On October 25-29, three TUM representatives visited Akademia WSB in Dąbrowie Górniczej, Poland, within the ERASMUS+ project “Integrating Dual Higher Education in Moldova and Ukraine – COOPERA” (reference number: 617490-EPP-1-2020-1-MD-EPPKA2-CBHE-SP), funded by the European Union. The members of the TUM team – Viorica Sudacevschi, Irina Cojuhari and Silvia Munteanu, together with colleagues from ASEM and ULIM, as well as from several universities in Ukraine, took part in the discussions on issues related to dual education for undergraduate programs in the field of Computer Science and Logistics.
Akademia WSB ranks 5th out of the 550 international universities in Poland, with 15 faculties, over 126 study programs, and over 1000 students from 65 countries.
During the visit, the participants were guided by the head of the Directorate for International Cooperation – Paweł URGACZ and the head of the International Bureau – Dominika CZERNIAK. The visitors were also greeted by prof., Dr. Katarzyna SZCZEPAŃSKA-WOSZCZYNA – dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences / deputy rector for Science and Education, and Dr. Rafał RĘBILAS – deputy rector for International Cooperation, WSB University.
Some of the particularly interesting and informative presentations of the hosts from WSB University were: Practical education, cooperation with business partners and the legal framework of dual education at WSB University, presenter Dr. Rafał RĘBILAS; Models of dual education at WSB University, presenter prof., Dr. Katarzyna SZCZEPAŃSKA-WOSZCZYNA; Practical education in the context of the academic quality assurance system, presenter Dr. Sabina RATAJCZAK, director of the Quality Assurance Center / deputy rector for Innovation, WSB University; Dual education in Logistics and IT programs at WSB University, presenter Dr. of Medical Sciences Patrycja Mickiewicz, faculty coordinator, and Aleksandra Tyszkiewicz-Staniowska, project manager.
The presentations focused on highlighting the benefits of dual education, namely: providing businesses with highly trained specialists in the fields needed by companies, as well as offering students a real opportunity to learn directly from business practice; greater employment opportunities after graduation, etc.
Each Bachelor’s program implies, first of all, the elaboration of the study program concept based on the direct needs of the groups of employers, indicating an optimal combination between theoretical and specialized content that allows graduates to acquire the skills needed in the labor market. The programs would also include a large number of practical forms of study, such as workshops, laboratories, visits to companies, frequent meetings with company representatives, training offers in specialized fields with the possibility of obtaining certification, and, last but not least – teachers that work within companies, which make up 60% of the whole teaching staff.
The practical models of study include several concepts, such as: student-centered education, problem-based learning (PBL), student projects based on practical applicability, cognitive science and human-machine interface, etc.
Several dual education models are approved at WSB University:
- Three days at the University, two at the company;
- 50% of the study process takes place at the University, and 50% – internships at companies.
It is worth mentioning that students complete internships every year, but, by choosing a dual program, they are accepted by companies starting with their third year at university, and the internship takes place at a different company each time. Thus, the acquired skills are more diverse and the student has the opportunity to explore and decide where he would like to work.
The participants were also taken to the Krakow Technology Park – Hub4Industry, namely the ASTOR Robotics Center, where they had the opportunity to get acquainted with the most modern and high-performance solutions in the field of Industrial Robotic Manipulators, developed by Kawasaki.
The topics addressed during the visit are particularly important for TUM, as dual education will be implemented in the undergraduate programs Automatics and Informatics and Robotics and Mechatronics, which are based on the latest scientific information, on the most innovative technologies in the respective field, and which require expensive specialized equipment that can usually be found in companies.
More information about COOPERA can be found on http://coopera-project.ase.md/ and https://www.facebook.com/coopera.project.Moldova and on the COOPERA page of TUM https://proiecte.utm.md/coopera/.
