The Electrical Engineering Students European Association, Junior Local Committee in Karlsruhe welcomed 10 young talented engineers from different European cities between the 06th and 12th of June 2016. The goal was to enhance the expanding of the technical knowledge and raise awareness of the topic of e-mobility through a week-long academic workshop under the name of "Electrify: Mobility of Tomorrow".
Under the vast need for regenerative and nature-friendly energy sources, the knowledge about their usage is of great importance. Going forward with that in mind, students of Electrical Engineering from the prestigious European Universities had the chance to attend more than 15 hours of academic courses on the topic of e-mobility by some of the best lecturers from various institutes of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. They also got to even see e-mobility coming to life on the example of a Tesla Model S fully electric sedan. Other than that, the workshop offered a rare possibility of getting to know the German culture, the way of living of students on Karlsruhe as well as the German Higher Education System.
The importance of this project has been recognized and supported by the DAAD (The German Academic Exchange Service), the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, BridgingIT GmbH, the city of Karlsruhe and others. We especially thank the lecturers from the ETI (Institute of Electrical Engineering), IEH (Institute for Energy Systems and High Voltage), IAM-WET (Institute for Applied Materials) and FAST (Institute of Vehicle Technology), as well as the International Students Office of KIT.
Participants Report
Oh, wonderful JLC Karlsruhe. Where shall we begin?
Maybe we should first mention the amazing academic part of our workshop? Great lecturers, lots of useful information, outstanding faculty equipment and facilities. A week full of surprise, from the awesome E-mobility lecture, Tesla S test drive, Soft Skills training, regenerative braking and battery systems lab visit to the KaRaceIng track practice. They even took us to a whole another city, Stuttgart, just to show us the Mercedes-Benz Museum!
Or, we can start with all the fun parties we attended? The Red EESTEC party, the International night, the German night, the Agostea club night. So many nights with an exceptional atmosphere and some great vibes. & Beer, beer, beer!
Also, we may touch on the brilliant City rally, Running dinner or Hoepfner brewery visit. Most of these things I have done and seen for the first time in my life and oh boy did they leave a good impression on me! The organizers took us to the city of Esslingen. So we visited three cities in only one workshop! Not only were we introduced to every interesting aspect of student life at KIT, but we also got a good glaze of the German culture and famous city sights. Baden-Württemberg sure is one of the sunniest and prettiest regions I’ve ever travelled to.
It doesn’t really matter which one of these things we bring up first because it was all of them together that made my life incredible for the past week. The hospitality and effort of our hosts were tremendous. Clearly, they wanted to show us everything that excites them the most in this city and that has yielded some pretty intense schedule and a little bit of fatigue between us participants. Nevertheless, the general mood was outstanding and I don’t think it’s just because this is my first workshop. In my opinion, should I attend any future workshops, they will have a tough job to outreach this one!
Dejana Krsmanović,
LC East Sarajevo
Organizer’s Report
Most of the participants arrived on Monday the 6th of June and were welcomed with a casual grill night in the courtyard of the Institute of Electrical Engineering (ETI). The first day of the academic schedule started with a presentation by Selina, the VC about EESTEC in Karlsruhe and a motivational speech by Michael, the Chairperson in the main hall of the Presidency building at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. They then enjoyed a lecture from one of the most-renown expert on E-Mobility in Germany following visits to the various institutes of the KIT dealing with everything about electric vehicles, from electric motors and power electronics, to batteries and fast charging. The participants had a chance to ride in a Tesla, accelerating to 100km/h in less than 3 seconds! They also spent a morning with the KaRaceIng Formula Student Team and had a trip to the Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart.
The cultural program was plentiful as well, starting with a causal Karaoke night in one of the most famous bars. The next evening was German Night representing the German cuisine in the best possible way. On Thursday we have the one and only #karlsruherunningdinner. The participants and organizers were split into pairs of two and enjoyed a dinner in three parts, in three different apartments, meeting and dining with in total 12 people! We also had a trip to Esslingen, a historic city, just outside of Stuttgart.
The weekend was joined by an additional 18 participants of the IMW. International Night was unforgettable and took place in the largest self-managed student dorm in Germany. The next they we had bad weather but improvised by taking the participants to a swimming pool instead of the lake.
The most amazing part of the organization of this event was the teamwork that the members of JLC Karlsruhe displayed. We had 17 organizers and more than 10 helpers, most of which were partying with the participants every single night. The organizers did their part well and responsible and we didn’t have problem with them not showing up or not fulfilling their tasks. We are happy to have had such a team and are looking forward to the bright future of EESTEC JLC Karlsruhe.
Mihaio-Michael Tosic & Selina Eckel
Head-Organizers
