Abstract
The project ZuKo4Saxony focuses on creating a digital learning environment to enhance collaboration between different institutions (e.g. university and company) and learning locations in cooperative study programs. The presented study is part of the specification process and investigates how the structural characteristics of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) influence the competence development of students in cooperative universities. Through focus group discussions with students from IU International University of Applied Sciences (IU) in Dresden, the research identifies key factors affecting professional and personal growth within cooperative studies. The findings underline the importance of professional supervision, successful theory-practice transfer and the processing of tasks that are thematically relevant to the course. Based on these results, recommendations for the improvement of cooperative study programs in SMEs and suggestions for future research are given.