Women in male professions may no longer be a complete rarity, but when Christine Strätker talks about her dual engineering studies in the field of mechatronics, she always looks around to see surprised faces. In the Engineering of Technical Systems degree programme, she is currently one of eight women out of a total of around 50 people; in the field of electronics/mechatronics, she is one of two. “That‘s pretty normal. I don‘t feel like I stand out particularly as a woman. That’s something at least. The main thing I notice is that my fellow female students and I are more likely to be asked to take photos or report from the companies”, says the dual studies student, describing her experiences. We are no exception, because it is also desirable for WAS to use Christine‘s example to attract even more girls and young women to technical professions.
From simulation to reality.
For our interview, we are allowed to interrupt Christine while she is working on her bachelor‘s dissertation. Under the title 'Conception and implementation of a pressure test unit for the oxygen supply of an ambulance' which is unwieldy for non-specialist ears, she is working on a test kit with which even untrained personnel can easily test the quality of the oxygen line system according to standards. The result is not only important for their dissertation, but should also be routinely used in everyday work at WAS. Christine particularly likes this combination of theory and practice in the dual studies programme:
“The best thing is always when you can do something yourself. Thanks to the integration of the apprenticeship, manual work steps such as drilling, filing and wiring are also part of the study programme. I‘m interested in the theoretical part, but it makes a difference when you can see the whole thing in reality, away from computer simulations.”
Decision for a technical career.
When Christine talks about it, it‘s hard to believe that she wasn’t always so tech-savvy: In primary school, her dream job was to be a zookeeper. It was only during her school years that she discovered her aptitude for mathematics, physics and chemistry. After reading up the job description for an engineer in the field of mechatronics, she looked for apprenticeship companies near her home in Meppen and found what she was looking for at WAS. “I immediately liked the fact that at WAS you work on such a concrete and exciting product. People see ambulances and other special vehicles on the streets in everyday
life, but they are far from everyday vehicles”, Christine recalls. She is completing the theoretical part of the dual studies programme at the Lingen Campus of Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. Since starting her studies, she has lived in Lingen in a shared flat with other students. And after her bachelor‘s dissertation? The engineer wants to continue gaining professional experience at WAS and then perhaps add a master‘s degree – a shame for the zoo, but great news for us!
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