Start of studies at the HES-SO with almost 21,000 students

The Master's degree course Integrated Innovation for Product and Business Development (Innokick) is emblematic of this new beginning: the program of this degree course, which focuses on innovation, has been completely revised for the upcoming academic year. Previously, it was reserved for Bachelor's graduates in the fields of Engineering and Architecture, Business & Services or Design and Fine Arts. From the coming academic year, it will also be open to students from the three other HES-SO faculties (Music and Performing Arts, Health, Social Work) and will therefore benefit from even more diverse input into the creative process. In addition, the Innokick Master's program can in future be completed not only as a full-time course, but also as a part-time course.

The range of nursing courses has also been expanded: Part-time study is now possible not only at the Fribourg School of Health (HEdS-FR), where this option has been offered for a year, but also at the Geneva School of Health (HEdS-Genève) and the Valais-Wallis School of Health (HEdS). In addition, the midwifery course at the Vaud School of Health (HESAV) is also offered as a part-time course. The flexibilization of the course is primarily aimed at people who cannot easily complete a full-time course for personal or professional reasons.

Universities in the healthcare sector are also making widespread use of the e-portfolio: an online dossier used by students to document their work, their reflections and their personal and professional development. The e-portfolio is in line with the development of increasingly modular training courses, which can be designed more and more freely, and is a pedagogical tool for lecturers and teaching staff, allowing them to follow and evaluate students' progress online. The e-portfolio should also become a central component of application documents when looking for a job.

Training courses that are geared towards the needs of the professional world

The proximity to the professional world is strengthened in particular through increased cooperation with partner companies. This is the case at the Fribourg School of Engineering and Architecture (HEIA-FR), for example, which is offering a new course for second-year graduates in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science and communication systems, developed in collaboration with the energy producer and distributor Groupe E. This course, which is dedicated to topics at the interface between the optimization of heat flows, electricity and new computer technologies, enables students to work on specific projects in an interdisciplinary way. It should also motivate them to pursue projects in interdisciplinary teams and in collaboration with partner municipalities and companies throughout the new academic year.

The Master of Science in Business Administration (MSc BA) has also been adapted to the changing needs of business and society and takes particular account of the challenges associated with sustainability and digitalization. Both the skills profile and the framework curriculum of the Master's degree program have been completely revised.

Student numbers at the start of the 2024/2025 academic year 

Bachelor's enrolments are down slightly, except in the arts degree programs, half of which is offset by the steady increase in Master's enrolments over the past three years. In total, over 17,800 students will enrol for a Bachelor's degree and over 2,600 for a Master's degree in one of the six departments of the HES-SO. Switzerland's largest university of applied sciences will therefore have almost 21,000 students at the start of the 2024/2025 academic year.

Source: www.hes-so.ch