Christoph Kroupa

As part of the “Alumni.Erzählen.” initiative, Christoph Kroupa offers insights into his time as a distance learning student at FERNFH and explains how he applies the knowledge he gained to his professional practice.

I decided to pursue a distance learning program—specifically, the FERNFH—because …
… I’m generally interested in continuing education and found the field of “Business Informatics” to be really interesting. In addition, an acquaintance recommended distance learning to me, since it’s perfectly compatible with my job.

Looking back, the biggest challenge for me during my distance learning program was …
… I’d say the last few days or weeks before the exams were really challenging, especially with my work and personal life. You have to be aware that the deadlines for various assignments and exams are very tightly packed into just a few days. So it’s not uncommon to have 3–6 exams on two in-person days, along with several assignment deadlines during the same period.

My personal situation during my studies … (job, family, free time, etc.)
… During my studies, I worked full-time and still tried to balance my hobbies (tennis, CrossFit, movies…), as well as my studies and time with family and friends. I was able to manage this reasonably well, since the on-campus attendance requirements are significantly less than those of evening classes. Still, good planning is essential. 🙂 

An experience from my time as a student that I fondly remember …
… During my bachelor’s program, the experiences I fondly remember were when we went to the Hohe Wand for a team-building trip on the very second day—and the graduation ceremony. During my master’s program, it was seeing many familiar faces from my bachelor’s program again. Looking back on my entire time as a student, it was that some classmates became friends—and still are.

These are the career goals I'm currently pursuing: …
…I'm trying to apply what I've learned as best I can in my professional environment and to drive various projects forward.

Here's where I see myself professionally over the next 5 years: …
… You never know what doors might open 🙂 

These insights from my college days still guide me in my job today…
… In college, you become extremely independent and organized, and you start planning your to-do lists and activities. That’s absolutely essential given the many courses and assignments. And it’s precisely this focus that still guides me every day. 

These are the topics I'm passionate about: …
… Our team has grown significantly over the past few months. And I can't wait to work with my new colleagues to bring some cool projects to life for our company. 

This is what I’ve particularly benefited from through distance learning:
… The biggest benefit for me is that the program has opened up a whole new range of tools and information for me and has greatly broadened my mindset. I now view things—both in a professional and personal context—with fresh eyes and think more deeply, and that’s an enormous enrichment.

These skills and abilities are becoming increasingly important in my profession/industry …
… Since IT has been booming in recent years, business informatics is also becoming more and more important and in demand. The overall curriculum provides a broad overview, as a wide range of topics are covered throughout the program.

In my opinion, these are the qualities you need to successfully complete a distance learning program: …
… You need two things:
1. The will and commitment to start and see it through (willpower).
2. And—this is the most important point—a dedicated and cool study group! A group with whom you study, laugh, have fun, share the stress during exams, celebrate successes, and support one another through failures.

My tips for first-year students and anyone interested in a degree program or course at FERNFH:

• Come to the information days to get a feel for it, or attend the open house.
• Also reach out to alumni to talk with them, since they’re in the best position to describe everyday student life—with all its pros and cons.

There’s one more thing I’d like to say…
… I’d like to say THANK YOU! During my five years at FERNFH (bachelor’s and master’s degrees), I’ve met a wide variety of people from all kinds of fields, states, and walks of life. Over the years, they’ve all been a part of my life, shaped it, and definitely changed it. I’m very grateful to them for that, and I’ll never forget my time at FERNFH.