Technology in Focus

The target group for this profile

Our school has a long tradition of education in the natural sciences, and here in particular in the subject of physics. Even in the years before the introduction of the profile upper level, computer science was added as another technically oriented subject, which we also consistently offered as an advanced course for students from other schools. With this profile we are aiming exactly at students who show outstanding abilities and a justified interest in STEM. Our school also wants to continue to give its students the opportunity to lay the foundation for a successful entry into a natural science, technical, or engineering study through good preparation in mathematics, physics, and computer science. Decisions about the educational path should not be made solely on the basis of the grade point average.

Physics and technology are in today’s world a driver of economic growth, they form a fundamental basis of our prosperity and at the same time provide secure career prospects. The economic associations of German industry and the media emphasize the excellent opportunities for career entrants in the fields of engineering and natural sciences, as well as the increasingly evident shortage of well-trained engineers—emphasizing the good training.

 

Which individual topics do we address?
Each semester focuses on various topics that influence the content of the three mentioned subjects. In addition, there are collaborations with industry. The aim of the cooperation for the school is among other things a stronger practical relevance of the teaching content. You should be able to learn how what is learned in class becomes part of industrial processes and research. As an impressive example, the medical technology is mentioned here, which today is an important growth market. The basics of medical technology include electrical and magnetic fields; innovative technologies in this area also come from research on particle accelerators. These, as well as required measurement methods, are also covered in class. In computer science one deals with how to derive a graphical representation from many measurement data, such as used in medical tomography. In PGW it could be shown how to derive statements about future growth markets from demographic development.

 

The integration of extracurricular learning locations into the profile
Through the support of the Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg (TUHH) and the economic associations, the “Initiative Nature Science & Technology” (NAT) has been founded, enabling us to gain as cooperation partners the VTG company (logistics) and NXP (semiconductor research and development). In recent years, another cooperation with Stromnetz Hamburg has developed.
In the AzubiLAB of Stromnetz Hamburg, students attend multiple consecutive sessions alongside a plant tour and receive an introduction to soldering electronic components as well as programming a microcontroller and build a digital die.

With the logistics company VTG, which develops logistics solutions in the transportation sector, there is an entry into logistics and typical problems of the logistics industry, with a database-supported application being programmed.
A particularly close contact has developed with the company NXP over the years. A project in the third and fourth semesters consists of manufacturing a simple robot. The production includes the assembly of circuit boards with electrical and electronic components (resistors, capacitors, diodes, ICs, …), as well as programming the microchip. In a particularly close way, elements of physics, computer science, the PGW subject, and the seminar are interwoven here. NXP supports the school by preparing and supplying the components.

Cooperations are also complemented by visits to extracurricular learning locations such as the DESY student laboratory.

 

The seminar
The focus of the seminar work lies in accompanying the profile subjects and, for example, in preparing a scientific paper in pre-scientific work. The following topics have emerged and complement individual subjects:
– Physics: error analysis; particle physics
– Computer science: binary system
– Mathematics: complex numbers

Furthermore, the seminar also accompanies competitions (e.g., the Federal Computing Competition) and projects (manufacturing the robot). As in the other profiles, the seminar includes preparation for presentation skills as well as for the presentation and subject examination, and career and study orientation is supported, among other things, through pre- and post-processing of university days.

Profile trip

The goal of the profile trip is the city of Geneva, the hub of multilateralism, of course combined with a visit to the United Nations Office (UNO), as well as the nearby CERN. Here lies the cradle of the World Wide Web and the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator. Scientists from all over the world come together here to gain new insights into the structure and building blocks of the universe. The technologies developed at CERN contribute to innovations, among other things in the medical field, and helped to connect people around the world.

 

Changes to the profile
The semester contents are naturally aligned with the requirements of the authority. The centrally set tasks in the written Abitur (final exams) naturally require a continuous adjustment of the contents as well as changes in the collaborations. Overall, it has been found that the fachliche Inhalte (subject content) are rather conservatively developed and the design of the cooperations as well as the excursions and projects make up the special character of the profile.