This particular course hasn't been around for that long and as a result you're often asked what Business Information Systems actually is. As the name implies, it's a combination of Business Management and Information Technology. You're also often referred to as an intermediary between these two disciplines. Due to the growth in information and communication systems in this day and age, the task of a business information specialist is becoming more and more important. So, if you're interested in both areas, this is the perfect course for you.
What made me choose this course?
The first thing I did after I finished my vocational qualification – in which I specialised in Information Technology – was to look for a holiday job. I was subsequently offered a position at Herth+Buss. Already after my two-week temping job in the IT department at Herth+Buss, I was convinced that I had found the perfect company for me. When I discovered that you could also apply to do a Business Information Systems cooperative degree course, I just knew that I had to apply. Everything worked out well and now I have almost finished the whole training programme.
My duties included testing and configuring the scanners correctly.
What are my duties?
During my Business Information Systems cooperative degree course with Herth+Buss, I will spend two months of my practical stage in the IT department and the third month in one of the other departments, such as accounting, operational support and marketing. The practical stage is structured with a lot of variety, which means that you never get bored and you also get to understand the entire business.
In addition to supporting employees with IT issues and procuring and maintaining hardware, working in the IT department also gives you an insight into how projects are planned and executed. In 2018, I was lucky enough to have been part of a project in which all of the printers at the Heusenstamm site were to be replaced. The project had to be planned and coordinated very carefully, as it involved more than 50 machines and we had to ensure that the transition was as smooth as possible.
My tasks on this project included contacting external suppliers by phone, providing on-site support, configuring the new printers and connecting them to the network. We also gave the employees a short introduction about the different functions of the new machines. You really learn how to take on responsibility, as you have to work independently and plan out your workday yourself.
The split between theory and practice
The best thing about a cooperative degree course is that you can immediately apply in practice what you have learnt in theory. Or the other way round, of course. If you've already seen or experienced something in your day-to-day work, it's much easier to understand specialised terminology in the classroom later on. In this way, you're always making progress.
