Technical University Berlin

Blue Science is a module that allows students to experience interactive university teaching and learning by dealing with their social and ecological responsibility in concrete and active ways. It came up as an transdisciplinary extension of the seminar Blue Engineering, which has been offered for over 10 years, promoting socially and ecologically responsible engineering through a variety of alternative teaching methods. Blue Science is open for students of all areas and backgrounds with an interest in technology. Science and its relation to technology, individuals, nature and society is reflected, analyzed and questioned in interdisciplinary discussions facilitated through diverse methods. Students are encouraged to think and learn independently and creatively, and therefore teacher-centered instruction does not occur in this module. Students acquire the competence to unveil the complex interdependency of their social, political, ecological and economic surroundings. This includes the consideration of different values, interests and needs within a global perspective as well as within one class(room). The course design encourages democratic decision-making not only to solve but also to define problems within the course itself and moreover outside of the classroom. By developing and carrying out their own teaching units, students are actively involved in the teaching process and co-create the course. This allows students to bring in their own areas of interest and to share their findings and points of view with others, creating learning material that may be used in future editions of the module.

When car-use becomes restricted on streets, is that called opening or closing a street? The conflict around this question currently splits Berlin. As the automotive city planning paradigm of much of the twentieth century rolls out bumpily, many are ready to replace it with a paradigm that puts people instead of cars first. The claim is that the urban street of the future is not merely a transit space, but rather part of the urban commons, a space that is there for everyone to use. Climate mitigation, space justice, and mobility justice all play a role here as well. In this seminar, we will look at urban (street) space as urban commons, discuss the change of meaning that street space has undergone in the past and still undergoes and get a first-hand experience of the conflict described above by visiting reclaimed spaces and conducting interviews. We will also deal with specific examples of street reclamations worldwide.

In this course, students are taught the foundational concepts of major stochastic fields and associated topics, including Statistics, probability, and combinatorics. The course is presented in “flipped-classroom” format, such that students are expected to learn concepts on their own, and then practice application in the classroom.

The urban ecohydrology contains a theoretical part which comprises all aspects related to the urban water cycle including urban rainfall pattern, water availability, groundwater recharge, urban rivers and drainage (traditional and sustainable approaches), urban waterscapes and alternative perspectives for water in cities, and the specific requirements for urban green including urban rainwater gardens, green roofs and facades and aspects of water shortage and heat stress on urban green conditions. Specific requirements of mega-cities and urban areas in developing countries will be assessed. In a practical part of the module, students will learn how to use simple modelling software for the calculation of greywater use and for the configuration of sustainable drainage systems including sustainable rainwater management. In the excursion part, students will get the chance to visit and study different elements of urban water, including e.g. excursions to a sewage treatment plant, the implementations of the water framework directive for urban rivers, integrated rain and grey water management of office blocks, and green wall installations (excursions will vary according to the availability of invited guides).

Practical work with standard software for geographical information systems (e.g. ArcGIS Pro): architecture, components, and functionality, principles of thematic modelling (thematic layers, object classes, etc.), geographical data models and data structures, spatial and topological relations, data acquisition and digitization, methods for geospatial analysis, cartographic theory, elements and principles of cartographic visualization, spatial reference systems and map projections, map design, symbolization, topographic and thematic maps, cartographic information systems, cartographic abstraction and generalization, multimedia cartography, spatial decision support systems, multi-criteria decision analysis.

This course provides students with the knowledge of how to develop a start-up idea into a successful business model and how to a win a startup pitch. The course offers knowledge on how to start a company and push it to success. The course consists of three main parts: the structured approach, hands-on experimentation, and feedback. The structured approach is given through lectures and case studies, which serve as a compass. The hands-on experiment consists of individual and group work where students use the new concepts and implement them to their business idea. Feedback comes from interaction with successful entrepreneurs and startup scene players. Students who develop a high quality business model may be put in contact with Berlin startup supporters.

This course provides the practical tools for developing, applying, and investigating machine learning methods in Python. The course utilizes libraries including Pandas, PyTorch, JAX, and Cython.

This beginning course introduces fundamentals of the French language such as common greetings, basic introductory phrases, numbers, commonly used verbs, and the alphabet. In addition, basic knowledge of France and other French-speaking countries such as Switzerland and Belgium is also taught. Listening, speaking, and writing exercises are utilized. The course covers the A1 CEFR level of French language.

This German language course addresses the needs of beginners. The content of the course follows the standards of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) for level A1 (beginners with no prior knowledge). Equal emphasis is given to five language skills: listening, speaking, reading, writing, and culture. The course covers language topics including how to deal with everyday situations in a German-speaking environment and conduct simple conversations (e.g. at the grocery store, in a restaurant, at a public office); how to understand discussions on familiar topics; how to develop reading strategies that allow students to understand very simple newspaper articles as well as other very short texts; and how to write, revise, and proofread sentences in German. This course is designed to provide students with ample opportunities in the classroom and on a course-related excursion to practice German communication.