The Best of Both Worlds with the KIA Mechanical Engineering Program
According to the Third Saxon Graduate Study, former KIA Mechanical Engineering students rate their academic experience and career start very positively and would choose the same major again.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerlinde Kretschmar’s curiosity was piqued. When Dr. Peggy Sommer, who is in charge of Quality management at the university, presented the results of the Third Saxon Graduate Study with regard to the HSZG in January, the professor in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering wondered specifically how the Mechanical Engineering graduates who had completed a Cooperative Study Program with Integrated Training (KIA) at the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences had rated their experience.
“I was particularly interested in how satisfied our Mechanical Engineering KIA students were with their degree programme, their subsequent employment at their (KIA) company, and their first salary,” said the professor, who, as dean of studies for the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, always keeps a close eye on the organization and quality of the degree programme.
Results of the Graduate Study
Dr. Peggy Sommer provides answers for the KIA Mechanical Engineering graduates with specific findings from the study:
"It is very positive that the former students predominantly rate the study conditions as good to very good and that the majority of them would choose the same subject again (78 percent) and at the HSZG (88 percent)."
”The majority of respondents felt adequately qualified when they started their careers and are satisfied to very satisfied with their work at their companies; permanent employment contracts are the norm. Most graduates are satisfied to very satisfied with their current earnings.
They are very optimistic about the future, both in terms of their income and their job security.
A validation of the program
“For us as instructors and co-organizers of the KIA Mechanical Engineering degree programme, these results confirm that we are able to offer our students a good professional future,” says Gerlinde Kretschmar.
“Mechanical Engineering is one of the high-tech fields. Our students must adapt regularly and quickly to new demands. The fact that the vast majority of graduates rate their academic experience as mostly good to very good—and would choose HSZG again—is a positive sign. After all, one thing is certain: the demand for engineers with practical training will increase even more in the future,” said Prof. Kretschmar.
”Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences offers the KIA Mechanical Engineering degree programme as a 4 1/2-year Bachelor degree programme or as a 5-year programme leading to a Diplomingenieur (FH) degree in conjunction with metalworking apprenticeships.
This involves a foundational phase with concurrent vocational training and examinations administered by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) or Chamber of Crafts (HWK), followed by an advanced study phase leading to a “Bachelor of Engineering” or “Diplomingenieur (FH)” degree. This combination of practical vocational training and academic study offers good career prospects.
In the 3rd Saxon Graduate Survey, HSZG achieved top scores overall in terms of academic conditions, duration of study, and job prospects.
The university has participated in the graduate surveys of Saxon higher education institutions since 2008; these surveys are conducted every five years under the leadership of the Center of Excellence for Education and Higher Education Research at TU Dresden. In the latest study, funded by the SMWK, alumni of the HSZG’s Bachelor, master’s, and Diplom degree courses, as well as those of other Saxon universities of applied sciences and research universities, were surveyed between August 2018 and May 2019. A total of 466 graduates from the classes of 2015 and 2016 participated. The survey period was chosen so that, for the majority of respondents, at least two years had passed since they received their (first) degree.
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