What does Toni do?
Work-study degree programme Product Management at Volkswagen.
We met Toni who is completing the work-study degree programme product management at Volkswagen. In our interview, he tells us why he chose the work-study degree programme, what exciting topics he deals with every day and how the work with the team at different locations looks like.
There are many exciting people, jobs and places at Volkswagen – that’s why we let them speak for themselves! As part of this series we visit Volkswagen employees from different divisions and talk to them about their career, current tasks and challenges in their job and what drives them every day.
Do you enjoy student life?
Without a doubt the work-study degree programme requires a lot of discipline. But as uni and work phases are separated, I can still enjoy a regular student life during the semester. Like all other students, it’s on me to pass the exams. During the semester breaks I enter the work phases in the departments. From my own personal experience, I would say that student life during the semester is also possible in the work-study degree programme. The framework is a bit tighter and a certain amount of work is required, but in return, this model offers great opportunities during and after your studies.
The biggest challenge is also one of the biggest advantages. In product management, we deal with all issues that affect the MEB platform. The broad balancing act between the different topics requires the ability to think one's way into hardware, software and also production and strategic topics.ToniStudent Product Management (MEB) at Volkswagen
What problem does your work solve?
Generally speaking, my work improves the MEB platform and ensures its competitiveness. In product management, we have project responsibility for the MEB platform and deal with all issues that affect it. We coordinate new launches and model maintenance points, taking financial, scheduling and quality aspects into account. In doing so, we work closely with the technical project management, where all findings and technical optimisation requests come together. We work on solutions that are evaluated by me as a product manager, considering their feasibility and economic efficiency. In addition to customer relevance and many other factors, the decision also focuses on the profitability of the vehicles in order to ensure competitiveness. On a day-to-day basis, I collect the financial expenditures of all business units for new vehicles as well as for model maintenance and check their plausibility in order to make a decision.
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What is the biggest challenge in your job?
The biggest challenge is also one of the biggest advantages. In product management, we deal with all issues that affect the MEB platform. The broad balancing act between the different topics requires the ability to think one's way into hardware, software and also production and strategic topics. If this was not possible, it would be difficult to present these topics in the committees and the urgency of a certain topic might be missed. However, this challenge is a nice responsibility as I am actively involved in the most important topics of the MDB and have a unique overview of the platform.
How do you work together on projects?
Product management and technical project management are located in the same department and at the same level to ensure the best possible exchange of information. On the product management side, each team member is primarily responsible for certain topics. However, many topics, especially in relation to software, cannot be strictly separated from each other, so there is a lot of coordination. The flat hierarchies as well as the cooperative colleagues and my team leader help me a lot. This way, questions can easily be clarified and I can complete my tasks in the best way possible.
