It was all about trains in the Thales Workshop at Vienna Kids University

“We turn university upside down” is the motto of the Kids University in Vienna where Thales participated for the first time. During two workshops – one for girls only – curious children and future students at the age between 7 and 12 years could find out about the excitement of railway technology.  The success of the concept speaks for itself. Shortly after opening the registration many lectures and workshops were already fully booked– so was the workshop at Thales.

On July 18 the children learned how modern and environmentally friendly train systems are. Together with Thales experts they playfully worked on the answers to questions like “How do we secure trains?” and “Why is the train environmentally friendly?”. In a creative way the young students brought to paper their very personal idea of the optimal future train. From dedicated places for pets, swimming pools on board up to new propulsion systems – there were no limits to their ideas.

Early awake interest in technology

With the participation at Vienna Kids University, Thales underlines its focus to early promote interest in technology; both for girls, as well as for boys. It is still difficult to find female experts for technical professions on the market and to generally increase the interest in technology for girls. Therefore, one workshop was explicitly dedicated to girls. Supporting women is an important focus in the comprehensive diversity program of Thales Group. The international technology group Thales employs about 400 experts in train control technology in Vienna.