"Promotion and extension of innovation range
in the process of vocational training..."

Objective of the program, the Projects is related to:
"promotion and extension of innovation range in the process of vocational training..."

Priority in the given projects is giving value to learning

FIRST-STEP-TO-JOB

PROJECT SUMMARY

The project aims at giving the future engineers and economists professional experience to match their qualifications with the European market requirements on the free-market economy level. The trainees are last-year students of the Koszalin University of Technology – public university in the Polish region Middle Pomerania. The aim will be achieved by giving the students professional training for three months. The Mecklemburg-Vorpommern region is similar in many ways to the Middle Pomerania. The professional training with the companies in that region gives a great opportunity to see the results of the social-economic transformation, after German land had joined the European Community. There is very much probability of similar effects being seen in Poland. It gives great experience to become familiar with the terms of making professional careers for the local graduates.

The experience gained by the trainees, especially the system solution standards, and specific adaptation aspects, will be used in the Middle Pomerania region. The host institution SBW Aus- und Fortbildungsgesellschaft fuer Wirtschaft und Vervaltung mbH Schwerin has been specializing in economic initiative growth support on the German market for many years. As it is a shareholder in many small and medium enterprises in that region, it organizes professional training and stages in many companies, which are successful on the market. The professional training for the Polish students will last three months and starts in the academic year of 2004/2005.

BENEFICIARIES

Beneficiaries of the Project are final year students of regular daily studies at the Koszalin University of Technology from the following faculties: Economics and Management, Electronics, Construction Engineering and Civil Engineering, as well as Mechanical Engineering. These are young people who complete education on a higher level, just before starting their professional careers. The objectives of the Projects satisfy the beneficiaries’ needs for development in the professional scope for the verification of their knowledge. They provide an opportunity to improve their linguistic skills in the area of everyday-life communication and in the area of work done, with characteristic terminology in a given professional field.
They exert an influence upon the self-assessment of finding one’s way in a new environment and gaining experience in European companies of Mecklemburg-Vorpommern Region, in companies which well before Polish ones went through a transformation period connected with the adaptation to the condition of market economy and the EU. Experience, standards observed and other aspects of the adaptation process, will all be used by the students in the area of the Middle Pomerania. The experience gained will enable the beneficiaries to properly use knowledge for entrepreneurship and to compete in the opening Europe.

Criteria and procedure to select beneficiaries

Potential candidates for training will be selected from among final-year students on all the faculties of the Koszalin University of Technology. For the purpose of selection of trainees, regulations will be developed providing a three-level recruitment system. 1st recruitment stage: the faculty level. Members of the Committee appointed to select faculty candidates will define the recruitment criteria basing on a language test. A member of the staff of the English Teaching College will be in the Committee, as well. Obtaining a specified number of points will qualify the candidate to the second stage. The Committee will evaluate the candidate on the basis of the following criteria, with a proper number points assigned to each of them: the average of the grades on the studies, peacefulness, assertiveness, as well as predisposal to work in a new environment and motivation.
Candidates with the largest number of points from a faculty will create a faculty list and will go on to the third stage. The Committee on the level of Vice-Rector for Students, including also the chairmen of the faculty committees, will rank the candidates from the faculty lists in accordance with the score obtained by them during the faculty qualification. In this manner, a university list of those qualified for training and the reserve list will be created. The first 36 people are the list of those qualified, whereas the remaining ones constitute the reserve list.

GATEWAY2INNOWATION

PROJECT SUMMARY

The aim of the project is to gain experience by young staff and graduates in starting innovative enterprises, while taking into account the needs of regions and their future cooperation. The trainings will concern areas being the result of obvious and most urgent needs of an innovative development of the Region. They will concern the following subject areas, agreed upon with the authorities of the Region:
a) basic areas: eInformation including eContent, new solutions for transport and communications taking into consideration environment protection, with the use of mechatronics, adaptronics and visual communication;
b) horizontal areas: marketing and management, international cooperation in the abovementioned areas, together with a development of projects for UE Programs (i.e. structural founds).

