TU President Tanja Brühl and TU Chancellor Martin Lommel welcomed the audience on stage together. Both were visibly delighted by the high level of interest and emphasised the openness of the university. ‘It's great that today we can look behind doors that are otherwise closed.’ Brühl emphasised: “This event is also an invitation to future students. As part of the city of science, we want to emphasise our connection with Darmstadt.”

A lively centre of exchange was created on the Lichtwiese campus between the lecture hall and media centre and the canteen – exhibitions, workshops, lectures for adults and children as well as hands-on activities in the adjacent buildings were all accessible from here.

There was great interest in the event: even before the official start at 11 a.m., many guests were already out and about on campus. All lecture programmes – for young and old – were almost fully booked, with around 1,200 people taking part. Numerous responses showed that the day not only encouraged discovery, but also dialogue about the role of science in society.

The Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology (etit) offered a varied programme: two children's lectures on electricity (Prof:innen Koch and Hanson) and on the profession of electrical engineers (Prof. Burkhardt), a stage show with the singing Tesla coil (Prof:in Koch), as well as numerous exhibits on vehicle control through AI (Prof. Findeisen), the role of light for plant growth and road safety (Prof. Khanh), how modern electric motors work (Prof. Burkhardt), the use of solar modules and hacking in power grids (Prof. Steinke) or games for health (Serious Games Group) – there was something exciting for everyone. The Student Advisory Service was also on site and provided advice on the department's degree programmes.

The Open Campus replaces the previous Open Day, which was last held in 2018 under the motto ‘wide awake’. After a break due to the pandemic and the reopening of the Science Castle in 2023, the event format has now returned with a new concept. The plan is to organise the Open Campus every two years between Campus Lichtwiese and the city centre.