New branch of Economic Studies„Dual Higher Education – StudiumPlus"

2001 saw the introduction of the dual study path program StudiumPlus, a practical course of studies resulting in a Bachelor’s degree after six semesters.

Local companies, local government representatives and the Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen worked out a concept to combine a condensed course program with periods of practical work that are matched in terms of content. Course periods and in-house training periods in companies alternate and run for several weeks.

LTi DRiVES offers students training-on-the-job opportunities for the following course:

Engineering/Microsystems technology specialising in microsystems technology/optronics, or electrical engineering

All StudiumPlus places for 2011 have been filled, but there will be more places in summer 2012.

For more information on StudiumPlus please visit www.studiumplus.de or contact us directly (contact person is Ms. Brück, phone +49 (0)6441 966-250).

"Practical phase at LTi DRiVES GmbH"

Interview with Klaus Selbach, StudiumPlus student

StudiumPlus: Mr. Selbach, what StudiumPlus course did you take, and what has been your experience to date in the practical phases?

Klaus Selbach: I am studying industrial engineering, majoring in electrical engineering. There are 18 students on my course, of whom five are majoring in electrical engineering and 13 in mechanical engineering.

The practical phases are always undertaken when term has finished. The students undergo their practical training at their partner companies around the region.
They are employed by that company right from the start of their studies, and are actively involved in its day-to-day work.

In consultation between the college, the company and the student, a project is defined for each practical phase which the student works on, for the most part independently. The object of the projects is to apply what the student has learned or to acquire new knowledge in as independent a way as possible. During my first practical phase at LTi DRiVES GmbH in Lahnau I worked in the Sales, Repair and Service department, upgrading a test station for bus communication. This posed an enormous challenge, as it was well beyond the subjects I had covered so far at college.

Not least thanks to the very good supervision and support provided by the company during the practical phase, I did in fact succeed in constructing a fully functional test station in just six weeks, and also compiled the required technical documentation.

StudiumPlus: What department are you working in during your current practical phase?

Klaus Selbach: I am currently on my second practical phase at LTi DRiVES GmbH, which is a system vendor in the field of frequency inverter and servo technology for the automation industry. After my initial purely technical practical training phase, I wanted to find out how LTi runs its project and product management.
At LTi those functions are broken down by market segment into base products and modules; pumps and compressors; lift engineering; and medical technology.

I was fortunate that, shortly before my current practical phase began, LTi was preparing to launch a very interesting logistical project, and that is what I am working on today.
The company is planning to expand its standard product range by adding a geared motor system. The aim is to be able to offer system solutions for positioning applications comprising the CDB3000 positioning controller, a geared motor with integrated feedback and the associated system cables.

In this practical phase I am assisting project manager Oliver Klees, who is also acting as my company mentor. My StudiumPlus tutor is Professor Dr. Harald Danne.

StudiumPlus: Mr. Selbach, what tasks are you carrying out as part of your project?

Klaus Selbach: The project is focused on the logistics and release for sale of a geared motor system which, in its basic modular configuration, consists of 9,800 different components.
This geared motor system covers a power range from 0.12 kW to 90 kW and output torques up to 14000 Nm. Such a level of complexity demanded thorough technical tutoring and preparation before I could start the actual work. An LTi project starts with approval by the project decision-making team, which in this case is made up of the chief executive and the divisional and sales managers.

My first task was to put together the presentation to be submitted to the decision-making team setting out the idea behind the project and the associated benefits for the business. As part of this, I conducted a survey of the geared motor market, produced a return-on-investment analysis and set forth the USPs (Unique Selling Points) of the modular drive system for the Sales function. Now that the project has been approved by the project decision-making team, my ongoing work will involve collaboration in compiling the catalogues, writing the configuration software and drafting the supply agreement, as well as planning the logistical handling.

StudiumPlus: What benefit is your work during this practical phase bringing for the company and for you personally?

Klaus Selbach: The project is preparing the logistics and paving the way for the release for sale of the new geared motors. Its results are feeding directly into the marketing project for asynchronous positioning drives. It is thus making a direct contribution to the company's sales success. This offers me the opportunity to experience and implement the basic principles of project management which I learned in theory at college directly in the business. For me the practical phase represents both an interesting activity and a major challenge.

StudiumPlus: How are the StudiumPlus students welcomed within the company, and what support and assistance do you receive?

Klaus Selbach: Ever since I began working at LTi, I have been struck by the open, interested and helpful attitude of my colleagues, both in relation to myself and among themselves. I immediately felt part of the team, and there has never been a situation in which I have been left alone with a problem.

All in all, I regard StudiumPlus as a highly successful means of combining theory and practice. The students are offered a good start to their working lives, and the companies acquire highly qualified young employees who have already familiarized themselves with the processes and procedures within the business during their studies and so can be put to work immediately. This means that new graduates joining the company can bypass the normal period of induction almost entirely.