Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a field of rapid innovation and set to fundamentally transform numerous domains. In this context, we are confronted with significant ethical challenges, for example with respect to issues like fairness, bias, autonomy, disinformation, sustainability, safety, and human-machine interaction. In this Challenge, participating students practically explore how innovation in AI development can be aligned with ethical standards. The focus on ethical AI innovation is especially well-suited to CBL, as it involves complex sociotechnical questions that demand creative, experimental, and interdisciplinary thinking and collaboration. The Challenge also provides insights into the functioning of AI, with a special focus on generative models, and conveys important concepts and frameworks from inclusive design theory, innovation theory, and technology ethics. By interacting with a diverse set of external stakeholders, students gain insights into different domains and industries.

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Transcript of Records

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Hamburg University of Technology

Artificial Intelligence autonomous vehicles

Ethical Innovation and Artificial Intelligence

Entrepreneurship, technology and innovation

Critical and innovative thinking

Global citizenship

Engineering students often encounter Systems Engineering only in abstract terms. SE-CHOC makes systems thinking tangible by embedding it in a concrete, motivating use case: converting a 3D printer into a chocolate printer. The micromodule emphasises learning by doing, reflection and structured reasoning rather than technical optimisation.  

**What you will do:**

- Analyse and discuss stakeholder expectations and system constraints
- Develop and adapt system architectures
- Work in defined engineering roles
- Model and visualise systems and interfaces systems and interfaces
- Respond to scenario-based changes
- Reflect on decisions and teamwork

Motivation letter is a personal statement and it might include a brief introduction of yourself, explanation why are you interested in the learning opportunity you are applying to, any relevant experience or skills that you have, your goals and how this opportunity will help you achieve them, This document should not be more than 400 words.

Motivation Letter

SE-CHOC: transform a conventional 3D printer into a functional chocolate printer

Understand and apply core Systems Engineering principles

Circular economy

Inter-personal skills

Intra-personal skills

Observations from weather stations have been widely used to study climate change over a long period of time. However, due to the scarcity of point-based weather observations, our understanding of the Earth’s changing climate is very limited. This impedes the advancement in our knowledge of the Earth’s climate system and our capability to develop well-suited climate models to simulate future climate change, which further results in considerable uncertainties associated with future climate projections. How to quantify and minimize these uncertainties is thus becoming one of the most challenging issues to be addressed for climate change impact assessment and adaptation studies. Remote sensing offers a new way of observing the Earth’s climate system with continuous and high-resolution spatial coverage through satellite-based, aircraft-based, or drone-based sensor technologies. This can significantly improve our understanding of climate change and its potential impacts at global, regional, and local scales. The data collected with remote sensing technologies can also be used to validate our climate models, improve our knowledge of the physical and dynamical processes of the climate system, and help us to project future climate change and its impacts with minimized uncertainties.

When it comes to the term’s sensors and research, you have to look very closely at what it is all about in the end. From the Smart Sensors department, research focuses on the sensor systems themselves, while at the same time sensors are an important component in various multidisciplinary research activities. In this Challenge, that is embedded in a course for Master students of Microelectronics and Microsystems the relevant aspects in interdisciplinary sensor research will be taught and explored together.

The Challenge aims to plan a mission for a small satellite that is actually capable of flight and that is built in one of the TUHH's Bachelor's programme. As a starting point we will explore the capabilities of fluorescence sensing as well as working with an IR sensor. Using those for example vegetation fluorescence that can reflect photosynthetic activity and plant health and stress could be detected. In turn, this is not only important for a better understanding of the global carbon cycle, but also for agricultural management and food security.

satelite flying above a field, scanning plants and a tractor nearby

Facing Climate Change with remote sensing

Plan a mission of Edusat (Challenge 2025)

This interdisciplinary, project-based course invites students to design a sustainable chemical process using carbon dioxide (CO₂) as the main feedstock. In response to the global need for climate-neutral technologies, the course challenges participants to reimagine CO₂ not as a waste product, but as a valuable raw material for future chemical production.

