Professor Dr. Lukasz Wisniewski, head of the program, welcomed the new students. “You will later be the ones driving the digital transformation,” he emphasized, and gave an outlook on the course content in the coming semesters.
After the general introduction of the TH OWL with its three campuses, ten departments, six institutes, an informative round of facts and figures, and a reference to the diverse campus life, Hanna Lohau presented the Central Student Advisory Service as an important point of contact. For questions, concerns or difficulties in the areas of organization, orientation and decision-making, the service not only has an open ear, but can also offer help for self-help or refer to appropriate experts.
Since the DiMS is based in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, the deputy dean, Professor Dr. Rainer Rasche, also addressed the first-semester students. He encouraged them to network, form study groups and support each other. “Valuable friendships can arise from this.” Rasche also provided information about his faculty and presented the various bachelor's degree programs, including the new General Engineering program, and gave insights into innovative research projects such as MONOCAB. He also touched on current research topics such as autonomous driving and raw material recycling. “Feel free to come and see us and we'll tell you more about it.”
The new students were also warmly welcomed by Dr. Burkhard Nolte, who represented District Administrator Jürgen Müller. The head of the district administration is responsible for the areas of schools, culture, sports, integration, children, young people and families. “I am pleased that the district of Herford and the TH OWL are working together, as digitalization is also a major topic in administration.” Dr. Nolte addressed the new DiMS students directly: “With your ideas, you are an asset to us.“
Arved Sachau, a DIMS student in his fifth semester, reported on his experiences with the program, campus life, and course content, and presented his current digitization project. The round table he initiated, in which all newcomers were able to introduce themselves, including their reasons for enrolling and their expectations, was the first step towards networking.
The new first-semester students come from places like Minden and Hille, but also from Enger and even Wunstorf and Paderborn. Baran Ala (24) from Bielefeld became aware of the DiMS through his school friend Abilash Thavachelvam. “I previously studied health management at the International University (IU) for four semesters, but I didn't like it, neither the conditions nor the content. My buddy Abi is thrilled with his studies in Herford, which is why I'm here now too,” Baran Ala reported on the sidelines of the first semester welcome.
“The course here is very practice-oriented,” enthused Abilash Thavachelvam. “You have a lot of fun here, support, self-efficacy and you can contribute your own ideas. We have one day of attendance, the rest is via video conference.” One advantage of this concept is that the 23-year-old from Bielefeld is also able to reconcile his job as a student assistant at the SmartFactory OWL on the Innovation Campus in Lemgo with his studies.
Sara Tomusic (25) from Bad Oeynhausen also manages to reconcile work and study. “I work in the accounting department of the Diakonieverbund in Schweicheln. After completing my training as an office management assistant in a waste disposal company, I continued my education to become an accountant and financial accountant. It was our board of directors that drew my attention to the course of studies in Herford. I am studying part-time and am released from work on Fridays for the on-site sessions. Social services management can still be optimized in terms of digitization. I am already involved in relevant projects, so DiMS fits perfectly with my work,” explained Sara Tomusic.
The new students are united by their desire to actively tackle the challenges of digitalization. Some already have experience in this field, while others come from a range of different disciplines and have recognized the potential of digital transformation. Their goal is to support companies on their journey towards digitalization and to develop more efficient solutions.
For them, this course of study at the TH OWL offers an attractive combination of computer science and digitalization, is considered modern and future-proof, and opens up good career prospects. The combination of theory and practice is particularly appreciated, as it enables the direct transfer of what has been learned into practice and thus contributes to the digital development of companies.