Placements will be realized in European Innovative Incubators Network, chosen on the basis of their interest in above subject areas. The placements will be combined with horizontal activities, if necessary. Beneficiaries will realize their placements by participating in the process of creating innovative start-ups, i.e. by gaining knowledge and experience related to what and how to establish competitive company and how to be a partner for region's networking in enlarged EU. The placements will be realized with Promotor’s partners from FP5 EU-project Gate2Growth Incubator Forum.

DATA ON POLISH PARTNERS

It is important that the Project has gained support of the following local authorities:
1. The District Employment Agency in Koszalin
2. The District Office in Koszalin.
3. The Town Office in Koszalin.
4. The Marshal Office in Szczecin.

BENEFICIARIES

Beneficiaries of the Project are graduates of the Technical University of Koszalin and other higher universities with profiles compliant with the majors at the Koszalin University of Technology. These are people from Koszalin and Koszalin District, registered in the District Employment Agency in Koszalin, who after graduation have not yet taken any jobs and wish to improve their qualifications before starting a professional career. This will enable them to gain a proper professional, culture and language experience at home and abroad. Beneficiaries of the Project are also young employees, who have a minimum of one-year employment and are not working at present. These are also people who are working at present but wish to change or develop their professional skills. The jobs they represent are closely related with the profiles of the companies where they will undertake training. A participation in the Project will give the beneficiaries a possibility to check and verify their theoretical knowledge in practice, as well as an opportunity to establish relations with industrial, training and consultancy centers.

Criteria and procedure of the selection of beneficiaries

Potential candidates for trainings will be selected through the mediation of the District Employment Agency in Koszalin, from among the people registered with this Office, on the basis of interviews carried out by a board appointed for this purpose. The basic criterion for the selection will be the knowledge of a foreign language. The recruitment committee, which will included representatives of the District Employment Agency and the Technical University of Koszalin will verify the actual knowledge of the language on the basis of a test. After a positive result of the language test, the candidates will undergo further assessment with regard to the following criteria: diploma work grade, peacefulness, assertiveness, candidates predispositions to work in a new environment and his/her motivation to undertake new tasks. In the case of a positive evaluation on the part of all the people giving an assessment, a decision will be taken to refer the candidate abroad and to qualify him/her for a culture and language preparation organized by the Project’s coordinator. A balance will be kept between the number of men and women in the global number of the Project’s beneficiaries.

Common characteristics of the projects
FIRST-STEP-TO-JOB, GATEWAY2INNOWATION

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECTS

An overall objective of the project is to enable the beneficiaries to develop professional and language skills acquired on universities and in their jobs, learning ways of organization and functioning of companies in European Union, and then converting experience gained in this way into Polish conditions, in particular in the aspect of the adaptation of the Polish economy to the conditions in the European Union, as well as with respect to the possibility to be employed in the agencies or branches of European companies opened in Poland. As a consequence of this, the beneficiaries will increase their opportunities for employment. Beneficiaries become more open onto international cooperation, are able to find their place in the global market of products and services. They gain knowledge which will help them to quickly adapt to new and changeable work conditions, which is especially required in areas based on new and future branches of knowledge.

The Koszalin University of Technology, a state university in the Middle Pomerania Region, will strengthen its position through the promotion of graduates with experience gained abroad. It also gains better opportunities of international cooperation, including an opportunity to gain partners for other European programs. The University gains an opportunity to establish relations with industrial centers. Moreover, the University acquires educated graduates able to compete on new labor markets. Support from the EU funds will supplement the mission of the University in the area of education on a higher level. Co-partners to the Project from the area of Koszalin town and the district will gain educated and properly prepared staff able to start their own companies and to create new jobs, which counteracts the stagnation of the region. Organizations host gain trainees directed upon development and able to create new programs, methods and technological solutions. Activities run in the duration of the whole project are directed onto a practical implementation of theoretical skill, thus strengthening bonds between the sphere of education and economy.

