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Introduction to business archives

Technical basics & practical application
Archiv mit Kisten auf Regalen

The aim of the training programme is to impart basic knowledge and practical skills in business archiving. Participants gain a sound insight into central archival tasks such as appraisal, cataloguing, records management and digital archiving. The programme is supplemented by practical modules on best practices in historical communication. The course is rounded off with modules on preservation and the basics of archiving law. The course is aimed at beginners in business archives with historical/archival training without a business focus and career changers with non-specialist training.

Period:

10/12/2025 - 12/12/2025 (presence) 
19/12/2025 (online)

Status:
Few places available
Format:
Seminar
Degree:
Certificate of attendance
Credits:

2.5 days + 1 day online

Requirements:

Work experience in archiving

Participation fee:

990 Euro VdW-members
1,190 Euro Non-members

Educational leave:

under review

project management

  • Prof. Dr. Susanne Freund
    Scientific Director, Professor of Archival Science

     

    Weiter + Bildung! Quereinstieg und Nachqualifizierung sind brandaktuell, um dem eklatanten Fachkr?ftemangel entgegenzuwirken. In dieser Weiterbildung wird fachliches Know-how für Wirtschaftsarchive vermittelt – ein neuer Baustein archivfachlicher Kompetenzentwicklung an der FH Potsdam.

    Prof. Dr. Susanne Freund

  • Dozent Uwe Balder
    ? Dr. Uwe Balder
    project manager | VdW-board member

    Wer die Geschichte eines Unternehmens bewahrt, sichert nicht nur Wissen – sondern schafft Orientierung für die Zukunft. Diese Weiterbildung gibt Ihnen das Rüstzeug, um Verantwortung für das Ged?chtnis der Wirtschaft zu übernehmen.

    Dr. Uwe Balder, Brose Fahrzeugteile SE & Co. KG

Logo VdW von Vereinigung der Wirtschaftsarchivarinnen und Wirtschaftsarchivare e.V.

In cooperation with the Association of Business Archivists (VdW), the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam offers a unique introductory course for business archivists.

At a glance

Why is the topic relevant?
There is currently no standardised and certified further training for working in business archives. In cooperation with the FHP, the VdW offers the introductory course for business archivists, which is unique in Germany.

What is the aim of the course?
The aim of the introductory course is to provide a sound, application-orientated introduction to archiving with a business focus. Participants are taught archival core competences and practical and business-related application and implementation examples. They learn about central archival tasks such as appraisal and cataloguing and gain a basic insight into the fields of records management and digital archiving. Experienced colleagues will report on best practices in historical communication and public relations from their day-to-day work. Participants will be given a guided tour of the archive to learn the basics of conservation and archive buildings. The course concludes with a webinar on archiving law issues.

Focal points

  • Valuation & transfer
  • Inventory creation & cataloguing
  • Records Management
  • Digital archiving
  • Historical communication, educational and public relations work
  • Preservation & archive construction (archive management)

Formats

  • Informative frontal mediation with workshop elements
  • Face-to-face event with some speakers and one-day webinar
  • Development of the results in joint work, question & discussion rounds
  • Excursion (archive tour)

target audience

  • Young Professionals
  • career starters
  • beginners
  • career changers

Modules & contents

Ability to create a transfer of records for own holdings; teaching of evaluation methods

Evaluation criteria, evaluation concepts for your own archive, definition of preservation goals

Basic overview of inventory formation and cataloguing

Basic overview of concepts, definitions, networks/literature and practical applications in business archives

Basic overview of concepts, definitions, networks/literature and practical applications in business archives

Strategy (goals, target groups, content, channels, formats) and organisation (newsroom principle/editorial/schedule, partners, interfaces, monitoring); focus on historical crisis communication and the tension between scientific presentation and the company's communication/marketing messages

Practical case studies, presented by experienced & recognised colleagues

Practical aspects of archive marketing and communication in business archives

Basic overview of concepts, definitions, networks/literature and practical applications in business archives - Guided tour of a purpose-built archive building

Archive laws, GDPR, freedom of information laws, copyright law, civil law issues, legal issues from practice

Dates & Schedule

Wednesday, 10/12/25: 9.00 am - 5.30 pm, FH Potsdam

Thursday, 11/12/25: 9.00 am - 5.30 pm, FH Potsdam

Friday, 12/12/25: 9.30 am - 1.00 pm, Excursion to the Brandenburg State Archive

Friday, 19/12/25: 9.00 am - 2.30 pm, online / webinar

Our lecturers
  • Prof. Dr. Karin Schwarz

    Archiving documents from businesses and industry requires archival expertise. At the same time, companies have specific requirements for their archives. In our courses, we combine these specific requirements with archival skills and knowledge in order to establish a solid foundation for business and company archives.

