Testimonials

I attended a seminar in psychology, where someone gave a talk on "digitalization". The take home message was clear: Everybody should learn a programming language, at least the basics, to have some background knowledge about the systems that influence our lives and that we interact with daily. That prompted me to start the course in "Introduction to Python" which I liked so much that I decided to take the whole “Minor Digital Science”.

Instead of carrying out the data analysis in my master’s thesis with SPSS as is common in psychology, I was able to apply the skills I learned during the minor by using Python. This allowed me to perform much more complex statistical analyses that are not available in SPSS. The charts I created were also of higher quality.

I know it, because I got my current job due to the fact that I have these special Digital Science skills. I closely work together with programmers and the knowledge I acquired in the minor helps me carry out my duties and communicate with the team!

A friend of mine told me about a course where students not studying Computer Science could learn how to program, "Introduction to Python". I learned a lot in the course and it fuelled my curiosity so I wanted to immerse myself even deeper into the subject. The contents of the minor also seemed to complement the contents of my major very well, so I took more modules step by step. At first, I did not expect to complete the whole minor, but in the end it happened almost automatically.

Any form of handling data and carrying out statistical evaluations is now easier for me. I have become more flexible and am able to automate processes. Human-machine-interaction is also a very relevant and modern field of psychology where I have acquired a lot of additional knowledge. In "Aspects of Digitalization", I attended a course with a strong focus on philosophy. It made me aware of the interconnectedness of society, the human mind and digitalization as well as the challenges associated with it. The insigths from this course were also useful for other seminars.

Yes, in two different ways. On the one hand, statistics, data and programming skills are in high demand in almost any industry. If you are head to head with another applicant for a job, these skills may be the reason why you are selected. On the other hand, the minor allowed me to learn how to approach completely new areas of research and how to deal with new topics and lines of thinking. This has instilled confidence in me for my job search.

The way it all began may sound trivial: I simply needed a course for the “Interdisciplinary Skills” module. In the past few years, I often said to myself and to others: If I had the time, I would start another bachelor’s program in Computer Science, just out of interest. When I saw “Introduction to Programming with Python“ among the options for the “Interdisciplinary Skills” module, I knew this was my chance. I took it and never regretted my choice. I continued with other courses from the minor and ended up completing the whole package.

My master’s thesis was about human balance and postural control. The methods I used to perform measurements rely heavily on data (capturing motion, measuring ground reaction forces). When analyzing the collected data, many of the skills I obtained in the "Minor Digital Science" were of great help to me, especially since my approach did not follow a standard method. My analysis was a little unconventional and therefore required writing lots of code.

In the past couple of years, sensors and data have played an ever-increasing role in sport science. This is true for almost all areas, from physiology to biomechanics. In the future, researchers who do not have a firm grasp of data analysis will, in all likelihood, no longer contribute anything new to the discipline. I now work in a research group for prototype development and evaluation of exoskeletons, which is at the intersection of sport science and mechatronics. Analyzing measurement data is an essential part of the job.

Sport science students can choose a small number of courses freely within the interdisciplinary skills module. When browsing through the list of courses available at the university, I found a programming course offered by the Digital Science Center and decided to take it. Since this course was already part of the minor and the topics and the way of teaching appealed to me, I opted for the whole package.

Digitalization is an important and current topic in sport science, just as in other disciplines. Unfortunately, the curriculum only reflects this to a limited degree. Having digital skills and competences therefore is a unique selling point for sport scientists that sets them apart from other people in the field.

Yes, I am convinced it will. I was already approached by a couple of people during my studies who wanted to solve problems at the intersection of sport science and digitalization. Being able to manage and analyze data was also a required skill for the job I got right after completing my studies.