Talking about what’s cool!

Tomo Clement has been to Berlin, Dresden and Hanover. He has programmed, soldered and discussed. He has made friends and gained experiences that he would not have wanted to miss out on. He has just one regret: “That I didn’t start taking part in competitions, workshops and camps for schoolchildren earlier.” The 20-year-old thinks: “Young people are told far too little about what’s on offer.” With competitions such as INVENT a CHIP, STEM camps or software challenges, there is a wide range to choose from and the events are often free or very cheap for school students. “I’d like to tell my 15-year-old self to do a lot more of this kind of thing,” says Tomo. It’s too late for that now – but it’s not too late to nudge other young people. That’s one of the main reasons why Tomo joined the advisory board for the VDE dialog young talent edition: “To tell people about all the cool things that are possible in technology.” He has got his act together and is in the fourth semester of his dual computer science degree at the electronics group Philips. “The course is totally varied, while the projects at Philips are exciting and can really help people. It’s great to invent and develop something that others then use.” He can therefore also imagine becoming self-employed in the area of programming and digital technology when he has completed his training. He already has initial ideas for apps and the like. “Apart from the fact that technical understanding lays the foundation for our social development, it’s just a lot of fun to create something yourself with technology.”