Pupil successfully completes university lecture

Philipp Horber, a pupil at Willibald-Gymnasium in Eichstätt, was the first in a long time to take up the challenge and complete the "Fundamentals of Programming 1" course in the Computer Science degree programme. Unlike all the early students before him, he eagerly mastered six semester hours per week in addition to the regular eleventh-grade material. This meant attending lectures and exercises at the THI for at least three hours two days a week, plus preparation and follow-up work, a written exam every fortnight and a challenging exam at the end. He also joined a study group on his initiative and worked as a regular student.

According to Professor Dr Franz Regensburger, who gave the lecture, it was not obvious that Horber was a pupil and not a student. Three years earlier, Horber had already learnt computer science and the Java programming language. The lecture was about the programming language C. "We learnt as much in one semester as we did in three years at school," says Horber. He is now recovering before slowly preparing for his A-levels. Studying computer science would be something for him - and with the lecture, he has already ticked off an entire module of a computer science degree programme.

As part of an early study program, talented pupils attend a course for one semester to pass the examination with ECTS credits. They can have this achievement recognized when they start a degree course. To apply, the school must confirm that the student is one of the top 25 percent of their year. The application phase for the summer semester is currently underway and those interested can still apply until the 28th of February. Further information can be found at: www.thi.de/go/fruehstudium