    Prof. Dr. Karin Schwarz
    Professor of Archival Science, Head of the Degree Programme Archive
  • Dozent Dr. Jonas Springer
    ? Dr. Jonas Springer

    Records management sometimes has a reputation for being a very complex and administrative topic. Why should business archivists concern themselves with process-based business procedures in day-to-day company management when their core competencies lie in historically relevant sources for corporate history? However, a basic knowledge of records management offers you all kinds of advantages for the archive: you act as an information manager to ensure that analogue and digital documents are traceable, complete and legally compliant. In this way, you make a significant contribution to strengthening compliance within the company and, at the same time, ensure that the historical records of the company are of higher quality thanks to a structured approach.

    Dr. Jonas Springer
    Wissenschaftlicher Archivar, Historisches Archiv Krupp
  • Dozentin Elke Pfnür
    ? Elke Pfnür

    My motto is: ‘Preserve yesterday for tomorrow today.’ But those who preserve history must also tell its story. Make the work visible.

    Elke Pfnür
    UniCredit Bank GmbH / Die Geschichtenerz?hlerin
  • Dozent Dietrich Kuhlgatz
    ? Dietrich Kuhlgatz

    Best practices – after studying history and philosophy at the Universities of Konstanz and Hamburg, worked as an editor for the Journal of Historical Science and as a research assistant at the German Museum of Technology. Since 1998, has been working at Robert Bosch GmbH as a historian and operator of the Bosch History Blog. In 2023, the department was awarded the title of Business Archive of the Year by the VdW.

    Dietrich Kuhlgatz
    Robert Bosch GmbH, Director Historical Communications
  • Dozent Jens Brokfeld
    ? Jens Brokfeld

    Archival cataloguing is more than just documentation – it is the art of balancing pragmatism and meticulousness with a clear vision and keen intuition. This introductory module teaches the basics using selected examples.

    Jens Brokfeld
    Leitung Archiv - Archive Management, Draiflessen Collection gGmbH
  • Dozent Dr. Martin L. Müller
    ? Dr. Martin L. Müller

    "Since 1988, one of the main areas of research at the Deutsche Bank Historical Institute has been the Nazi era. Deutsche Bank was the first German financial institution to conduct a thorough and unreserved investigation into this era. This article focuses on how the company's attitude towards its Nazi past developed, how the topic was communicated, how it was received by the public, and what lessons can be learned after more than three decades."

    Dr. Martin L. Müller
    Leiter des Historischen Instituts, Deutsche Bank AG

lecturers

FHP-Professors

Subject specialists

  • Dr. Uwe Balder (Brose Fahrzeugteile SE & Co. KG)
  • Jens Brokfeld, M.A. (Draiflessen Collection gGmbH)
  • Dr. Ulrike Gutzmann (Volkswagen AG)
  • Dr. Dietrich Kuhlgatz (Robert Bosch GmbH)
  • Dr. Martin L. Müller (Deutsche Bank AG)
  • Elke Pfnür (UniCredit Bank GmbH / Die Geschichtenerz?hlerin)
  • Dr. Jonas Springer (Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach-Stiftung)

Registration & Information

ZEW – Further Education Unit

Room 1.10
Coordination of the Further Education Unit (ZEW)
Professor of Archival Science
Project Manager Graduate Distance Learning Archive
Project Manager of the Degree Programme Archival Science (MA)
Project Manager of the Further Education Programme "Archive im Informationszeitalter"

Further courses

Archives in the information age

The Department of Information Sciences at the Potsdam University of Applied Sciences is offering a certificate course "Archives in the Information Age" together with the Centre for Continuing Education at the FU Berlin - a cooperative event with the Central Institution for Continuing Education (FH Potsdam).

Remote training archive

The University of Applied Sciences Potsdam also offers a 3.5-year distance learning programme as a form of non-administrative, academic further education in the field of archives. The further education programme was developed for employees from all archive sectors.

Specialist for media and information services

The further training programme provides people who work in archives without a specialist qualification with knowledge and skills that correspond to training as a specialist in media and information services (FaMI), specialising in archives.

Archivwissenschaft an der FH Potsdam

Further education

News

FHP and VdW jointly organise further training in business archiving

The Association of Business Archivists (VdW) and the Central Institution for Continuing Education (ZEW) at Potsdam University of Applied Sciences officially sealed their cooperation on 7 May 2025. By signing a cooperation agreement, both partners are laying the foundation for the future-oriented…

Further education

News

New certificate course in "Archives in the Information Age" starts in September

The Department of Information Sciences and the Centre for Further and Continuing Education (ZEW) at the University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, together with the Centre for Further and Continuing Education at Freie Universit?t Berlin, are launching a new certificate course in continuing education…

Transfer

Retrospective

Further education

Retrospective

A successfulStart: New Course for Media and Information bob体育平台官网s Specialists (Archive)

The start of our part-time qualification course for media and information services specialists (FaMI) specialising in archives was a complete success! From the 6th to the 9th of March 2024, we welcomed a total of 23 motivated participants from all over Germany to the first face-to-face event at the…

Register now