"I enjoyed a really good education!"

Johannes Krutz has just come back from his last exam for our interview in the canteen. So that was the first semester of mechanical engineering in the Master's program. It went pretty quickly - just like this Master's in general. Johannes Krutz is studying the short version of one and a half years, a mere three semesters, one semester of which is devoted to his Master's thesis. The graduate engineer is 24, comes from Sohland an der Spree and is living with his parents again for a while. "It's shorter to work," says Johannes Krutz, who works as a student trainee at ATN Hölzel GmbH in Oppach, a company specializing in bonding and automation technology.

ATN, the company and partner company from Johannes Krutz's degree course, has remained his employer to this day. "I can, but don't have to, work very flexibly at the company in Oppach for up to 20 hours a week, especially during exam periods," says Johannes Krutz. "I haven't been at ATN full-time, but I've been there for five years and am now getting to grips with the project business as a working student. I like to see how my colleagues tackle and solve problems, ask questions and also scrutinize processes. More of a silent observer," he laughs. It's easy to imagine: At first glance, Johannes Krutz appears to be very reserved, unagitated, subtle, with reddish hair, glasses and a slender figure - still waters run deep, as we all know.
Johannes Krutz has opted for the KIA course at the HSZG, the dual degree course with two qualifications: Skilled worker and university degree, almost a rarity that can only be found at the HSZG.

"It's great that the university in Zittau offers such a broad range of subjects." He hears about the KIA training program for the first time at an education fair and is immediately impressed - a degree course with integrated vocational training. "Looking back, it was the best choice for me," he says.

Johannes Krutz has already received several Deutschlandstipendium scholarships. The Deutschlandstipendium supports students who are expected to achieve outstanding results in their studies and career. They receive 300 euros a month - half from the federal government and the other half from private donors. Good grades and academic achievements are just as important as the willingness to take on responsibility or successfully overcoming obstacles in one's own life and education. His social commitment is mainly in the church community in his home town and in youth work. Johannes Krutz also plays guitar and piano in three different bands, with regular rehearsals. He will soon be moving to Löbau with his girlfriend - her grandmother has just turned 90 and needs more and more support in the large house, "even if she still drives," laughs Johannes Krutz. So the two young people are converting the attic into an apartment and can help the 90-year-old at the same time. It's not far from Löbau to ATN either.
Johannes Krutz particularly liked the practical aspects of his studies in Zittau: clear laboratory practicals, experiments that allowed him to see and understand connections, not just dry theory. And: the small number of only 18 students on his degree course. "I was close to the action," and perhaps he also wants to say: at a university, he would have been a bit lost among the hundreds in the lecture hall. Especially reserved people benefit from a familiar atmosphere on campus.

"People here always say: Zittau is what you make of it and I think they're right: you can party, or study, or both, or go out into nature," he says. Johannes Krutz took his laptop to Lake Olbersdorf, especially during the coronavirus pandemic, and watched the lecture from there. Back then, he enjoyed the smaller flat-sharing parties, good friends, a few beers and something home-cooked. Now the focus of his life has shifted back to Sohland, partly because he doesn't have to be in Zittau so often for his Master's degree. "I never really wanted to leave home, so sure, Chemnitz, Dresden, Freiberg, that would all have been okay, but I would never have gone to the West. I have lots of friends back home and good connections at home. I wouldn't have wanted to give that up to study," he says. Johannes Krutz was always quickly where he wanted to be in Zittau, in both senses of the word. Perhaps not a great free spirit - but always just right.

Text: Sophie Herwig