You’ll soon have the “Swiss army knife for digital transformation” in your pocket, even without any previous IT knowledge! And the (professional) world is at your feet.
by Sebastian Eschenbach
The digital transformation is spreading rapidly across all industries and professional fields. There is a growing need for people who can act as mediators between IT experts, business managers, stakeholders and, last but not least, customers. With the Digital Business Bachelor at FHWien der WKW, you will actively shape digitalization as a professional at the intersection of technology and business.
The Bachelor’s program in Digital Business does not require any prior technical or business knowledge. You become an expert in these areas from virtually scratch. All you need is interest and commitment, and this degree is very achievable. The key point is that it is very application-oriented.
The program is therefore also explicitly aimed at non-technical students or graduates of schools without a specific STEM focus (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). The barrier of having to be a math or IT genius is thus completely eliminated.
The hybrid form of teaching makes this program especially interesting for those who have professional – or other – obligations: It is compatible with an already “filled” (work) everyday life and thus the composition of the students is relatively diverse.
Students come from a wide variety of industries and backgrounds, and they all graduate with a deep expertise in digital transformation.
The “Swiss Army Knife for Digital Transformation”
The Bachelor’s program is quite broad in scope. It is, to use a proverbially neutral image, the “Swiss army knife for digital transformation”, with which one is ideally equipped for all digital challenges: Graduates master the necessary cross-sectional material to be able to communicate perfectly with experts from all different areas. They understand technology developers just as well as business specialists and marketing experts.
The future job profile is equivalent to a translator who is top competent in all domains and communicates comprehensively.
Teaching and method
Classes are specially designed to be as compatible as possible with work and other social commitments. We achieve this organizationally by having only about 40 to 45 percent face-to-face classes at fixed times at FHWien – and these fixed times are also planned for the long term: every other week, Friday afternoons and on Saturdays. The rest of the teaching takes place online in various forms and formats.
In terms of method, a path of consistent application orientation is followed: Technical topics are rolled up from their application rather than taught as formal theory. This means that access to the teaching of specific tech skills is more attractive to many people.
In addition, high value is placed on avoiding typical IT tech jargon. Because in our eyes, talking in those famous 3-letter abbreviations is an outdated tool of exclusion, so outsiders can’t participate.
Work, i.e. study, is mainly done in small and manageable teams:
- good individual support
- application challenges are solved in small groups
- teams are ideally as diverse and mixed as possible – people with different professional backgrounds, gender and experience work together.
On the one hand, this reflects the later professional reality well, and on the other hand, this approach also lives up to the slogan of FHWien der WKW: “Study the practice!”.
Information about the study program & the author
All information about the Digital Business study program can be found online on our website.
Sebastian Eschenbach is head of the Digital Economy Department at FHWien der WKW, which offers the part-time Bachelor’s program in Digital Business.
Sebastian Eschenbach is also co-author of the study “Fit for the Future? How companies can master the digital transformation”, which was presented by the Institute for Digital Transformation & Strategy (IDS) of FHWien der WKW at the beginning of June.