At the start of the course, each team selects a target product that can be synthesized from CO₂—examples include methanol, formic acid, dimethyl ether (DME), methane, or other platform chemicals. Based on this choice, the teams develop a custom-tailored process route, addressing both technical and sustainability aspects.

Over the course of several weeks, students explore topics such as green chemistry, carbon capture and utilization (CCU), process simulation, energy integration, and sustainability assessment. They engage in activities like site analysis, component data research, process modeling using digital tools, and calculation of key performance indicators to assess environmental and economic viability.

A distinctive feature of the course is its strong focus on applied knowledge and industrial relevance. An industry-focused session highlights how process simulation is used in real-world design and operation, helping students bridge the gap between academic models and industrial practice. Throughout the course, teams receive structured feedback from peers and instructors, and benefit from consultation sessions that support their technical and conceptual development.

To deepen reflection and collaboration, students are encouraged to critically evaluate their team dynamics, decision-making processes, and project planning. A dedicated unit addresses the challenges and strategies of effective collaboration in international, multidisciplinary settings.

The course concludes with a written report and a final presentation to a jury, where teams pitch their process concept and defend its feasibility, innovation, and sustainability. This simulated professional setting fosters confidence in presenting complex ideas to diverse audiences.

In addition to the academic experience, the course offers an optional opportunity to participate in the international student competition organized by the European Federation of Chemical Engineering (EFCE): the EURECHA Student Competition. This allows students to present their projects to a broader audience, gain international recognition, and engage with peers across Europe.

students sitting around a table and working with their mobile devices or pen and paper to do a prorject together

Sustainable Process Design Project

Chemical plants can have every shade of green  - in theory. Let`s try and find out how far we can push it.

Develop an innovative startup concept that solves a real-world problem. You will work in small teams to design entrepreneurial solutions integrating technological feasibility, sustainable business models, and active stakeholder engagement. This open-ended challenge gives you the opportunity to explore pressing issues such as climate resilience, the circular economy, health technology, mobility, and digital inclusion, and to translate your ideas into actionable business concepts.

Expected impact:

The concepts developed during the micro-mocule may serve as the foundation for real ventures in the future, either within or beyond the university ecosystem.

Additionally, the module empowers students to:

- Apply entrepreneurial methods in a real-world context

- Gain critical insights into the startup lifecycle, from ideation to go-to-market

- Build collaboration, leadership, and innovation capabilities

- Understand the challenges of technology transfer and commercialization

Participants will walk away with a toolkit of entrepreneurial skills and mindsets applicable across sectors and disciplines, giving them the confidence to take initiative in complex, uncertain environments.

Innovation to Impact: Empowering Startups to Solve Real-World Problems

Technology Transfer and Entrepreneurship with a Focus on Technological Innovation

Media and information literacy

Hydrogen is considered a great hope for the successful implementation of the energy transition and the complete shift away from fossil fuels. Politicians, scientists and industry players generally agree that hydrogen can be used in a wide range of applications - and in some cases must be used to achieve ambitious climate protection goals. These considerations focus in particular on green hydrogen, which is produced in a climate-neutral way.

In this fully self-paced online course you will get a comprehensive overview of the background of the discussion about the use of green hydrogen as an energy carrier. You can build up knowledge regarding the technological basics and understand the connections between hydrogen and renewable energies in future, sustainable energy systems.

You can go through the single chapters according to your own demands and at your own pace. We recommend reading the module texts first and then watching the topic-specific expert lectures, as their content goes into a little more detail.

The course is recommendet for all learners participating in th Challenge "Hydrogen and Sustainable Aviation Fuels (SAF) – Key Factors for Carbon-Free Aviation?"

This course were created in Aug 2021 by Fabian Carels and Lisa Karies, two scientist of Technische Universität Hamburg.

Green Hydrogen

Learn about the production, transportation, storage and use of green hydrogen

Energy and sustainability

**Unlock Your Agile Leadership Potential!**  
Step into the role of an agile team leader and discover what it takes to guide innovation in complex engineering challenges. Over one semester at TUHH, you will lead real teams, master agile practices, and reflect on your own leadership journey – preparing you for the next step in your career.

