Teaching

I pursue to create spaces where students feel heard, valued, and empowered.

As a first-generation university student, I navigated the academic world without prior exposure to computer science. Intimidated by stereotypes and the advanced skills of my peers, I initially struggled to see myself in this field. Through this journey, I learned the value of active listening and empathy—qualities often overlooked in software engineering but essential for inclusive learning environments.

Technical University of Darmstadt

2025 | Seminar: (Gender) Diversity in Software Development (BA/MA)

Software engineering remains a male-dominated field. This leads to challenges such as discrimination, unequal opportunities, and biases in algorithms. Diversity dimensions such as gender, sexuality, socioeconomic background, age, ethnicity, and disability influence who develops and accesses technology.
We examine recent research on industry, nonprofit organisations, academia, and society, as well as best practices for promoting equity.
After this course, students can critically assess research, identify gaps, write academic papers, give and receive feedback, present findings, and evaluate diversity strategies in software development.

In this course, students work in teams to develop creative software solutions addressing local or global social challenges. The focus is not on technical implementation but on the Design Thinking process—a human-centered approach to problem-solving involving user needs analysis, idea generation, prototyping, and testing.
Teamwork is central to this course. Through structured team-building activities, students enhance their communication, collaboration, and conflict-resolution skills. The final outcome is a No-Code or Low-Code prototype, ensuring accessibility for students regardless of technical background.
After this course, students can apply Design Thinking for social innovation, collaborate effectively, analyse user needs, integrate feedback, and reflect on interdisciplinary teamwork.

2025 | Project: Generative Art – Be a Coding Artist (Girls’ Day & Easter Camp, High School)

I lead the project Generative Art: Be a Coding Artist, where high school students explore basic programming concepts through artistic expression using p5.js.
Creative programming can foster a more inclusive introduction to coding, as it challenges the nerdy stereotype of programming being overly abstract and technical. By integrating art and code, students experience creative freedom, aligning programming with their everyday interests.

University of Passau

2024 | Tutor: Introduction to Software Engineering (BA)

I assist first-year students in understanding and applying core principles of the software development life cycle. This is achieved through weekly sessions using a flipped classroom approach and group work.

2022–2024 | Organiser & Project Lead: Summer Camp Computer Science (High School, annually)

As part of this annual camp, high school students are introduced to computer science through hands-on programming challenges within one week at university.
I organised the entire camp and led two projects designed to connect computer science with real-world topics that resonate with teenagers, aiming to break programming stereotypes:

#programmable: Implementation of a Social Media App
AppSpark: Design and Implement Your Own App

2021–2024 | Project: Code the Beat – Programming Music (Girls’ Day, High School, annually)

This annual event provides high school girls with insights into computer science and encourages them to explore technical careers.
I lead the project Code the Beat: Programming Music, where students learn fundamental programming concepts through music composition. I firmly believe that programming is more than just coding, and music serves as a gender-neutral entry point that resonates with diverse audiences.

2021–2024 | Seminar: Media and Cultural Studies (BA/MA, half-yearly)

In this seminar at the Faculty of Humanities, students analyse media and cultural phenomena using a semiotic approach—examining underlying meanings and societal paradigms within media constructs.
Seminar Topics:

Controversial Crowns: Disney Princesses Between Stereotype and Empowerment
Netflix and Chill: Sexuality and Diversity in Netflix Originals
Like a Prayer: Diversity, Sexuality, and Controversy in Music Videos
Licence to Flirt: Gender Discourse in James Bond Films
Did You Program Her to Flirt with Me?: AI and Gender in Science Fiction

2021–2024 | Project: Advanced Software Product Development (MA, annually)

Students work in agile teams to develop real-world applications. I mentor teams across all project phases, guiding them technically while fostering communication and teamwork.
Beyond technical skills, I emphasise the importance of team dynamics by incorporating structured team-building activities to strengthen collaboration and efficiency.

2022, 2024 | Seminar: Diversity and Inclusion in Software Engineering (BA/MA)

Software engineering is more than just coding—it is built by people for people. However, the field remains relatively homogeneous, leading to issues such as discrimination, unequal opportunities, and bias.
Diversity extends beyond gender, encompassing dimensions such as sexuality, socioeconomic background, age, ethnicity, and disability. This seminar explores research on diversity in software development, identifying gaps and best practices for fostering inclusion.

2022 | Seminar: Software Engineering for Kids (BA/MA)

Software engineering is often perceived as abstract, yet introducing fundamental programming concepts at an early age is key to breaking down stereotypes and entry barriers.
In this seminar, students explore how to make software development accessible for children, evaluating block-based programming environments like Scratch. Topics include how children interact with these tools, what they program, and how to analyse their projects and code quality.

Supervised Theses

Master Theses

2025-present: Goller, Elias: Voice-Controlled Scratch - An Inclusive Approach for Children with Motor Disabilities
2024: Janardhana, Sruthi: Social Network Analysis in Software Engineering Community
2023: Stromtcova, Valeriia: Detection of Malicious Bots in Russian Social Networks
2023: Rabab, Umme: Trends in Female Authorship of Software Engineering Community
2022: Varghese, Lavannya: User Influential Analysis of Scratch Networks
2021: Disha, Alba: Project Categorization in Scratch and Analysis of Various Relations Between Different Categories

Bachelor Theses

2024: Musliu, Xhyla: Coding Art to Encourage High School Students
2024: Seisenberger, Lisa: Accessibility in Software Design Decisions from Students and Early Career Professionals Perspectives
2024: Vollmann, Victor: Data-driven Analysis of Scratch Social Network and Board
2022: Ewald, Verena: Gender Differences in Virtual Programming Courses for Children
2021: Grieser, Eva: Gender Differences when Implementing a Scratch Program: An Empirical Analysis
2021: Beck, Florian: Code2Vec for Scratch
2021: Stockinger, Simone: Sentiment Analysis of Scratch Comments