Welcome to the Engineering for Equity Think Tank collaborative website.
This website showcases the student projects that were developed in the corresponding module at TU Berlin, Germany.
The module is advised by Prof. Dr. Steffi Knorn, Prof. Dr. Stefanie Marker and Prof. Dr. Christina Völlmecke.
Projects Summerterm 2022[edit | edit source]
Vulnerable Groups in Urban Traffic - Analysing the transit times of the "Großer Stern (Berlin)"[edit | edit source]
We look at one of the biggest and most hated roundabouts in Berlin to find out what makes it so infuriating for the thousands of cyclists every day. The Großer Stern (big star) is a roundabout with five exits and traffic lights for the car, foot, and bike traffic. By analysing the traffic light plans and doing our own survey on the transit times of cars and bikes we show the favouritism towards cars. Therefore, we demand that there should be changes in the planning of the traffic lights and adjustments to the cycle path guidance to promote bike traffic for a more sustainable city. Ther german paper can be found on the side.
Gender Equity in Scientific Authorships - Designing a Tool for Counting Female Authors Cited in Bibliographies[edit | edit source]
Structural sexism is also ever-present in the world of science and publications. Especially in technical and engineering disciplines, female authors are massively underrepresented. While writing a scientific paper, project area or homework, it is not easy to cite equal number of male and female authors. To assist in the analysis of one's own bibliography with regard to gender equality, a program was written which assigns the first names of a bibliography to their probable gender, counts them and outputs them accordingly. Not only is this an interesting data analysis and visualization of gender inequity, such a program could help scientists and students in the future to close the gender gap in their bibliographies or at least to counteract it.
Kein Einzelfall - Podcast about equity in academic settings[edit | edit source]
Kein Einzelfall is a podcast about equity and anti-discrimination in academic settings, especially at TU Berlin. The core of the podcast are personal experiences shared by TU students, professors and researchers. Those are collected in interviews, in-person group discussions, and online chat groups. Additionally, these experiences are put into context with studies and surveys to show patterns of structural and societal discrimination. Based on that information, approaches that can contribute to a solution on a personal and structural level are collected and discussed. The goal is to make those affected by discrimination feel heard and help those not affected to raise more awareness and to unlearn internalised thought patterns that represent societal discrimination.
Project & Process
We created a Whatsapp group and a Signal group to gather opinions, ideas and proposed solutions on our topics. We also held an initial discussion circle on the topic of the first episode. We edited everything that we collected in the chat groups and in the discussion group in terms of experience reports and opinions and used it to create the first episode of the podcast. We recorded it on 04.07.2022 and edited it shortly afterwards. The first episode will be published in September on as many platforms as possible. At the same time we are working on the second episode.
Learnings
It's important to give a podcast a structure so that the listeners can follow it. Furthermore, it is important to how to structure a podcast well, record it with appropriate microphones and edit it professionally.
Tips & Insights
If you're studying on the side, schedule plenty of time. Managing chat groups, planning meetings, and preparing content takes a lot of time! Get feedback on your processes, ensure a pleasant working atmosphere in the team and take the time to think about the project with inspiration - even in between! When you are writing the script for the episode, pay much attention on writing sentences that you really would say in an all-day chitchat! It is very easy to write sentences that make sense, but short and pregnant sentences are a high art! More learning outcomes are subsumed in the PDF on the right-hand side (German Version).
Inspirations
Through EETT, we had the opportunity to structure our projects on our own and learn a lot about project management and leadership. The meetings during the during the semester and feedbacks helped us to improve the process and to pay attention to points points that we accidentally neglected. The event gave us the framework to think freely without constraints and carry out our project. Moreover, the pleasant atmosphere of this event helped us to continue our project with motivation.
Goal
Our goal here is to give all people who have experienced discrimination and want to talk about it the space to share their experiences. we strive to shed light on issues in a more intersectional way and share a wider variety of perspectives. We especially welcome the participation of FLINTA* people, people of color, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, people with disabilities, but also everyone else.
DIY hydraulic Robot Arm for Children.[edit | edit source]
Many children lack a connection to technology in their everyday lives. "Technology education" is often not a separate school subject and falls by the wayside alongside the other STEM subjects. Girls in particular rarely start studying engineering and the girls and boys who do are often the children of engineers themselves or were privately supported outside of school. Engineering and apprenticeships related to technology should not be exclusive fields but should be made accessible to all - especially those who are not supported by their social environment!
Therefore, we, four engineering students, have created the project "DIY Hydraulic Robot Arm for Kids". This project aims to teach a fundamental concept of engineering, hydraulics, to children from grade 3 onwards in an age-appropriate way.
The focus of the kit is on independent work in groups, trying things out, experimenting, and playfully recognising the scientific principle. It was important to us that the project can be carried out wherever there is time: Be it in class, in a project week or in afternoon care. Therefore, the materials provided are designed to be used by a person without technical background knowledge. Except for a few parts from the 3D printer, only materials that cost little and are easy to obtain are needed.
The worksheets for the children and the materials for the teacher are in German and are available for download.
