Short success stories from graduates and students of education management programs are published here on an ongoing basis.
Christoph Michel, Command Management, Information and Communication Training (Kdo MIKA), Swiss Armed Forces
After completing his apprenticeship as a mechanic (1995, at the former Federal Office for Military Airfields, BAMF, Interlaken operations), Christoph Michel completed the fortress recruit school, where he was trained as a security soldier. Thanks to his good performance, he was recommended for NCO and officer school. After his practical service as a platoon leader/lieutenant, he worked as an apprentice trainer in the AMMANN training workshop in Langenthal, where he was responsible for the "Conventional Manufacturing" training module. He joined the army in 2000. He worked as a civilian "Tactics" instructor at the Command and Control Simulator Command before transferring within the army in 2002 to the then ZIKA Command (Center for Information and Communication Training, now known as Kdo MIKA). Michel has remained loyal to management, information and communication training in the army. He has been working as an account manager for Kdo MIKA for years. Michel is responsible for the conception, planning, organization, implementation and follow-up of courses, trainings and courses in the field of communication and media training - which is carried out as part of leadership training. He has completed numerous further training courses, is a "trainer with a federal certificate", a "federally certified company trainer", completed a postgraduate course in crisis communication and attended various civilian and military leadership and staff training courses. Christoph Michel is still an active militia officer with the rank of major.
DAS Education Management - the basis for the next career step
In 2015, Michel completed the "Diploma of Advanced Studies in Education Management" at Lernwerkstatt Olten in cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland. The modules "Understanding corporate management", "Positioning the educational offer in the environment", "Developing the quality of educational offers", "Promoting and developing people in a targeted manner" as well as the associated transfer work and the final diploma thesis proved to be extremely instructive for Christoph Michel. The training was so practice-oriented that he was able to incorporate much of the content into his daily work and even implement it 1:1 in some cases. This high level of practical relevance, the exchange with the course participants and the LWO trainers and FHNW lecturers were a valuable enrichment for him.
Further information and contact:www.armee.ch/mika| Christoph Michel, christoph.michel @vtg.admin.ch
Andy R. Gilgen, Hotel Manager NDS-HF, trainer with federal certificate, master winemaker, degree in DAS Bildungsmanagement Lernwerkstatt Olten
Andy R. Gilgen's career to date has been characterized by a varied and exciting past. From trained machine mechanic (now polymechanic) to training as a federally certified restaurateur-hotelier HF and flight attendant with Swissair, from SVEB certificate and helicopter pilot training in the USA to a postgraduate degree HF in hotel management and a specialist course to become a master winemaker, through to qualifications as a trainer with a federal certificate and the Diploma of Advanced Studies DAS Bildungsmanagement from Lernwerkstatt Olten. Over the past 20 years, Gilgen has undergone a wide variety of training and further education courses, particularly in the hotel industry, tourism and adult education.
The jobs that the 1974-born manager has held have been as varied as the courses he has completed: A job in a small hotel in French-speaking Switzerland and three years in the hotel industry in the Lake Geneva region, a position as a marketing consultant in Brazil, two years as a flight attendant at Swissair, head of young talent marketing at hotelleriesuisse for more than six years and a nine-month educational project in Kyrgyzstan as a consultant on behalf of hotelleriesuisse for helvetas. In 2009, Gilgen was then offered the opportunity to manage HACO AG's information and training center for nutrition, the "Forum Culinaire". For eight years, he was responsible for the conception and implementation of further training in culinary arts and nutrition, acting as host, speaker, training manager and ambassador.
During this time, he ventured into self-employment and, after studying viticulture, founded his own company: Gilgen-Jerjen, derWeinBAUer.ch, which combines viticulture and coaching. In collaboration with Knüsel Training AG, which focuses on optimizing working methods and work organization and with which Gilgen has been a business partner since 2017, he offers innovative training, seminars, coaching and company courses for customers as well as in his own vineyard. And he also produces his own wine as a sideline.
However, in order to be able to advise his customers even more comprehensively and competently, Andy R. Gilgen decided to undergo further training in 2017, this time for a postgraduate course at Lernwerkstatt Olten, leading to a Diploma of Advanced Studies (DAS) in education management, which he successfully completed in April 2018. The content taught on the course helped Gilgen a great deal in his transition to self-employment and also increased his market value. "On the one hand, I was able to apply what I learned directly in my job and, on the other, I have steadily increased my know-how, which makes me a sought-after manager. Now as an independent entrepreneur, I benefit from my network and the knowledge I have acquired," says Gilgen.
Contact information:
Andy R. Gilgen, andy.gilgen @mehrleisten.ch,www.work-smarter.ch