How do lasers work? What characterises them? And what are they used for? These and other questions are addressed at the annual MINT-EC Camp at St Xaver's Grammar School in Bad Driburg. Interested pupils from all over Germany spend a whole week studying the physics of lasers.
The programme also included a visit to the University of Paderborn. After an introductory lecture on how lasers work, the participants were able to gain an insight into cutting-edge research with high-performance lasers. In the laboratories of the working groups led by Prof Tim Barley and Prof Thomas Zentgraf, the students were able to see lasers in action - for example in laser lithography and using a titanium-sapphire laser, and also carry out experiments with them. The programme also included a very practical application: lasers were used to determine the storage capacity of a CD and a DVD.
As an empty stomach doesn't like learning, a visit to the canteen was of course also part of the programme.
The MINT-EC programme is a national excellence network of schools with an upper secondary level and a mathematics and science school profile. A total of almost 340 schools with around 350,000 pupils take part in the programme. One of the aims of the programme is to attract pupils to STEM degree courses and apprenticeships and to establish cooperation between schools, universities, research institutions and companies.
