A two-pronged approach to success

Choosing a career is a difficult issue for many people. When did you decide that you wanted to go to college later on?

Actually, not until after I graduated from high school. For a long time, I wasn’t sure if I could handle college. My parents encouraged me to just give it a try.

Today you’re studying electrical power systems. Did you already have a knack for the sciences back in high school?

Science subjects were my favorites back in high school. As a complement, I took art as my second advanced course because, before starting my senior year, I could imagine studying graphic design or architecture. But my enthusiasm for painting waned over the course of those two years.

So not art after all, but energy engineering. You enrolled in this degree programme at HTWK Leipzig after graduating from high school. What motivated your choice?

I’m from Oybin in the Zittau Mountains and didn’t want to study too far away. And I knew by then that I wanted to pursue a degree programme in the natural sciences. So I worked my way through a catalog of study options and came across energy engineering. The degree programme’s modules and the prospect of a career as an engineer sounded exciting.

Apprenticeship and College in One Go

But at some point, doubts did start to creep in. How did you realize that studying in Leipzig wasn’t quite the right fit for you yet, and that you should consider switching?

It wasn’t the degree programme itself that made me want to switch—it was more about the city and the surroundings. So I looked for a university closer to home and submitted an application for the same degree programme at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, with the added benefit that this time it’s a cooperative engineering programme.

What exactly is a cooperative degree programme?

Now I’m studying electrical power systems while simultaneously completing an apprenticeship as an electronics technician for devices and systems. This form of dual study is called Cooperative Engineering Education Programme(KIA). The apprenticeship is integrated into the degree programme, and both go hand in hand.

Dual Degree Programs: Practical Experience Helps You Understand the Theory

Are there any other differences between “traditional” and dual degree programmes?

If you compare the degree programmes, the foundational phase is similar. In both, you take modules such as advanced mathematics, materials science, physics, engineering mechanics, and so on. What sets the dual programme apart is its flexibility. In my cooperative degree programme, I can choose between two areas of specialization in the 6th semester. I can either specialize in “Renewable Energy Systems” or in “Intelligent Networks and Systems.” And I can decide whether I want to pursue a Bachelor’s degree or a Diplom degree right away.

And do you complete the practical training portion at an external company?

Not exactly—my training partner is the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences itself. My training includes basic metalworking skills and learning about installation technology. As an electronics technician for devices and systems, I mainly work on developing printed circuit boards, soldering, and assembling components. That’s how we build electronic devices and systems, such as a power supply for different voltage levels or an amplifier for a stereo system.

How does this combination of theory and practice feel to you?

I really like it—the hands-on experience is good for understanding the theory even better. In college, we usually deal with and calculate ideal cases. These cases are best for understanding the theory, but in practice, there’s never an ideal case. So you’re “forced” to find other solutions. By the way, the dual study program is also available through the “KIA+” program specifically for 10th-grade graduates, and the same applies to everyone: Of course, we also receive a training stipend for the apprenticeship portion.