Closing Event EFI 2

Closing event EFI 2

"Design Challenge completed. All tasks have been done". With these words, ChatGPT bid farewell to the participants of the final event of the Energy Research and Innovation Methods 2 innovation course at Power Systems Group. However, the journey for the participants began much earlier.

The Energy Research and Innovation Methods 2 course is part of the interdisciplinary teaching program in the research-oriented Master's degree program in Power Systems of the Thuringian Energy Research Institute. As part of the course, students work on a design challenge in interdisciplinary teams under the guidance of experienced design thinking facilitator Prof. Dr. Reinhold Pabst.

This method is used to solve engineering problems. This year, the focus was changed slightly and placed on the application of new technologies to a question posed by young talent. At the start of the summer semester, students took on this year's challenge "Awakening enthusiasm for power systems with the help of AI". The student group consisted of Applied Media and Communication Science students and Electrical Engineering students. They were supported by a student assistant in the field of power systems. To gain an overview of the challenge, the students first conducted user interviews with various stakeholders, the results of which they incorporated into the design thinking process. This comprises six phases, which are typically divided into a problem space (phases 1-3) and a solution space (phases 4-6).

Once the challenge had been understood and the observations from the user interviews had been incorporated, the perspectives of various user groups were defined and initial ideas for solving the challenge were developed. These ideas were regularly discussed with the stakeholders and then developed into three prototypes:

• "Euli" a degree program chatbot that helps prospective students to find a quick overview of the most important information about the degree program, but also to solve very specific problems.

• "Ilmenau-O-Mat", which is modeled on the Wahl-O-Mat and helps students find the right degree program based on their own preferences.

• Website design that can increase the attractiveness of the degree course website and make it easier to find on the internet in order to offer prospective students the best possible user experience

Artificial intelligence was used both as a means of finding a solution and as part of the solution. The students used the tools to summarize interviews, organize notes or generate image material, for example.

We would like to thank everyone involved for their excellent and uncomplicated cooperation. First and foremost the marketing departments of the university and faculty, Mr. Augustin for the administration of the ChatGPT accounts and our interview partners for the exciting user insights.

If you would like to enter a challenge for next year, please send an informal email describing your plans to fg-eev@tu-ilmenau.de.