the end of 2015.

This award ceremony was certainly an inspiration for the many students who had traveled from throughout the Upper Lusatia region and from Poland to get a taste of college life over the course of two days. The IT Summer Festival isn’t just—as the name might suggest—about partying; rather, the department of computer science presents interesting topics for interested students and teachers. Together with students and faculty from the computer science department, hands-on workshops are held, and participants gain new experiences in a relaxed atmosphere. This year’s summer festival focused on the timely topic of IT security.

The students in the department of computer science, together with their professor Marietta Spangenberg , had prepared a varied program centered on the topic of IT security. Everything was covered, from “Sniffing, Hacking, and Tracking for Beginners” to the development of an information security concept and a security awareness course. In addition to hard work in the workshops, there was also plenty of fun and games, especially on the Security Awareness Course. Here, participants could also earn crucial points in the competition for the good IT security teams. In the evening, the top three teams were awarded prizes.

Parallel to the student program, a professional development event for teachers from various schools in the region took place in the network and IT security lab on the topic “What Traces Do We Leave Behind on the Internet?”

Students had the opportunity to participate in an interesting workshop and gain new experiences. Teaching Day came to a close with sunshine and a group barbecue on the banks of the Neisse River.

In addition to teaching, the university naturally conducts research. Here, on Wednesday—Research Day—the students were able to take a look behind the scenes. They were guests at Saxonia Systems, the company that sponsored the entire event. A series of presentations by members of Professor Jörg Lässig’s research group rounded out the event.

“Let ideas grow”—this motto encapsulates the many joint activities involving representatives from the university, high school, and business during these two eventful days. The program will continue next year.