Torsten Welsch has been the head of the HTL Grieskirchen for a year now, and in June he was officially confirmed as director – at 37, he is the youngest person in this type of school in Austria. The German native worked in business for a long time and dealt with artificial intelligence. At the end of the school year, the OÖN spoke to him about his experiences, successes and challenges in the past school year.
Today marks the end of your first year as headmaster. What surprised you about your new position?
Torsten Welsch: I come from a business background. It is clear that some things are different, but sometimes it was surprising. For example, we need teachers who have changed careers to teach specific professions. The positions used to be advertised in the Wiener Zeitung, but now they are advertised somewhere on the Internet for a few days. Hardly anyone sees them, of course. It is anachronistic, but on the other hand we have a shortage of teachers. Another difference is that as a headteacher I have sole responsibility for 50 teachers, while in other schools there are many more. Every problem goes directly to me. There is no level with teams of around ten people for whom one person is responsible – as there are in many companies.
As a native German, you did not grow up in the Austrian school system. How do you experience the differences?
I think the HTL system is good. This option of vocational training with a school-leaving exam doesn’t exist in Germany – there, many people do an apprenticeship after graduating from high school. I find the many opportunities to correct a “failure” grade astonishing – with clauses, re-examinations and so on. I’m not sure whether it’s doing students any good if they keep failing the exams – it does something to them psychologically too.
The dominant topic last year was the use of AI and generated texts.
Yes, I come from that area myself. We found a good mode with lots of classroom exercises at school. Especially in language subjects, there is no way to say with certainty when doing homework: “You had that generated.” In computer science, we are increasingly dealing with the use of AI in everyday working life. We have to prepare students for that – I often use AI myself and am faster as a result.
You have been a teacher for several yearsbut the contact with the students is different as a director – what have you learned?
As a teacher you are very close to the students, as a head teacher my role is more to create a balance between students and teachers. We have introduced a class council where I meet regularly with the class representatives. They talk very openly about problems – much more than I would have dared to do as a student.
What are the holiday plans?
We are now developing the timetable. We also want to set up a program for gifted students, where students can work directly on projects in companies. Often the focus is too much on weak students – they are also important, but motivated people also need support. No vacation is planned.
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Source: Nachrichten