On 18 and 19 June 2026, the project partners of the collaborative project interSim – Digital Learning through Interactive Simulation met at the Sächsische Bildungsgesellschaft für Umweltschutz und Chemieberufe Dresden mbH (SBG Dresden). The meeting focused on presenting the current project status, reviewing the results of the evaluation of the first pilot module and planning the next stages of the project.
A particular focus was the presentation of the results from the testing and evaluation of the first pilot module, "Pumps and Pipelines". The module was first tested during the workshop "Simulation in Vocational Education for Environmental Engineering – Opportunities and Practical Applications" in Magdeburg with participants from vocational training centres, universities, higher education institutions and industry. It was then evaluated in Dresden by a group of prospective wastewater treatment plant masters.
Feedback from both evaluation phases was highly positive. Participants particularly appreciated the combination of e-learning and simulation-based tasks using SIMBA#, as well as the practical design of the module. At the same time, they provided valuable suggestions that will contribute to the further development of the learning content, the didactic concept and the simulation-based learning tasks.
The project partners also agreed on the next development steps. In addition to the further development of the pilot module, discussions focused on the design of additional learning modules covering sewer networks, wastewater treatment plants, and measurement, control and automation. The continued evaluation of the modules and activities to support their transfer into vocational practice were also discussed.
The outcomes of the project meeting provide an important basis for the continued development of the interSim learning modules. The project's objective is to develop innovative digital learning opportunities for vocational education and training in wastewater engineering and to continuously improve them together with users from professional practice.
The collaborative project interSim is coordinated by the German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA). Project partners are ifak e. V., SBG Dresden mbH, and the University of Duisburg-Essen.
Further information about the interSim project is available at:
https://de.dwa.de/de/interSim.html
