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This module introduces students to the basics of DC electricity, electronic components, microcontrollers, sensors, actuators, and programming simple interactive systems. Through a Makey Makey demo, a basic circuit, Ohm's law, and working in a DASDUINO/Arduino environment, students wire circuits on a breadboard, program LEDs and a traffic light, and, in teams, choose a sensor or actuator for an independent project — including description, wiring, code and conclusion — with an increasing role for AI-assisted coding ('vibe coding').

Target: Unprivileged

A docking station that charges a phone and, at the same time, shows the people around you whether you are available: a rotating status wheel and a coloured LED driven by an ESP32 that reads the presence status from an online collaboration platform. The housing is plywood and 3D-printed parts; the interesting part is what happens between the object and the internet. The housing is largely pre-assembled before the session, so that the afternoon is not spent on gluing and clamping. Participants wire and solder their own electronics — servo, buttons and an addressable RGB LED — from a wiring diagram, produce the printed status wheel on the UV printer, and mount the mechanism and the screwed panels themselves. The centre of the workshop is the connected part. Participants meet the ESP32 and what its Wi-Fi interface changes compared to a standard Arduino board, then work through how a device asks a service for information: REST requests, the JSON response, the presence states and the token a device needs before it may ask anything at all. The sketch is provided ready-written; participants flash it, read it and adapt the parts that are theirs — credentials, pins, colours and the mapping from status to colour and wheel position. Prior Arduino experience is required.

Target: General

This workshop introduces the principles of Rapid Prototyping by challenging participants to design and build a Rube Goldberg machine. Working in teams, participants transform creative ideas into functional prototypes while applying design thinking and iterative development methods. After an introduction to prototyping concepts, participants plan their chain reaction, define individual process steps, and combine mechanical, physical, and simple technical elements into a complete system. Teams then build, test, and continuously improve their prototypes using a variety of materials and tools. Through repeated experimentation and refinement, participants learn how iteration, collaboration, and creative problem-solving contribute to successful product development. Example challenges include: • Designing a chain reaction that completes a simple task • Combining mechanical, physical, and digital elements • Improving the prototype through multiple testing cycles

Target: Other