Young Campus: It’s a Colourful World

Shooting one’s own film, designing a radio show, programming a computer game, or standing on a theatre stage – the more than 50 young people aged between 14 and 20 years from all over Lower Austria, Vienna, and Upper Austria who participated in the Young Campus at the St. Pölten UAS were definitely not bored. In four hands-on workshops led by UAS experts, the adolescents not only explored the campus and the labs and practice rooms with their top equipment, but also worked intensively on projects that creatively addressed the framework topic "Die Welt ist bunt" (It’s a Colourful World) and breathed university air for the first time.

"We find it important to give young people the opportunity to try out new topics, acquire skills, and get to know the UAS", says Gabriele Permoser, Head of the Center for Research and Cooperation at the St. Pölten UAS. "Thanks to the Young Campus, teenagers experience firsthand how diverse and vibrant university life really is."

Break Stereotypes, Demonstrate Diversity

The focus of project work was on the common motto which inspired the participants to intensively discuss diversity and stereotypes in society. In addition to the creative implementation, the participants got to know modern technologies and to expand their competencies in media production, IT, and theatre. The theatre workshop was held in cooperation with the Landestheater Niederösterreich.

The event culminated in a presentation that fascinated the audience: More than 70 young people took part in it – in addition to the participants of the Young Campus, another roughly 20 interested adolescents followed the results and presentations with full attention.

"I am truly impressed by the creativity and commitment of the teenagers and immensely proud of what they achieved in only a week", says Angelika Czedik-Eysenberg, project manager of the Young Campus.

Staging Theatre

In the theatre workshop – in collaboration with the Landestheater Niederösterreich – the participants developed a satire designed to make the audience laugh and give them food for thought at the same time. Two young actors played the roles of aliens inspecting Earth and evaluating humans’ behaviour based on comparison with a control group.

Producing Film

In the area of film, the young people tried to break stereotypical patterns in society with their spots. One contribution addressed gender-specific role expectations in the working environment and sensitised the audience for the equal treatment of all genders. In doing so, the participants not only produced the content and wrote the script, but also learned how to handle camera, sound, lighting, cutting, and post-processing.

Designing Radio Contributions

In their radio contributions, the participants worked with audio equipment and technology while editorially processing the topic "It’s a Colourful World" at the same time. They addressed cultural prejudices and demonstrated the colourful diversity of our society based on their interview partners’ personal insights.

Programming Computer Games

The computer games designed and programmed by the teenagers themselves likewise reflected the motto of the Young Campus.

Young Campus Goes International – First Participant from Overseas

Every year, the Young Campus fascinates many adolescents from all over Lower Austria, Vienna, and Upper Austria – and this year, from overseas as well for the first time: Sam, a 16-year-old pupil from Colorado (USA), was part of the Young Campus while staying in Lower Austria. "It was great programming a game in a team", he says. Although he had already been interested in programming before, he got to gain his first practical experiences in the workshop. Together with his group, he developed a round-based combat game including its own characters modelled after the well-know Pokémon game. Language barriers? "No problem at all – many spoke English, and the coaches were there to provide assistance whenever needed." Sam will return to the USA at the end of August.

Unity in Diversity: The Young Campus as a Space for New Perspectives

Providing an inclusive learning environment is of central importance for the St. Pölten UAS. Diversity within the group was not only respected but rather experienced as a valuable resource: Different realities of life and educational paths led to exciting discussions and lively interaction.

"Diversity is a success factor: It brings in new ideas, provides support in decision-making processes, and strengthens mutual understanding. Different perspectives make us more creative, adaptable, and ultimately stronger", emphasises Czedik-Eysenberg. "A big thank you is due to our cooperation partners in youth work who recommended the Young Campus with so much enthusiasm."

Premiere: Social Work Students as Accompanying Coaches

In order to offer the best possible support to the heterogeneous group of participants, students of our Social Work study programme were involved as coaches for the first time this year. They assisted the teenagers in personal matters as well as group dynamic processes, thus creating a supportive and respectful environment.

More about Young Campus

The Young Campus is supported by the Federal Ministry of Women, Science and Research, by the OeAD (Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation), the Province of Lower Austria, AK Young Niederösterreich, UpNano, the Rotary Club St. Pölten, the Landestheater Niederösterreich, and by Sparkasse Niederösterreich Mitte West.