IThis year, we are welcoming a total of 44 new doctoral students in computer science to the Software Campus. After spring 2024 was dedicated to the application and selection process, the new cohort has now been accepted into the programme. On 2 September, all participants, who this year come from 14 different universities and research institutions from all over Germany, met in Berlin. They are currently preparing their individual project descriptions and planning the research project that they will lead from the start of 2025. At the kickoff in Berlin, they exchanged with the DLR Project Management Agency, which closely accompanies all projects in the Software Campus programme.
A key aim of the kick-off is for the participants to get to know each other and their respective research areas. As every year, they got creative, for the first time in the form of a Promptathon. In a variation on a hackathon, they worked in teams using generative AI to create videos about how their research projects could make the world a better place. The results told vivid stories of rabbits, hot pots of wonders, Minions, Ninja Turtles, goats and dragons and how they apply their research superpowers.
Many thanks to the Forum Digitale Technologien team for their hospitality!
