What does the everyday working life of business IT specialists with an HF diploma look like?

Business IT specialists work for the IT department of a company or for IT service providers and consulting firms. They ensure that IT optimally supports all business processes and employee tasks.

Your most important tasks are

• Analysis of business processes and design of IT solutions
• Analyzing IT problems and developing solutions
• Development or evaluation of professional information systems to support management and business processes
• Project management of IT projects such as software development, procurement and implementation
• Advising company management on strategic IT deployment issues
• Collaboration and support of software developers, suppliers, customers and employees
• Contact person for all IT issues, customer support, training and support for employees

(Note: The distribution of tasks (weighting and frequency) may vary depending on the task profile/job profile or function and company).

Target group and skills: For whom is the Business Information Systems degree program in Business Information Systems HF suitable?

The "Business IT Specialist (HF)" courses are aimed at professionals who are equally interested in business management issues and IT and would like to work on aligning business IT as closely as possible to the needs of the company.

Business IT specialists HF should have the following personal qualities and skills:

• Quick comprehension
• Logical and abstract thinking
• Spatial imagination
• Flexible handling of language and image content
• Patience and perseverance
• Good knowledge of English
• Logical thinking
• Systematic way of working
• Interest in business management issues
• Ability to concentrate
• Enjoy solving problems
• Communicative skills

Requirements for admission to the Business Informatics (HF) degree program:

The universities of applied sciences (HF) decide independently who is admitted to a degree course in business informatics and the admission procedure. For this reason, there may be differences between the providers. The admission procedure is set out and regulated in the study regulations of the respective HF. It must be based on the relevant legal principles*.

The following requirements generally apply for admission to a degree program in Business Information Systems (HF):

• Apprenticeship certificate (EFZ) as:
  • Computer scientist
  • Mediamatician
  • Businessman / Businesswoman
  • Diploma from a federally recognized business school

Or

• Apprenticeship qualification with EFZ in another profession and at least three years of professional experience in business informatics

Or

• High school diploma and at least three years of professional experience in business informatics

Or

• Equivalent degree and professional experience to those already mentioned above

Further conditions:

• During the part-time HF Business Informatics course, you are required to work at least 50% in a relevant field.
• Depending on the school: entrance examination or aptitude test and/or attendance of a preliminary course, for example in mathematics.

Note: In some cases, it is possible to have educational achievements already completed credited. The school of your choice will provide detailed information.

* The courses offered by the universities of applied sciences (HF) are based on framework curricula developed jointly by education providers and industry associations and approved by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI). If the PET colleges adhere to existing framework curricula in the detailed design of their courses, their PET courses are federally recognized and lead to a protected title.

Subject matter and content of the training

The learning content taught in a HF Business Informatics course is generally based on the "Business Informatics HF" framework curriculum.

The sponsorship is made up as follows:

• Organization of the world of work (OdA): ICT-Berufsbildung Schweiz, Kaufmännischer Verband Schweiz, SGO Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Organisation und Management, Swico, VIW Wirtschaftsinformatik Schweiz
• Representation of the education providers: CRODES Conférence romande des écoles supérieures, KIS Konferenz der Informatikschulen Schweiz

The sponsoring body is responsible for drawing up the framework curriculum and for periodically checking that it is up to date and of high quality.

Nevertheless, the universities of applied sciences have a certain amount of leeway in the design of their business informatics training. Which course content is ultimately covered and how it is structured or deepened can therefore vary from HF to HF. The universities of applied sciences can also offer specializations, for example.*

TheSubject matteris generally divided into the following main areas:

Economic fundamentals

• Strategic management
• Management processes in day-to-day business
• Financial management
• Customer process design
• Legal basis
• Methods and techniques

Working techniques

• Written communication
• Oral communication
• Networked thinking

Principles of service provision

• Project management
• Process management
• Risk management
• Quality management

IT-specific learning areas

• Service management
• Systems Engineering & Development
• Application Engineering
• IT management
• IT security
• IT quality management
• IT risk management

Specialization

*In the case of the Business Information Systems degree program, it is also possible for schools to offer specializations (max. 10% of total learning hours). The generalist orientation of the framework curriculum therefore also enables (apart from the specializations) cross-industry mobility of business informatics graduates on the job market.

