MOIN is short for Model Region for Industrial Mathematics. The MOIN project wants to show the relevance of math in everyday life, spark interest in the subject, and make it more appealing to schoolchildren. One way it does this is through contributing to the new “Digital Medicine” track at the Oberschule am Waller Ring secondary school. The project, developed by researchers from member institutions of the U Bremen Research Alliance, also aims to strengthen the region’s innovative power.
It is the last lesson of today’s schedule at the Oberschule am Waller Ring. It has been a long day, but the class in the computer room shows no sign of fatigue. The high school students are intrigued by the MRI images of a human head that mathematician Dr. Anna Rörich has projected onto the board and that the students can see simultaneously on their screens. Hidden somewhere in the layered images is a simulated, heart-shaped tumor. “Try to find it and measure it as accurately as possible,” the scientist challenges the class.
Before long, the first of the 24 high school students of the biology class have discovered the heart using a simple software developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS, which is similar to that used in radiology practices. They agree about everything except for the size of the tumor. Could automation help in determining the size of a tumor accurately to prevent too much tissue being removed during surgery? This is the subject of the next task.
The lesson is about handling digital images and getting to know tools and methods for image analysis as part of a trial run for an innovation in Bremen’s classrooms. This new “Digital Medicine” track at upper secondary level will officially start at the Oberschule am Waller Ring in the 2025/26 school year.
The teaching uses real-life examples with a special focus on math, which experts at Fraunhofer MEVIS developed as a resource for teachers at the school. The researchers’ contributions to the secondary specialization “Digital Medicine” are part of the #MATHDAYS subproject of MOIN. In addition to Bremen and Bremerhaven, the Model Region for Industrial Mathematics includes the district of Osterholz. The subproject is funded with 690,000 euros, while the overall project receives approximately 6 million euros from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research for an initial period of three years. This initiative is set to make mathematics more tangible, as a vibrant and useful science – and not just in schools. “We are on a mission to show the world just how much mathematics is a part of our daily lives,” says Christine Knipping, a professor of mathematics education at the University of Bremen, which, like Fraunhofer MEVIS, is a member of the U Bremen Research Alliance. MOIN is led by Prof. Dr. Christof Büskens from the Center for Industrial Mathematics at the university.
An exciting article about the goals of MOIN by researchers from member institutions of the U Bremen Research Alliance was recently published in the science magazine "Impact" of the U Bremen Research Alliance. It can be accessed on the following website:
https://www.bremen-research.de/en/impressions/moin
Contact:
Merle El-Khatib
Communication und marketing
Tel.: +49 421 218 60046
merle.el-khatib@vw.uni-bremen.de
About UBRA:
The University of Bremen and twelve federal and state financed non-university research institutes cooperate within the U Bremen Research Alliance. The Alliance includes research institutes of the four major German science organizations, i.e. Fraunhofer Society, Helmholtz Association, Leibniz Association and Max Planck Society, as well as the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence.
Cooperating in U Bremen Research Alliance:
