What does research at the intersection of digitalization, artificial intelligence, and industrial production look like in practice? Twenty-three students from the bilingual 8th-grade class at Marianne-Weber-Gymnasium in Lemgo explored this question during a visit to the Innovation Campus Lemgo.
A Look at the Lemgo Innovation Campus
Upon arrival at InnovationSPIN, Antje Meier welcomed the group and gave a tailored introduction to the activities of the Innovation Campus Lemgo. Yannic Stangier, head of the Digital Workshop at the Paderborn-Lippe District Craftsmen’s Association, then presented the AI showroom. A group photo on the rooftop terrace rounded out the introductory session.
Experience research and demonstrators up close
The group then split up into several groups: Some of the students visited the Future Food Factory OWL to learn about the research and demonstration facilities focused on food technology. The rest of the students visited SmartFactoryOWL and the Centrum Industrial IT (CIIT) in smaller groups.
At SmartFactoryOWL, Patrick Spanier, Transfer Manager at TH OWL, gave a tour of the real-world laboratory for digitalization and artificial intelligence in industry. At the CIIT, Sebastian Becker, a research associate in the inIT Mathematics and Data Science Working Group led by Prof. Dr. Markus Lange-Hegermann, brought AI research to life through interactive experiences. He presented various demonstrators developed as part of the OWL AI Academy. The groups then rotated so that all students could explore the different stations.
In this way, the students gained a broad insight into the research landscape at TH OWL and experienced firsthand how topics such as digitalization, artificial intelligence, and industrial innovation are brought to life at the Innovation Campus Lemgo.
Among other activities, the students pedaled themselves in “Cycling4AI – How Much Does a Prompt Cost?” and gained a vivid impression of the resources that can underpin AI applications. They learned about deepfake technologies using the “IMPOSTER” demonstrator. At the AI photo booth, they were also able to transform their own selfies into AI-generated works of art.
In addition to visiting the SmartFactoryOWL and the Future Food Factory OWL, the students also got a glimpse of campus life. After lunch together at Campus Corner, the program included a visit to the main lecture hall and the university library at TH OWL.
Inspiring a passion for research
The visit demonstrated how complex topics such as artificial intelligence, digitalization, and industrial transformation can be conveyed in a vivid way when research becomes a hands-on experience. The students took the opportunity to ask questions, get involved, and get to know the Innovation Campus Lemgo up close.
In the end, everyone involved looked back on a successful morning: The students had a great time, were impressed by the diverse opportunities on campus, and took away many new insights into research, higher education, and innovation.