by Alexandra Schafhauser, Advocacy Team Leader
The Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) hosted their annual science festival, Scientastic, 10-11 November. EPFL organises this yearly festival with the idea to reach out to the broader public with the latest developments in the digital area. The aim is to break down learning barriers for children and adults who wish to learn more about the digitalisation and automatisation of our societies.
I took my three enthusiastic kids, aged 5, 8 and 10, and left Geneva for Lausanne. Upon arrival, we found many interesting expositions. Issues like big data and thinking machines were examined, as well as a whole area dedicated to explaining how our daily used digital gadgets like smartphones and tablets work. Hot topics such as cryptography, the latest development in robotics and cyber security were discussed and debated. For the younger audience, starting at age 4, a wide range of workshops on how to program your parents(!), build Legos with the help of an algorithm, coding, cryptography and robotics were offered.
Being a RightsTech Woman volunteer, I was very happy to discover classes offered by the EPFL reaching out to girls on robotics, the Internet and coding. If you are interested in their programs, you can check them out here at https://sps.epfl.ch/jeunepublic/coding-club/ and https://funweb.epfl.ch.
Benefiting from the possibilities that digitalisation offers and protecting oneself from the possible negative aspects requires knowledge and continuous education for primary school kids, teenagers, and adults. The digital revolution is here, and it effects all of us. Let’s not become passive consumers, but instead play an active part in shaping the future!
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Background information
EPFL is one of the two Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology and one of the most famous European institutions of science and technology. Like its sister institution in Zürich, ETHZ, it has three core missions: training, research and technology transfer. EPFL is located in Lausanne in Switzerland. For further information about classes for kids in coding, robotics and science offered by EPFL: https://sps.epfl.ch.