CreativeLab

Current developments provide an initial impression of the impact digitalization has on societal progress. AI (Artificial Intelligence) has become an everyday companion and supports professional tasks such as diagnostic possibilities in medicine or self-driving cars in transportation. In schools, pre-scientific papers are being abolished since, with the advent of ChatGPT and similar tools, it is no longer possible to differentiate between the performance of students and that of AI. This is only the beginning; developments are progressing rapidly. According to the market research institute Gartner's "Hype Cycle for Emerging Technologies, 2024," it is forecasted that AI systems will, within the next 10 years, take over every human task, turning science fiction into reality. However, the big question is where students stand in all this. There is now consensus in the education sector that imparting STEM competencies (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) plays a crucial role (e.g., Digitalization Master Plan, STEM Quality Seal). It must also be about empowering children and adolescents to handle these transformations, as detailed by the Future Skills Navigator or the digi.komp competence model. The VHS Mariahilf is addressing this by establishing the CreativeLab, which precisely aims at developing these competencies in students within a comfortable environment where children and adolescents feel welcome. Anchored in the values of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the VHS pursues a participatory approach and involves students in the development and design of the CreativeLab. The maker culture, which emerged in the first decade of this century, is characterized by self-organization, creativity, self-responsibility, and joy in innovation, and forms another substantive basis for the CreativeLab. What sets the CreativeLab apart from current offerings beyond its technical equipment (plotter, 3D printers, laser cutter, electronic sewing machine, recycling) is evident in four points: Networking: The VHS coordinates the educational district Mariahilf and is also well-networked beyond that. The CreativeLab strengthens the educational district per se. We also expect that the collaboratively developed projects of the children and adolescents will, in the medium and long term, strengthen the local community. Low-threshold access: On one hand, the direct access to the CreativeLab via a lively square with diverse gastronomy lowers barriers and arouses curiosity and interest among visitors. On the other hand, the formats are developed and formatively evaluated together with students, ensuring that the offerings can be used uncomplicatedly. "Education for all" is the goal of such an approach. Sustainability: The CreativeLab focuses on providing its visitors with opportunities to identify with their products, partly through the Sustainable Development Goals (in which all consortium partners can demonstrate expertise from previous projects), but also through local conditions and individual needs. Recycling as a method represents another aspect of the CreativeLab's sustainability. Exploitation: Sustainability in terms of integrating other FFG projects is also present in the CreativeLab. For example, the results on gender- and diversity-sensitive design of a makerspace from the FEMTech project NextGenLab can be utilized. This is particularly essential when considering the large gap between genders in the core STEM subjects. The results of the currently ongoing Talente Regional projects CosTechPlay, StreamIT, and StAct will also be given space in the CreativeLab.