Education/continuing education, further training in education management: Success stories from graduates and students
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
Christoph Michel: From mechanic to account manager for communication and media training in the Swiss Armed Forces
After completing his apprenticeship as a mechanic (1995, at the former Federal Office for Military Airfields, BAMF, Interlaken operation), 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 continuing education, further training courses, is an "instructor with a federal certificate", a "federally certified company instructor", completed a post-graduate course in crisis communication and attended various civilian and military leadership and staff 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 Education Management" continuing education, further training course 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 continuing education, further 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.
Update February 2025
Christoph Michel has been working for Bern Protection and Rescue since July 2022. As a department of the Directorate for Safety, Environment and Energy, Protection and Rescue Bern brings together the professional and militia fire departments of the city of Bern, the Bern Rescue Service, the Bern plus civil defence organization and disaster management. It operates the 118 and 144 emergency call centers. Bern Protection and Rescue is made up of around 300 professional and 1,000 militia personnel. Michel has been Head of Disaster Management | Chief of Staff RFO Bern plus since February 2024. Disaster management deals with measures for prevention, management and recovery in the event of disasters and emergencies. The regional command body RFO Bern plus is an association of the local command bodies of the City of Bern and eight contracting municipalities in the capital region.
Contact information:www.srb.be.ch| Christoph Michel, scmi@srb.be.ch
Andy R. Gilgen, hotel manager postgraduate studies CHE, trainer with Federal Diploma of Higher Education, master winemaker, graduate of DAS Bildungsmanagement Lernwerkstatt Olten
Andy R. Gilgen: The education manager with his own wine
Andy R. Gilgen's career to date has been characterized by a varied and exciting past. From a trained machine mechanic (now a polymechanic) to training as a federally certified restaurateur-hotelier CHE and flight attendant with Swissair, from an SVEB certificate and helicopter pilot training in the USA to postgraduate studies in Higher Education in hotel management and a specialist course to become a master winemaker, through to his 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 continuing education, further training 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 continuing education, 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 in 2017 to undergo further education, this time a postgraduate course at Lernwerkstatt Olten to obtain 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
Riggenbachstrasse 8
4600 Olten
Strengths:
Implementation guarantee / blended learning. Half of the course dates take place on site, the other half you attend via video conferencing system Zoom /