Agile methods are widely used in engineering practice, but leadership in agile contexts is often missing in the curriculum.  
In this challenge, you will:

- Form and lead teams applying agile practices to real cases.
- Develop strategies for decision-making, facilitation, and conflict resolution.
- Reflect on the role of leadership in agile environments.
- Experience cross-cultural collaboration in a truly international environment.

By combining **product development challenges** with **the responsibility of leading a team**, you will train both technical understanding and agile leadership skills.

five people sitting around a billiard table and discuss a ball-push unit

Leading Agile Teams

Train leadership by leading agile teams yourself!

The module is divided into three parts:

- background knowledge,
- simulation and experiments, and
- theoretical analysis.

The goal is to provide a holistic understanding of the manifold challenges associated with communication in Industry 4.0 and how IEEE 802.15.4 standard addresses these.

The concepts learned in the introductory lectures will be directly applied in simulations using open-source software, as well as experiments with a real hardware.

Team-based assignments help you both deepen your understanding of the modern communication technology and improve collaboration skills. Finally, analytical evaluation explains how to compute fundamental performance bounds and validate Quality-of-Service for existing and upcoming applications, turning you into a fully-equipped network specialist.

a large room with many lights and a large statue

Enabling Industry 4.0

Get in touch with Industry 4.0 challenges (spring 2026)

This Micro-Module is structured into introduction, self-learning, and implementation phases. First, you will get input on recent feature extraction and data analysis methods. You will work in a small team of three to four students solving detection and classification tasks on medical image data. In particular, your task is to automatically detect surgical tools and their motion in endoscopic images. To tune and test your algorithms we will provide image data from a surgical daVinci imaging system acquired in our laboratory. Participating in image annotation also allows you to better understand AI models and their limitations. Finally, we will test your algorithms on real medical image data. You can compare your results directly with other groups through our online leaderboard.

Image Analysis for Intelligent Systems in Medicine

Gain hands-on experience in developing AI for medical image analysis

This course invites students to become changemakers by designing an event for young people in the frame of Hamburg’s Sustainability Week 2026. Guided by the Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) approach, students will start with the big question “How to increase publicity of the Hamburg Sustainability Week (HSW) 2026?” and collaboratively develop a concrete event concept.

From choosing the theme and location to planning the format, program, and communication, students take full responsibility for the design and organization process. Along the way, they will strengthen their skills in project management, teamwork, and creative problem-solving, while gaining practical insights into sustainability challenges in an urban context.

The outcome of the course will not remain theoretical: the student-designed event can be part of Hamburg’s Sustainability Week, creating real impact and visibility for their ideas.

Innovate – Organize – Inspire: Sustainability in Practice

Developing Strategies to increase publicity of the Hamburg Sustainability Week (HSW) 2026 - Designing Events for young people

Resilient communities

At the Elfenwiese School in Hamburg, pupils with diverse learning and mobility needs face everyday challenges during lessons, breaks, and social interaction. In collaboration with school staff, physiotherapists, and a cross-disciplinary Teamcher collective, this challenge invites you to explore these needs and co-create solutions that positively impact everyday school life.

Your contribution can take many forms, from supportive devices and sensory tools to playful spatial elements or inclusive design interventions that foster comfort, engagement, or participation. Whether you're working on-site or remotely, the goal is to rethink everyday tools and environments through empathy, creativity, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Child with superman cape walking along a street

Everyday Heroes: Innovating Assistive Tools for Children with Special Needs

(winter term 25/26)

In this micro-module, you are challenged to design an educational escape room that teaches the core principles of Challenge-Based Learning (CBL): Engage, Investigate, and Act. The escape room will serve as a hands-on tool for educators seeking to implement CBL effectively in their own classrooms.

Member university

Hamburg University of Technology

Member university

Hamburg University of Technology

Learning opportunities of Hamburg University of Technology