Vocational training and dual-study in the age of corona
In regular training meetings, Holger Hary and Sarah Sievers (both HR Specialist Vocational Training) find out about the current situation and the difficulties facing our apprentices and students. Here are a few impressions from the perspective of our apprentices and dual-study students.
,,Needless to say, face masks have become a faithful companion also at work. You have to put on your protective mask as soon as you enter the premises each morning. After clocking in, your temperature is measured at the entrance. If the reading comes back as ‘normal’, you can go up to your office! Once you get to your desk, you can take your face mask off and start working. However, if you have to move around the open-plan office or are unable to keep a safe distance to your colleagues, you have to wear a face mask. At the beginning of the first semester, face-to-face events were still planned with 1/3 of the courses involving alternating attendance between different groups of students. However, this plan could only be enforced for three weeks, after which the university switched to online lectures only. During the exam, the students were also divided into three groups, in compliance with regulatory requirements for the exam rooms, to prevent them sitting too close to each other and thus only had contact with a fraction of the students from the course. Nevertheless, it was nice to see fellow students before the exams and in some cases to get to know completely new faces, and it was even possible to have a brief chat with them at a safe distance outside before the exams. The fact that you don’t have the chance to get to know your fellow students in person means there’s probably less interaction during lectures and before exams than there would normally be if you’d been attending face-to-face lessons. You should also remember that online teaching is a big challenge for lecturers at times. Some lecturers may not be familiar with the latest technology and speaking into a grey screen is also a new experience for many of them."
Anna-Lena Neher, 1st year accounting & controlling student
,,The number of phone calls has definitely increased since the pandemic began. This also applies to the amount of support provided by the departments and the HR department. At the moment, all meetings take place online. Should a meeting take place in person, all the participants have to wear face masks and ensure the necessary safe distance from each other. Since appointments are timed at regular intervals, contact is not lost even during the current pandemic situation. Personally, the main advantage of the online semester is that I don’t have to commute to the university. This allows me to stay in bed a few minutes longer and swap my jeans for more comfortable clothes. The main disadvantage is obviously missing out on the interaction with my fellow students, something that makes studying so special. I’m not only talking about partying, but also about forming learning groups and carrying out projects together."
Manuel Fischer, 3rd year industrial engineering student
,,My daily work routine has not changed much. Despite working from home, I still get up at the same time as I used to when commuting to the office. I have my morning routine, but I start working earlier as I no longer have to travel to the office. After going over my list of things I need to do and my appointments for the day, I get down to work. I’m in constant contact with the HR department and the training program managers from the various departments, and the support I’ve received has been exceptional. In the past, you walked over to your colleague’s desk to discuss results, now we share a screen, a feature I constantly use in my home office. On the whole, working from home has worked out pretty well, but I do miss the direct contact with colleagues in the office."
,,The trainers from the various departments usually keep in touch with the apprentices and students via a chat platform or by phone, so you never feel left alone.But the longer you spend working from home, the more you start to miss your colleagues, teamwork and the brief chats in between. It’s definitely an unusual situation, especially when you also have to drastically limit the number of people you meet socially. Working from home obviously also has some benefits: During the lunch break, I like to do my weekly shopping or get some exercise. Things for which you have little time when working in an office each day. Of the five semesters I’ve already completed, the last two had to be done online. It’s definitely not what you think of when you think of ‘student life’. You miss eating with your fellow students in the cafeteria, meeting up in study groups or going to a student party now and again. Fortunately, DHBW makes sure that you can complete your studies successfully despite the various hygiene regulation."
Jacqueline Gunko, 3rd year business administration for management in commerce student
,,Seeing as I started my apprenticeship in September 2020, I’m used to training with a face mask, social distancing rules and coronavirus restrictions. Although there were no events and I had very little contact with my fellow apprentices, the introductory week allowed us to get to know each other and we can now exchange ideas and thoughts at any time. When working from home, you basically commute from your bed to your desk. One advantage of this is the time you save by not having to travel, but being at home all day, due to the situation with home office and home schooling, means that a simple trip to the local supermarket becomes a real highlight."
Mona Kuhn, 1st year marketing communication apprentice
,,The lectures are minutely planned and organised in a very structured manner. In general, you can say that the lecturers try their best to teach lessons in a comprehensible and comprehensive way. They also make every attempt to answer student questions and to deal with problems, making it more like a school class with teachers and students, something I very much welcome. Fortunately, we only do presentations and group work online. And these don’t differ much from their physical counterparts. Luckily, our exams take place on site. You’re only allowed to enter the building just before the exam and after thoroughly disinfecting your hands, and you also have to keep your distance and wear a face mask. In some exams, we even had to keep our face masks on while sitting down.One of the advantages is that longer journeys are no longer necessary, and some lecturers are easier to understand online. At home more discipline is required to follow lectures attentively. It’s unfortunately also less personal."
Laurin Dahn, 2nd year business administration for management in commerce student
,,At the start, the class was split into two teams that alternated weekly. In other words, the class was divided into two groups which took it in turns to have face-to-face and online lessons. In November, a decision was taken to only have online learning at home. Some classes received on-site lessons but only when preparing for tests. Personally, I prefer face-to-face lessons. It’s quite difficult to keep up with lessons from home. Sometimes there are problems with the school server, sometimes your own WiFi doesn’t work or you’ve run out of printer ink, … . Of course, it’s more convenient to attend lessons from home, as you don’t have to take the bus/car to get there, but for me personally you just can’t compare it to face-to-face lessons."
Antonella Chiarello, 2nd year wholesale and foreign trade apprentice
,,When working from home, communication via Jabber and Webex was very easy. However, I’m glad to be back in the office now, as questions can be answered faster and it’s easier to coordinate matters with members of the team on site. Support is provided at all times. My direct contact and the other members of the team get in touch with me at least once a day and provide me with tasks to do. And if there aren’t any tasks for me, I’m allowed to attend meetings to gain experience. When studying from home, there are also a lot of distractions that can stop you from learning or paying attention. I’m definitely a big fan of face-to-face lessons. I learned more in three weeks of face-to-face lessons than in nine weeks online."
Hanna Sommer, 1st year business administration for management in commerce student
,,The daily training/work routine is surprisingly similar to how it was before the coronavirus pandemic. Thanks to good online alternatives, such as video conferencing, the expansion of eLearning offerings, telephone conferences and also intranet assistance, there’s basically no reason to miss out on any content and you can almost always find a way to support the department team.Passing from one department to the next works exceptionally well via email thanks to the internal notification system. Likewise, the support provided by the departments, as well as the exchange with the HR department, is very friendly and constructive. If you have any questions, you can always get into contact with someone by phone or email."
Benjamin Herman, 2nd year business administration for management in commerce student
,,Fortunately, we’ve still been allowed to pass from one department to the next and learn new things despite the coronavirus pandemic. The HR department has given us lots of opportunities during the coronavirus outbreak to develop and enabled us to move between departments, something we should be very grateful for. I’m really looking forward to the pandemic being over and when we can all get our old lives back, a life without restrictions!"
Tatia Goderidze, 2nd year wholesale and foreign trade apprentice
