About the institution and contact person
Studienwerk der Steuerberater prepares candidates in Münster, Dortmund, Cologne and online for the German tax adviser exam, one of the most demanding professional exams in the country. Several thousand pages of scripts have to be taught and practised, most participants study alongside their jobs, and the exam takes place only once a year. At the same time, expectations have changed: future tax advisers want to learn flexibly, across different channels and in compact formats, instead of having scripts read out to them.
“Candidates used to drive to a tax adviser course every Saturday and listen to the material for eight hours. Today they are no longer willing to put themselves through that during exam preparation. Exam preparation has to fit into their everyday lives much more.”
Managing Director, Studienwerk der Steuerberater
From tracking progress to material learners can trust
Managing director Michael Puke and head of studies Sophie Finke originally set out to make their participants' progress visible. With acemate, they found far more functionality than they had first planned for. acemate is currently being piloted in three courses: alongside live teaching, the course materials are available on the platform, and participants study independently and in the way that suits them. Because acemate draws only on the uploaded original documents and backs every statement with a source, summaries, quizzes and podcasts stay close to the script. Studienwerk keeps didactic control and follows the cohort's progress through the analytics.
“It used to be really risky when participants had some AI summarise a 150-page script. With acemate, you know where the AI gets its information from. The quality of these summaries is much better.”
A tutor around the clock, more room for application in class
Participants can ask questions and test themselves at any time instead of waiting for the next class. Sophie Finke and Michael Puke find working with the AI intuitive, the depth of the chat's answers convincing and hallucinations very rare. The popularity of podcasts and AI-generated quizzes confirms for Studienwerk that younger candidates in particular prefer compact, flexible formats. Looking ahead, Studienwerk sees application at the centre of class time: when knowledge is available at any moment, lecturers can focus more closely on what their cohorts need. Next up are interim analyses, and new features are already being discussed together.
“It simply makes it possible to respond to learners in a completely different way. It is essentially a 24/7 tutor. Participants can ask their questions at any time and check their own understanding.”