Sustainable technology development in focus: first “Green ICT Camp” successfully completed
Be it video conferencing, streaming, or seamless access to data in the cloud – we have become used to instant availability of digital content. As current forecasts predict, the volume of data is set to increase even further. But what impact will this have on our resources and energy consumption? What effects do modern information and communication technologies have on our ecological footprint? From September 2-6, 2024, 40 students addressed these topics at the first “Green ICT Camp” organized by the Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD). The event took place at the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut (FBH) and involved many hands-on workshops, training sessions, and excursions to further FMD partners, the Fraunhofer Institutes HHI and IZM.
For one week, the students contributed their perspectives from different fields of study: from electrical engineering and computer science to environmental engineering, resource management and product design. Johanna Fröhlich, who studies Advanced Signal Processing and Communications Engineering at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg and is a finalist for the “Green ICT Award 2024”, was also enthusiastic about these different viewpoints: “Sustainability includes the CO2 footprint, water consumption, but also questions such as: Is a substance toxic, are there emissions? We look at all that here. I think it's great because there are so many different people with different backgrounds. You simply learn a lot.”
More than technical input: soft skills training, excursions & networking
In lectures and subsequent workshops, the students worked on real-life application examples to investigate the life cycle impact of various scenarios and technologies – to identify the solutions with the most favorable carbon footprint. They were actively supported by industry partners AVM, manufacturer of the Fritz-Box, Rohde & Schwarz, and Nokia as well as scientists from the Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Fraunhofer IZM, and Fraunhofer HHI. The event, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, also included soft skills training, information on career opportunities, excursions, and a gala evening with science slam.
Wolfgang Heinrich, Head of FBH’s Microwave Department and coordinator of the FMD hub “Energy-saving communication infrastructures”, sums it up positively: “The camp was great fun for everyone. With the combination of theory and practice, we succeeded in making the young professionals aware that everyone who develops technologies has to think about sustainability from the outset – across the different professional disciplines.”
By the way, if you missed out on registering this time: There will be two more camps in Erlangen and Dresden in 2025. Further information can be found here: https://greenict.de/camp/.
Click here to watch the video with impressions from the Green ICT Camp 2024.
