Exponential learning – the digital talents of tomorrow study at XU University
Digital skills are important – millions of Germans are currently experiencing this while working from home. School administrations and public authorities are also suddenly having to set up new digital structures and are reaching their limits. Is the coronavirus pandemic a much-vaunted catalyst for digitalization in Germany? That remains to be seen. But what it does show very clearly is that digitalization has permeated society and that we are facing processes of change every day. In order to keep pace with developments and drive innovation, we need the right foundations and, above all, the right support for digital talent.
XU University, Germany’s first university for digitalization and technology, has dedicated itself to future-oriented teaching at its Potsdam location: “A new era needs a new university” is its slogan. XU stands for Exponential University – for exponential change, exponential learning and action – as Adrienne Fischer, Managing Director of the university, explains in an interview. “Today, digital knowledge is needed for almost all professional areas. There are new professions that are emerging and others that are disappearing. But above all, there are professions that are changing. So we need to teach the skills to keep up with these changes. Students are given the right methods and the necessary tools to do this.”
The Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs such as Digital Business, Digital Marketing and Social Media, Coding and Software Engineering, Data Science and Master’s programs (Digital Transformation Management, Data Science) prepare students for the real requirements of the digital economy. To ensure that this is as practical as possible, XU University’s didactic concept is based on the principle of “practice first, theory second”. Students program their own small app in the first two weeks. It doesn’t have to be perfect right away, it’s more about getting to know the challenges of practice in order to enter theory with the necessary prior knowledge. Many professors who pass on their knowledge in specialist areas such as coding and software engineering come directly from the free market economy. They are successful entrepreneurs, manage their own start-ups or work in well-known companies in the digital and tech industry. Coding and Software Development Professor Dr. Mohammed AbuJarour, for example, worked at SAP for many years before taking up his professorship at XU University.
The university also has access to an extensive network of partners. Guest speakers are regularly invited to the courses, who bring practical knowledge and real cases from their digital companies. Students learn about digital business models and organizational theories at an early stage and find out how design thinking can be integrated into everyday working life. “The severe shortage of skilled workers is a challenge for young talent. The aim here is not to extend the training period indefinitely with internships and traineeships, but to prepare students for the job while they are still studying,” explains Fischer.
This is why XU University enters into targeted regional collaborations. Together with Stadtwerke Potsdam under the direction of Professor Dr. Bouteiller, 3rd semester students developed concepts for the Krampnitz innovation quarter. There, on a former barracks site in the north of Potsdam, a district for living and working is being created that is sustainable, citizen-friendly and forward-looking. Among other things, a digital infrastructure, car-free zones and street lamps with 5G transmission masts will ensure this, with the students focusing on sub-areas such as the use of the Internet of Things or the use of high-rise garages in an extended function as mobility hubs. The students also took on the associated project management processes.
The university also attaches great importance to interdisciplinary work, says Adrienne Fischer. While the marketing students also gain a basic understanding of coding, the coders learn how to draw up a business plan. The courses take place in small groups up to four days a week. One day off is scheduled so that students have the capacity to pursue and work on their own practical projects.
You don’t have to have programming skills or be a marketing expert to enrol on a Bachelor’s degree course. But you should have the curiosity to help shape an increasingly fast-paced world – using the technologies of the future. At XU University, your own motivation to keep learning is also supported. Students can take certificate courses in agile working or, thanks to learning platforms, access the latest market knowledge and use new learning and teaching formats. There are hardly any traditional lectures on the curriculum; the course is supplemented by interactive lectures, hackathons and sprints. After all, not only specialist knowledge, but also various working methods are necessary qualifications in the digital working world.
With regard to tools and platforms, XU University sees itself as a curator of existing knowledge that is available on the market on a daily basis. It is prepared and used for teaching in consultation with the professors.
Despite all the digitality, students in Potsdam study on site: In the heart of the media city in Potsdam-Babelsberg, the university is located next to the Babelsberg film studios and therefore right at the center of the MediaTech Hub Potsdam. This means that the nearest cooperation opportunities for practical work are in the immediate vicinity.
More about the MTH Blog
The media technologies of the future are already being used today – not only in the entertainment sector but in a wide variety of industries. For our MediaTech Hub Potsdam blog, we talk to tech enthusiasts, entrepreneurs and researchers once a month and tell the stories behind their innovative business models, ideas, projects and collaborations.
