In the FHDW student study program, pupils can experience a course of study up close at the FHDW. You attend a complete course in a Bachelor’s degree program during a university quarter (three months) and take the exam. In the first quarter of 2022, Svenja Wilhelm, Lukas Kott, Moritz Heidenreich and Johannes Möller from Pelizaeus Gymnasium will take the opportunity to be students. “The student study program helped me a lot in making my decision about what to do after school. I recommend the study orientation days for an initial insight,” says Lukas Kott. For anyone who thinks that the regular lectures alongside school are too strenuous, Svenja Wilhelm says: “Studying at school is definitely doable and worthwhile, as you then know how studying at the FHDW works.
Svenja Wilhelm and Lukas Kott visited us again on the Study Orientation Day on June 20. Together with pupils from Rüthen, they listened to a taster lecture by Prof. Dr. Micha Bergsiek and talked to students who talked about their practical phases. The FHDW was also able to arrange a short internship for them at FHDW partner companies: Svenja Wilhelm spent four days at Connext Communication GmbH and Lukas Kott at ESL E-MOBILITY GmbH.
Hello, my name is Svenja Wilhelm and I am a student at Pelizaeus-Gymnasium in Paderborn. Over the last few months, I have had the opportunity to gain a more detailed insight into the degree program through various offers from the FHDW, which has helped me a lot in my personal decision-making process regarding the question of what I would like to do after my Abitur.
School studies
After the summer vacations in 2021, a notice in our school made me aware of the possibility of studying at school, which sounded extremely interesting to me, so I went to get more information. After I got permission from my school, I applied directly to the FHDW for a place as a student. In October, I had a kind of job interview where I was also able to ask questions about my studies. A short time later, I received an acceptance letter, which I was very pleased about.
Even though the course itself didn’t start until January, I was able to gain an initial insight into the Business Administration degree course beforehand by attending a taster lecture. I was already surprised at how interactive the lectures were, which I find very positive. This first impression was also confirmed during the course and in a further lecture in June 2022.
As a student, I took part in the weekly lectures of the “Introduction to Business Administration” module with Prof. Körsgen together with the FHDW students and other students, where I learned a lot of new things and gained a deeper insight into the subject. Unfortunately, the lectures could only take place online due to Corona, but this was not a bad thing, as the lectures were not monotonous despite everything and you could exchange ideas in group work. After three months of studying, I also took the exam. By passing the course, I can now have the 5 ECTS points credited to a university degree program in NRW.
Many people probably think, as I did at the beginning, that studying alongside school is very stressful and you probably won’t make it. After three months, however, I can say that it is definitely doable and was worthwhile, as I now know what studying at the FHDW is like and have gained an initial insight into the topics of the degree program. I would therefore also recommend taking part in a student study program to gain new experiences and an insight into possible courses of study.
Short internship in an FHDW partner company
I was already able to gain a more detailed insight into the field of business administration during my school studies. However, as I was not yet sure about my degree course, the FHDW offered me an internship in the field of business informatics at one of its partner companies. The FHDW helped me to find a suitable company where it was also possible to complete an internship for just four days without any prior knowledge.
During my internship at Connext Communication GmbH, I gained an initial insight into both software development and user support. The staff made it very easy for me to settle in quickly and feel at home. At the same time, I was able to gain a lot of experience and ask questions that related directly to the company or the job, as well as general questions about dual studies at the FHDW.
Overall, I can say that I look back very positively on my time at the FHDW, as I gained many new impressions and the different and, above all, varied offers helped me to orientate myself not only theoretically but also practically with regard to a possible course of study. I would therefore recommend studying at the FHDW to anyone who is thinking about studying one of the degree programs on offer. It is also helpful if you do not yet have an idea of how a degree course is actually structured. In both cases, you can decide for yourself whether studying is something for you and, if so, in which field.
Basically, I can say that my entire time at the FHDW was consistently positive and very instructive. I was able to gain my experience on the one hand through my participation in the student study program and on the other through a small study orientation day.
My time at the FHDW began with my application for the “Introduction to Business Administration” module. As part of the application process, I was invited to an interview, which took place online due to the pandemic. There was a very pleasant atmosphere during the entire interview, which is why I felt very comfortable right from the start. The lectures started in January 2022 and always ran on Thursdays from 13:30 to 17:00. There were ten individual appointments in total, which were followed by an exam. Unfortunately, the lectures also had to take place online due to the pandemic. As a result, there was a lack of direct contact with fellow students and you couldn’t really experience the learning atmosphere. Nevertheless, Prof. Körsgen always managed to involve us students by asking questions or doing group work, thus making the lectures interesting and clear. The group work also provided an opportunity for exchange with fellow students, which was consistently positive. The content of the lectures was very clear and, as a Q1 student, I had no problems following them and actively participating. I therefore felt well prepared for the exam after the ten lectures, although I was unfortunately unable to take it due to the pandemic.
Unlike the school study program, the study orientation day took place in person. This gave them the opportunity to experience the learning atmosphere and to exchange ideas with the students. I attended Prof. Bergsiek’s “Business Ethics” lecture that day. I noticed parallels to student studies in the design of the lecture. The big difference here was that the learning atmosphere was the same as at school, which I found very pleasant and positive. The reasons for this were both the size of the learning group (approx. 25) and the opportunities for exchange with the students during the lecture. The day ended with a short presentation by two FHDW students who reported on their experiences.
Overall, I would recommend studying at the FHDW to everyone, as it gives you the opportunity to gain insights that you would otherwise only get after school and when you start studying. The student study program helped me a lot in my decision-making process regarding my path after school. If you only want to get a small insight, I can recommend the study orientation days.
