A new STFW director
For twelve years he had shaped the course of events at the Swiss Technical College (STFW) in Winterthur: Director Erich Meier, who is now retiring. His successor is Olaf Pfeifer. Together with the Association of Swiss Installers of Security Systems (SES), the technical school also offers the course "Project Manager Security Systems".
In the presence of around 100 guests from the electrical, building and automotive engineering sectors, Winterthur City Councilor and STFW Foundation Board President Stefan Fritschi recently welcomed Olaf Pfeifer as the new STFW Director. He also bid farewell to his predecessor Erich Meier with words of praise as he entered a well-deserved retirement. In his farewell speech, Meier explained that over the past twelve years he had ensured that the school had proper "hardware" in the sense of two new school buildings and state-of-the-art infrastructure. Now Olaf Pfeifer can take care of the "software".
Digitization is knocking
Pfeifer sees the upcoming digitalization as his challenge in "software". There are many new basic technologies on the market, such as BIM (short for Building Information Modeling), Internet of Things or Augmented Reality. He would like to make a decisive contribution to these new developments with STFW and play a significant role in shaping them, as he said in his welcoming speech.
Olaf Pfeifer also plans to optimize STFW's internal processes. He wants to eliminate interfaces and build platform concepts, as well as make the data available to other training companies and firms where possible.
In the classroom, digitization has an impact on methodology, didactics and learning content, but also on pedagogy. Digital tools are gaining ground, but this will not make the classroom obsolete. Long-term learning success will depend heavily on the social interactions that take place. These connections can only be exercised by humans and cannot be substituted by algorithms or artificial intelligences. To this end, a good mix of individualized instruction, combined with digital aids and a teacher who is dedicated and committed to her profession, is needed. Pfeifer is certain that he will succeed in this with his team.
Fascinated by technology
Stefan Fritschi is convinced that he has found the right expert for this task in Olaf Pfeifer. Pfeifer has been fascinated by technology since the start of his professional career, which originated in mechanical engineering. He acquired his business management skills with a Master of Controlling and an EMBA in Zurich. He gained professional and management experience at various renowned companies. Most recently, he was responsible for production with a total of 320 employees at Kistler Instrumente AG in Winterthur.
Source: STFW
