Successfully balancing work, family and studies – Philipp Gärtner is studying Social Education and Management in Annaberg-Buchholz

In the following interview, Philipp Gärtner talks about his experiences of studying part-time at the FHD’s Annaberg-Buchholz Learning Centre. He shares insights into his day-to-day student life, how things are organised on site, and how he balances his studies, work and personal life.

Please introduce yourself briefly: your name, degree programme, your current job and, if you’d like, your family situation.

My name is Philipp Gärtner; I’m from the Ore Mountains – Marienberg, to be precise. I’m a nursery teacher and work in Augustusburg, a place where many people like to go on holiday, and I have a son who’ll soon be 16. I’m also single.

Why did you decide to study at the FHD at the Annaberg-Buchholz Learning Centre?

I chose to study at the Dresden University of Applied Sciences (FH Dresden) with the Annaberg-Buchholz Learning Centre because it allows me to balance my personal and professional lives well. This means I don’t have to travel far, which is particularly important these days. With petrol prices as they are, cost-effectiveness is a major factor for me. That’s why I’ve chosen this location to study and learn.

About the degree programme

How do your studies at the Learning Centre work? (Timetables, blended learning, exams, etc.)

Well, the exam periods and study times are the same for everyone. There’s a semester schedule that we follow in Annaberg. We organise this together. We always coordinate with each other. As I’m currently on my own in Annaberg and the tutors I have also have their own personal lives, we pass on the dates together. I’ll say, ‘When would it be convenient for me to be there?’ But in the same breath, they’ll also say to me, ‘Philipp, that doesn’t work for us. Could you come to Dresden?’ And that way, the journey is short and we get on really well together.

I can’t sit exams from Annaberg, so I always come here for them. And that applies to all kinds of exams. If I have any questions or if they need to read something, my tutors in Annaberg are always available to help me. I could even send them something by email, and they’d read it. So I feel well looked after there.

As it’s a part-time degree programme, our classes are always on Fridays and Saturdays – Fridays from 5.00 pm to 9.00 pm and Saturdays from 8.30 am to 3.15 pm. And that’s in Annaberg.

The online platform is, on the one hand, Zoom, where the meeting takes place – that is, the connection and joining in with the live teaching on site. From Annaberg, I can join the session in Dresden at any time to answer questions from the professors or lecturers, or to contribute my own insights and experiences where appropriate.

How would you describe the support at the learning centre? (In terms of your on-site mentors and the professors and lecturers in Dresden)

In Annaberg, I currently have two mentors: Lisa and Rebecca. Rebecca specialises in business administration; she studied business management and completed her Master’s degree there. Lisa studied health management and obtained her Bachelor’s degree. Whenever I have subject-related questions, both of them are always willing to listen and help me out. They want to read everything, are very keen to learn and curious, and are also interested in my work as well as questions about the course content.

The links here to Dresden are very good. I must give special praise to the lecturers in particular. If you send a question by email, you always get a reply. You also receive ideas, thoughts and suggestions: ‘You could structure it like this, you could phrase it like that.’

I was very pleasantly surprised by this, and I’m delighted with this excellent collaboration.

Mr Andrä and Ms Pittius deserve special mention here. Particularly regarding the study we were asked to carry out, I asked Ms Pittius: ‘What do you think of the hypotheses?’ She then contributed further ideas.

How do you find balancing your studies with work and your personal life?

I find it very easy to balance my working life, my studies and my family life, which is also very important to me. I’m able to organise my own study time and schedule my study sessions so that they don’t clash with my family or work commitments. The FHD makes this possible through its flexible study timetable.

What personal career goals are you pursuing through your studies?

I don’t actually have a clear idea or a concrete plan yet as to what I’d like to do with my degree. I’ve given some thought to where my strengths lie and what interests me.

One of these is teaching – that is, training nursery teachers or social care assistants – because I really enjoy working with trainees. Managing a children’s and youth centre would also be very interesting to me, as would a role at the youth welfare office.

I’m open to lots of possibilities, because my degree has shown me just how broad the spectrum is that it covers, and the different areas I could work in later on. I actually wasn’t aware of that before.

What advice can you give to anyone interested in studying part-time in Annaberg-Buchholz?

You find yourself asking questions like: ‘What are the attendance requirements? Are there any attendance requirements at all? Or how do you fund your studies?’

In any case, I’d definitely recommend getting in touch with the student advisory service. For example, the student advisory service told me that the support in Annaberg is much better than here in Dresden. I simply have to agree with that, because I have tutors there who are there for me, whereas here in Dresden there are basically no on-site tutors.

Then there’s the personal touch and the sense of community. You’re much more visible as an individual – by name and personality – than you are here in the small groups in Dresden. That’s what makes Annaberg special.

Thanks to the learning centre’s regional location – Annaberg is, after all, in the heart of the Ore Mountains – there’s no need to commute to Dresden for those who wish to study. You can comfortably complete your degree from Annaberg.

And even if I’m unable to attend a session for family or work reasons, the FHD has the ILIAS platform, where lecturers upload their teaching materials. You can access this at any time and download any content you may have missed.

Does studying at the FHD meet your expectations?

Yes, the course meets my expectations because it has simply broadened my horizons in many areas. This helps me in my work at the nursery and also in looking beyond my own field of work.

My reasons for choosing Annaberg are its regional character, the wonderful people and the short distances.

Hinweis: Das Interview wurde auf Grundlage der Transkription für die schriftliche Veröffentlichung sprachlich geglättet und an einzelnen Stellen zur besseren Lesbarkeit angepasst. Die Aussagen wurden dabei nicht inhaltlich verändert.