eduLAB Opening
On September 30, 2025, we celebrated the official opening of eduLAB’s new premises with Minister for Education Christoph Wiederkehr.
Picture: Amélie Chapalain / TU Wien Informatics
About
“Dealing with computer science is an indispensable skill in today’s world. It is important that children and young people begin early to understand the technology behind it. The eduLAB enables them to experience computer science in a playful way and to actively participate — I find that wonderful!” — Christoph Wiederkehr, Education Minister
René Röpke, who leads the eduLAB, moderated the event, setting the stage for insightful remarks from key speakers. In her opening, Dean Gerti Kappel highlighted TU Wien’s commitment to digital literacy through the eduLAB, which has expanded from high school to elementary school initiatives, and called for a mandatory, graduation-relevant informatics subject in schools to support digital sovereignty, combat misinformation, and address workforce and gender disparities in the tech sector. Rector Jens Schneider emphasized the university’s role in making digital education accessible from an early age, framing the eduLAB as a space for hands-on learning that aligns with TU Wien’s mission of fostering creativity and critical thinking, advocating for informatics to be treated as essential as a second language. Minister Christoph Wiederkehr underscored the importance of preparing young people for the digital realities of the 21st century, as well as the importance of media literacy and critical thinking — not only as knowledge transfer, but as competence development.
One of the highlights of the event (apart from hosting a Minister, of course!) was the keynote held by Tobias Kohn, who chairs the computing education group at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. In his keynote, Tobias Kohn discussed the challenges of teaching computer science due to the “Black Box” nature of computers, where their inner workings are hidden and difficult to understand. This issue is especially pronounced with complex technologies like AI, where systems function without clear transparency, leading to misconceptions that programming might no longer be necessary in the future. He emphasized that competence in informatics cannot be developed through obscure technologies and advocated for breaking open these “Black Boxes” to create transparent, understandable systems. This approach is embodied in the eduLAB, which focuses on experiential learning to make the core principles of computer science accessible and understandable.
As part of the program during the opening of the new eduLAB facilities, the Vienna Center for Logic and Algorithms (VCLA) held its award ceremony for the winners of the youth video competition “Humans and Machines in 2035”. The competition invited students from lower and upper secondary schools to creatively envision life with artificial intelligence in 10 years. Submissions ranged from LEGO and Playmobil scenes to original drawings and AI-generated videos, with 128 entries from teams across Austria. The prizes were awarded by VCLA chairs Agata Ciabattoni and Stefan Szeider.
The opening made one thing clear: computer science education is key for future generations. In an increasingly digital world, spaces like eduLAB — where children and young people can gain early, accessible exposure to the fundamental concepts of computer science, regardless of their background or prior knowledge — are vital. The new premises provide the necessary freedom to teach digital skills in a playful, creative, and responsible way.
We sincerely thank our dedicated sponsors and supporters — Frequentis, Let’s Empower Austria (LEA), Siemens, and the Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF) — for their invaluable and continued support.
Event Program and further information
You can find all information about the program of the eduLAB Opening in our Save-the-Date. The event was also accompanied by a press release, which you can read on the Austria Press Agency OTS website (the press release is German-only).
About eduLAB
eduLAB is an outreach initiative of TU Wien Informatics that offers the opportunity for kids ages 7 and up to discover computer science in a playful and hands-on way. What’s special about eduLAB? Most of the workshops are “unplugged,” meaning that content about algorithms, coding, or Artificial Intelligence (AI) is taught through non-digital means. Another noteworthy thing about eduLAB: all of their outreach activities are free of charge. The goal of eduLAB is to make computer science understandable for everyone and to offer a low-threshold entry point into computer science, no matter how complex the topic. With its exploratory, playful, and hands-on approach, eduLAB reaches out to over a thousand students each semester with the hope of sparking interest and curiosity for the next generation of computer scientists.
The eduLAB was founded in 2019 by Gerald Futschek and quickly became a central hub for computer science education. It started with the interactive exhibition “Abenteuer Informatik” (“Adventure Computer Science”), followed by the first workshops for school classes — over 700 students participated in the first semester alone. In the following years, eduLAB continuously expanded its offerings. Since 2021, it has been collaborating with an international consortium to train future computer science teachers and promote lasting competence in computational thinking. In 2022, Laura Kovács launched the “Abenteuer Informatik Volksschule” project, which aims to give primary school children an age-appropriate, playful introduction to computer science.
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