Valentina Wieser, 17, und Isabella Raile, 16, are trainees in the research area “NG & NNG Combustion” and analyse the energy and fuel consumption of the LEC test bed. Marie Springer, 18, assists in the area of Marketing & PR and writes texts in German and in English for the website of the LEC. Leopold Braunstein, 17, supports the Dual Fuel Combustion Team with the documentation of experimental investigations at the test bed. Laura Melde, 15, assists the administration und accounting. Elias Bischof, 15, supports the reseach area “Robust Engines Solutions” in creating an inventory of the measuring equipment.

Which school do you attend?

Valentina: I will graduate from Carneri this coming school year.

Isabella: I attend the Ursulinen.

Marie: I graduated from GIBS this summer.

Leopold: I will graduate from Seebacher next year.

Laura: I go to WIKU.

Elias: And I attend the HIB Liebenau.

In what ways do you have to do with engine technology in your daily lives?

Leopold: Many members of my family have a technical job. The fields are widely spanned, its goes from mechanical engineering to civil engineers.

Marie: For the most part not much, but I had to learn about car engines for my driver’s license.

Valentina: I also learned about engines for my driver’s license, but in general I have more to do with computer sciences.

Elias: I have a motorcycle that i like to make small improvements on.

Is there a particularly interesting project that you are helping with?

Leopold: The research on the spark plug is very interesting, because it is the most important part of the internal combustion engine. The spark plug ignites the mixture of air and fuel, which creates the pressure that puts the piston in motion. So without the spark plug the engine would not work.

Marie: I thought it was really interesting to conduct the interviews with the other interns because it was fascinating to hear which approach to large engines each one of them has.

Which image did you have of large engines before you began your intership at the LEC?

Valentina: I basically imagined them the way they were presented to us on the first day.

Elias: I already had a clear image because I knew that they are used in ships, which I am interested in.

Laura: I imagined them as larger versions of car engines.

Has your image become more concrete or has it changed over the last weeks?

Laura: Yes, especially because of the tour through the test beds.

Leopold: Yes, I know a lot more about them now, because I have to work so close to the engines.

Which insights into the work at the LEC did you get?

Isabella: How the contact with clients takes place and an insight into the daily working procedures.

Marie: On one hand I got an insight into the media work and the organisational effort associated with a specialist conference, but I also gained insight into the research conducted at the LEC.

Leopold: I mainly saw the day to day workflow and which partners the LEC works with. But I also got first impressions of the studies associated with this work.

Do you already have career plans or ideas, in which direction you would like to go after graduating?

Valentina: I want to study computer sciences in Vienna.

Elias: Either medicine or something technical, but I could also imagine working with engines.

Laura: After the Matura I want to study Maths and Physics at the Graz University of Technology. I am especially interested in doing research and development.

Leopold: I want to study mechanical engineering and business economics, maybe at the Graz University of Technology. I am also interested in the research aspect of the work.

Marie: I will begin studying law this fall and I am especially interested in European law and working for NGOs.

Isabella: After the Matura I also want to study, but I am not sure yet which direction I want to go in.