Costs and financing of further training

The costs depend on the provider, the training location and the training model and can therefore vary. In general, the following costs can be expected for the 4-6 semester Business Informatics course:

• Tuition feesThe semester fee depends on the school and your canton of residence. On average, you can expect to pay around CHF 12,000 to CHF 16,000 for students residing in the canton of training*. The costs for the examinations and diploma thesis are usually included in the course fees.
• Fees for additional certificatesFor example, in English or project management (IPMA) etc. Whether you can complete additional certificates during your studies to become a business IT specialist varies depending on the provider.
• Other extra costsSome providers charge extra costs for the registration fee and the student ID card, preliminary courses, teaching materials, special software, licenses, laboratory exercises, practicals, training documents, examinations/diploma papers and examination retakes. Find out about the additional costs directly from the HF of your choice.

* Courses at universities of applied sciences are financially supported by the cantons. Students from outside the canton pay higher tuition fees. The following conditions apply in order to receive cantonal funding:

• at least two years of residence in the canton
• The course is listed on the EDK (Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education) list of eligible courses (you will find the link to the list in the answer texts).

Duration of study, number of teaching hours, teaching times, teaching format and learning effort

• Duration of studyBusiness Information Systems can be studied part-time (6-8 semesters) or full-time (4 semesters). In order to attend the part-time program, you must be working in the field of business informatics with a workload of at least 50%.
• Number of lessonsThere are different curricula for people with a relevant occupation and those with other occupations, which therefore differ in terms of the total number of hours. With a relevant EFZ, the course comprises at least 3600 learning hours. For courses without a relevant EFZ, the number of learning hours usually increases to 5400 learning hours, please contact the school of your choice. The learning hours are divided into the following study elements: Contact study, guided self-study, free self-study, work placement, qualification procedure and other learning assessments, diploma thesis.
• Lesson timesThe part-time or full-time HF Business Information Systems degree program is offered at different times. These can be, for example, two evenings per week, one morning and one afternoon per week, one afternoon/evening per week and individual Saturdays, etc.
• Teaching formatMany schools offer a mix of face-to-face and online courses (online, hybrid teaching, blended learning). Please contact the provider directly to find out which forms they offer.
• Learning effort: You should allow sufficient time to prepare for and follow up the lessons and for self-study - how much depends on your prior knowledge, working style, learning speed and chosen training model. We recommend that you allow at least 4-6 hours per week for the part-time model.

Note: Some schools offer so-called "taster lessons"/"trial lessons". This gives you the opportunity to gain an insight into the lessons and the learning atmosphere. Important aspects on the way to a successful graduation. Take the opportunity and contact the school of your choice directly.

Degree, diploma and title

During the Business Informatics degree program, students complete various learning achievements, so-called doctorates (e.g. theoretical and practical examinations, case studies, project work, etc.). Passing these examinations and assignments is a prerequisite for admission to the diploma examination.

The final qualification procedure for the degree course in Business Information Systems generally comprises:

• a written practice-oriented diploma thesis
• oral or written examinations

Diploma and title

Graduates of the course receive an HF diploma and are entitled to use the federally recognized and protected professional title "Dipl. Wirtschaftsinformatiker HF / dipl. Wirtschaftsinformatikerin HF".

• In French: "Informaticien de gestion diplômé ES / Informaticienne de gestion diplômée ES"
• In Italian: "Informatico di gestione dipl. SSS / Informatica di gestione dipl. SSS"
• In English: "Business Data Processing Specialist, Advanced Federal Diploma of Higher Education" (Attention: not a protected title, this is only a recommended translation)