Asked about his favorite subject, Linus Musekamp can’t just pick one; he has three. Not only does he enjoy mathematics, computer science and physics – he is also particularly good at them. Even in elementary school, Linus was interested in technology. “I just wanted to know how technical devices work,” says the 17-year-old, who intends to graduate from high school next year. He was just “six or seven years old” when a friend of his parents – an engineer himself – brought him a box of cables and connectors as a present. It was the ideal gift. Linus soon bought additional components with his pocket money and started his first projects. It’s no wonder he is the advisory board’s expert for electrotechnical gadgets for children. Even challenging technical topics and the theory behind them don’t put Linus off. And that is why, compared to many others of his age, he is “not afraid of electrical engineering”.
“The subject has a reputation for being very, very difficult – virtually impossible to study if you’re not extremely good and extremely clever.” Linus believes this is a prejudice that harms the subject and fuels the problem of procuring young talent. He has already been to several events organized by VDE or with VDE in recent months, including the Hanover Fair and the MikroSystemTechnik Congress in Dresden. But it all started with his participation in INVENT a CHIP, where Linus also won a prize in 2023. No matter where he came into contact with the industry, Linus says, “people were always talking about recruiting young people for electrical engineering and how important and difficult that is.” He therefore didn’t hesitate for long when asked whether he would like to be part of the advisory board involved in developing the VDE dialog junior edition. “I think it’s important and makes sense for me to make a contribution like this.”
