Students develop anti-discrimination app for THI

Racist insults, stalking, sexual harassment and bullying do not stop at universities. At THI, there is now an app for smartphones that gives students and university staff the opportunity to inform themselves, report incidents and get contacts. "Respect@THI" is the name of the anti-discrimination app, which is now available for download in the Google Play and Apple stores.

For one and a half years, a group of five students developed the app as part of the "THI Talent" support programme. An important task that took a lot of work and effort and demanded extraordinary commitment from the group. For this, Felix Wiegand, Charlotte Wierling, Julius Steck, Lennart Söncksen and Manuel Voit were awarded by THI President Prof. Dr. Walter Schober and Chancellor Christian Müller. "The commitment of our students in this area is a valuable contribution against discrimination. Living free from discrimination is a human right and should also be lived in this way at universities," said Prof. Dr. Walter Schober.

Now available in the Google Play and Apple Store

The app is intended to be a contact point, offering information, help and tips on a topic that is extremely sensitive. A questionnaire is intended to help clearly identify discrimination, because often it is just a thoughtless question or an insensitive choice of words that leaves the other person with an uneasy feeling, explains Yasmine Limberger, the equal opportunities officer at THI,

Those affected sometimes want to remain anonymous. That is also possible in the app. There is an anonymous reporting function for users to get in touch with a trusted person without having to give names or email addresses. Yasmine Limberger explains that this cannot have any consequences under criminal or civil service law, but these reports are also recorded statistically. No report is in vain. If there is an accumulation of cases of one kind, something can be deduced from it.

Further information and a QR code for the app can be found at www.thi.de/service/gleichstellung-und-vielfalt/respect-at-thi/.