School trajectory?
After the so-called "Mittlere Reife" (secondary school leaving certificate) and a dual apprenticeship as an IT specialist, I successfully completed the "Fachhochschulreife" (advanced technical college certificate) at the evening school alongside my full-time job in 2016.
Why study - and why this particular degree?
To be honest, I never planned to study. However, when I finished my apprenticeship, my curiosity to learn more and my willingness to develop myself further were not yet satisfied. Right from the start, It was clear to me that the focus of my studies should have something to do with computer science. The combination of this subject matter with business, i.e. business informatics, only came about during the course of my apprenticeship, as a result of my additional interest in understanding business contexts. Since I'm a very "hands on" person, I didn't want to start a purely academic program, but rather one with regular practical assignments, which is why I decided on the dual study program at the DHBW. It combines the theoretical content of a degree program with the practice-oriented content of an apprenticeship. The long-term commitment to a company was important to me, on the one hand to continuously learn more about the company, its processes and activities, and on the other hand to recommend myself for a later job through the practical phases.
Why HEIDELBERG
When I was preparing my applications and looking at the various options, I was impressed by the technology that HEIDELBERG develops: I still find it fascinating today how filigree these huge HEIDELBERG presses can print on a wide range of papers and cartons. That was something that appealed to me. And when I was able to see the presses in the flesh at the "Walldorf Training Night," my decision was made.
What is special about studying at HEIDELBERG?
On the one hand, the variety of projects. No two projects of mine were the same and I was able to gain experience in so many areas, such as IT, product management or manufacturing and assembly. On the other hand, size is an important factor. HEIDELBERG is known as a world market leader, a mechanical engineering company, and an up-and-coming technology group, but nevertheless the atmosphere is often more like that of a medium-sized company, almost family-like, and that is a very big plus. In addition, there is the enormous experience in almost all areas. There are so many colleagues who have spent their entire professional lives at HEIDELBERG and let "the young ones" participate in this. You don't find that everywhere. All this makes HEIDELBERG a great employer - especially for young people!
Most interesting project during my studies?
Of course, all projects were interesting and unique in their own way. However, my third practical phase stands out a bit. In this phase, I was part of the CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote; software for product configuration) project team and assisted with the design. In this phase, I worked with external consultants for the first time and also traveled outside of Wiesloch to do so. Especially the project management, the coordination and focusing on intermediate goals over a longer period of time were new experiences and gave me some important tips.
Current job?
After finishing my studies in 2019, I joined the IT department in the area "IT for Assembly and Supply Chain". There I was jointly responsible for the IT support and introduction of tools for material and demand planning. From the beginning, I supported the design, implementation and roll-outs of the SAP Cloud module IBP (Integrated Business Planning) for the planning of consumables in the SSUs. Since August 1, 2022, I am now working in Product Management Software in the team around our digital ecosystem H+ as Product Manager. H+ bundles all our digital services for customers on a central, claud-based platform. I work there with my colleagues on the continuous further development of H+ and form the interface between customers, development (R&D) and other specialist departments.
How do I see my future?
My goal is to continuously take on more responsibility and tasks at HEIDELBERG. As I said earlier, I find HEIDELBERG to be exciting and interesting for young people in particular. HEIDELBERG is undergoing - and will continue to undergo for some time - an important digital and demographic change. The company attaches great importance to these transformation processes. Being employed in IT, I see many trends here in particular that HEIDELBERG cannot avoid, but will definitely benefit from. Basically, we need to establish a future-oriented mindset and face up to the challenges. With both young and experienced colleagues - ideally together!
My tips for prospective students
Very important: stay curious and interested! I have learned that it is essential for a task to also deal with the interfaces and thus understand the entire process. It helps not only to work on the current task but often also to stand out from the crowd as an expert.
