Prof. Dr Thomas Hemmerling from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, launched the ‘SteigerKI’ competition in early 2024 with the aim of introducing school pupils to topics relating to artificial intelligence and machine learning through project-based learning. The team led by Thomas Hemmerling, a native of Saarbrücken, is actively supported by Prof. Benedikt Schnellbächer from Saarland University; locally, Alexander König from the Franco-German High School is overseeing the project.
Since April 2024, five groups of pupils from the Saarland have been working – on a voluntary basis – on their own projects relating to artificial intelligence. In addition to gaining a basic understanding of AI, project management and product development, the pupils at SteigerKI spent the first few months learning the fundamentals of computer science using Python, the programming language commonly used in AI development. By the end of the year, the pupils’ concepts – which are already well advanced – will be further developed and implemented. Similar to the nationwide ‘Jugend forscht’ competition, a jury will then decide on the prizes.
SteigerKI is unique in Germany. The team hopes this will send a clear signal to other schools: because anyone who misses the artificial intelligence bandwagon now will miss out on the future. Artificial intelligence and machine learning will fundamentally change our lives, much like the internet, which was born in 1983. The dedicated website https://steigerki.godaddysites.com/ documents the project and contains all the key information.
The immediate reason for this post on our school’s website is the SteigerKI Prize BOOTcamp, which will take place at the DFG every morning from 1 to 4 July: all student groups taking part in this year’s Steiger-KI Prize will have the opportunity to complete an intensive course in ‘Artificial Intelligence’ with Prof. Hemmerling’s senior research associate, Sean Jeffries, and to further deepen their knowledge of project management and Python.
This will be Sean Jeffries’ first visit to Germany. Our school will welcome the Canadian team with the hospitality typical of the Saarland. We are looking forward to the wide range of experiences ahead …
By the way: the BOOTcamp is open to everyone!