Deutsch Intern
Institute of Computer Science

Perspectives and Skills

Within the Institute for Computer Science, we would like to train computer science students with multidisciplinary skills in order to develop sustainable IT systems  (e.g. energy-efficient "Green IT" systems). Furthermore, computer science can lead to sustainable approaches in a problem-oriented and innovative manner in areas such as environmental issues: IT for sustainability. The "Computer Science and Sustainability" study creates the prerequisites for so-called T-Shaped Future Carriers for students to work across disciplines with experts from other areas.

The "Computer Science and Sustainability" course familiarizes students with the most important sub-areas of computer science and sustainability in one of the two main areas. The focus is on the mastery of working methods and procedures in computer science and the based underlying methods and ways of thinking as well as an overview of the ways of thinking and technical language with regard to sustainability, the environment and subjects from the elective areas. After successfully completing the bachelor's degree, students have, among others, the following skills:

  • The methods of algorithmic thinking and working
  • Analytical thinking, abstraction skills and the ability to structure complex relationships
  • Well-founded basic knowledge, methodological knowledge and the development of the thought structures typical for computer science
  • Current methodological knowledge for sustainable IT systems and in IT for sustainability.

Qualification and Career Entry

Successful completion of the bachelor's degree in "Computer Science and Sustainability" qualifies for

  • The master's degree in "Computer Science" at the University of Würzburg,
  • The master's degree in "Aerospace Informatics" at the University of Würzburg,
  • The master's degree "eXtended Artificial Intelligence" at the University of Würzburg and
  • Starting a career in a company or a public institution:
    • Computer science and sustainability as well as the associated digitization are highly relevant topics in society and the economy (national, international).
    • Occupational field includes common methods from the field of computer science with a wide range of career opportunities in almost every industry.
    • Computer scientists are in short supply in almost all areas of the economy.

The anchoring of sustainability in the course results in areas of responsibility in particular in environmental protection, environmental management and technology, in geography, in geology and in biology. The occupational field includes e.g.

  • Software development (cloud, server, mobile systems),
  • Development of sustainable and economical IT systems,
  • Tasks in the field of environmental informatics, environmental management, geoinformatics,
  • Advice on simulation software, data management, sustainability in IT systems,
  • Administration of networks and systems, IT management as well
  • IT project management, tasks of a digital officer.

Obtained Skills

The Bachelor study in Computer Science and Sustainability with a Bachelor of Science degree is offered as a basic and application-oriented degree in the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science at the Julius Maximilians University of Würzburg. The course is interdisciplinary and teaches not only subject-specific skills but also skills in application-oriented areas of sustainability for computer science from geography and biology. The course provides in-depth knowledge in the following areas:

  1. General competencies
    • Critical reflection and classification of scientific findings.
    • Written and oral presentation of the knowledge acquired.
    • Implementation of own scientific & applied projects.
    • Writing scientific texts according to professional standards.
    • Project and team work.
    • Ethics and professional self-image.
    • Social, ecological, ethical responsibility for IT and sustainability.
  2. Methodical skills
    • Methods of algorithmic thinking and working.
    • Analytical thinking and abstraction skills.
    • Ability to understand and structure complex relationships.
    • Well-founded basic knowledge, methodological knowledge and the development of the thought structures typical of computer science.
    • Current methodological knowledge for sustainable IT systems and IT for sustainability.
    • Analysis, design and evaluation methods for sustainable IT systems and for IT for sustainability.
  3. Content competencies
    • Programming, technical programming processes, algorithms and data structures.
    • Software design and software analysis.
    • Storage, processing and evaluation of data in (environmental) information systems.
    • Computer networks and information transfer, environmental monitoring with sensors.
    • Modeling and simulation for sustainable IT and IT for sustainability.
    • Sustainability concepts and evaluations.
    • Resource-conscious system engineering and resource restriction of technical systems.
    • Establishing interdisciplinary references to fields of application (human-environment relationships, environmental and earth observation, climate, ecosystems).