On April 27, 2023 it was time again for “Future Day” at MeVis Medical Solutions AG: 8 interested students had the opportunity to spend an entire morning at MeVis discovering the company. On this nationwide activity day across Germany, students in grades 5-9 have the opportunity to explore their interests and talents for occupational fields that are otherwise gender-dominated. MeVis had once again prepared an exciting program for the young talents making the topic software development in medical imaging tangible with workshops and a short discovery trip into the world of virtual reality.
Beginning at 9:00 a.m., all participants gathered in the conference room. There, the children were given a warm welcome by Marcus Kirchhoff, CEO of MeVis Medical Solutions AG, together with the MeVis team, who then talked them through the program. A first overview of what MeVis does and a following tour through the different departments sparked curiosity for the workshops offered later on, which they could choose from and participate in.
Some children expressed wishes for the day's activities and asked initial questions, such as "How many people work in the building?“ or "What do people eat at MeVis for lunch?“
The focus then turned to more technical aspects: How are medical images created and how is this image data processed? And what is cancer? This was described in an understandable way using the example of a mammography device, and the children were able to examine the first image data analyses in the test lab.
During the workshops, the children were given small tasks to try out: using the visual programming language Scratch, they gained their first experience in animating short scenes. The children were able to try out how images can be processed and also changed using the company's own development platform MeVislab and experiment with two- and three-dimensional images. An exciting experience also awaited them when a computer and a server were unscrewed. They inspected the inner components and learned about the tasks of the individual parts. They were given a hands-on experience of what a computer actually does and how hardware and software interact with each other.
A small journey of discovery started when there was an insight into software to support the planning of liver surgeries. The enthusiasm was high when everyone got to test virtual reality goggles and view organs with them.
Additionally, of course, everyone was keen to find out where parents actually spend their day at work. Therefore it was a particular pleasure to be allowed to visit mom and dad's workplace.
And since software development at MeVis is always teamwork, finally, the children also practiced how teams can work together effectively.
With so much knowledge and new impressions, it was hard to notice how quickly the time flew by and the Future Day at MeVis was over in a blink of an eye.
We are already looking forward to welcoming young visitors to MeVis again next year!