The visit was deliberately aimed at young people interested in media literacy, digital technologies, and future careers. At the same time, the day offered teachers insights into the programs offered by TH OWL and the Innovation Campus Lemgo, with a view to potentially initiating further projects or visits.
Professor Dr. Josef Löffl welcomed the guests at around 10 a.m. to kick off the event. The program then moved straight on to the first item: in his lecture, Professor Löffl explained how fake news works, what mechanisms drive disinformation, and how young people can navigate digital environments critically. Participants had the opportunity to ask questions and contribute examples from their own everyday media experiences.
Afterwards, Dr. Nele Jantz, head of the Future Food Factory OWL office, gave the group a tour of the Future Food Factory. Here, the students experienced first-hand how modern food production works and what role digitalization, sensor technology, and automation play in it.
After the lunch break, the tour continued to SmartFactoryOWL, where Patrick Spanier, head of the office, showed the young people what networked production, AI-supported processes, and cyber-physical systems look like in practice.
The visit ended with a trip to the neighboring Brake Castle. There, the guests were treated to an AI exhibition, accompanied by Nico Baumgart from TH OWL. The students were able to experiment, test exhibits, and discuss how artificial intelligence is already changing everyday life, science, and the world of work.
The visit once again demonstrated the great interest schools have in the research topics of TH OWL and the Innovation Campus Lemgo. The university is therefore looking forward to further contacts and offers schools a wide range of opportunities to get to know the campus and research facilities.