Program of work foreseen for realization during the training/exchange
divided into groups

After getting acquainted with the structure of the host institution and a general introduction of the trainee in the company’s profile, the trainee will propose the team which is closest to the scope of his/her professional interests. After an approval by the foreign party, he/she will be assigned to such a team. The host organization assigns a supervisor to the beneficiary, with whom a detailed plan of the trainee’s work is agreed upon. The trainee will then receive a task to perform (whose scope will also be proposed by the trainee on the basis of initial mutual arrangements). He/she will be accounted for it at the end of the stay. This task may consist in e.g. a project to improve the management of a specific section of the company’s activities or a project to improve the production process. Work on the tasks will result from current needs of the host companies and will foresee a specified methodology of solution.

An outline of beneficiary’s tasks:

1. Initial getting acquainted with the profile of activities of the host organization with respect to gaining skills of work in a different culture..

2. Getting acquainted with the profile and tasks of the unit of the host organization, to which the beneficiary has been assigned.

3. Definition of the task to be carried out by the beneficiary (whose scope will be proposed by the trainee on the basis of initial mutual arrangements)

4. Developing with the beneficiary’s supervisor a detailed schedule of work

5. On-time implementation of the schedule of work and consulting its results with the supervisor.

6. The schedule of work and the assessment of its results will be enclosed to the beneficiary’s report.

7. Participation in various forms of activities of the host organization, in the perspective of a verification of theoretical knowledge in practice.

8. In spare time, an active participation in talks and meetings with the staff of the host organization.

A detailed plan to implement the training is subject to arrangements between the promoter and persons responsible on the side of host institutions. The arrangement in this area will comply with the standards and guidelines as accepted in the program. The training program jointly developed will be compliant with the beneficiary’s education and competences, as well as the company’s profile. The host and referring organizations will cooperate on a continuous basis in the realization of the objective of the training. The settlement of the task will consist in the beneficiary preparing a report and then a discussion and an assessment of its results by the host institution.

Manner and frequency of supervising the implementation of the training

With the full cooperation of the Koszalin University of Technology, the major role in the management of the Project will be played by the mediating institution: SWB Schwerin, a unit specialized in the organization of trainings, which holds an accreditation of the national government (Staatlich anerkante Einrichtung der Weiterbildung). This institution will be a partner in the contract with the beneficiary. It will undertake all the activities connected with the beneficiaries’ functioning abroad. SWB Schwerin will also conduct a continuous monitoring in Germany and will inform the Polish party about the progress made by the trainees. In the case of litigations or other situations posing a threat to the implementation of the Project, it will be undertaking interventional actions. The intermediary unit will provide up-to-date information about the course of the training to the Technical University of Koszalin and will consult the solutions of any problems arising.
The structure and statutory tasks of the Department of Science and Foreign Cooperation at the Koszalin University of Technology guarantee the realization of all logistic activities connected with going abroad.

Monitoring of the implementation of the program and beneficiaries’ progress

The supervision over the course of the training will be in the form of an assessment of its course and results by the host party and the promoter, made on the basis of reports drawn up by the beneficiaries. Current monitoring is foreseen as well through phone calls, communication over the Internet and visits to the place where trainings are being held, by authorized persons. The Project coordinator will participate jointly with the mediating institution in solving the problems reported by the beneficiaries, and will offer advice in the questions of solving the tasks related to the implementation of the work program.
Financial supervision will be conducted by the Bursar’s Office of the Koszalin University of Technology.

STRATEGY TO RECOGNIZE AND CONFIRM SKILLS ACQUIRED

After the completion of the training, students receive from the foreign partner diplomas in the form of a certificate issued to the participants of trainings in the EU countries. A necessary condition will be an approval of a report drawn up by the beneficiary after the completion of the task, both by the foreign partner and the promoter, submitted at the end of the stay abroad. As it is evident from experience gained so fat, most of those graduates who have done training abroad, have no problems finding work in the Region. Enclosed please find a certificate and an opinion issued by of the organizations hosting issued to a trainee from Poland.

PROCEDURE AND METHODS OF PROJECT’S ASSESSMENT

It is the beneficiaries who are first of all subject to an assessment. This assessment is made by the foreign partners and the promoter. The host institution will issue a certificate to the participants of the Project. Moreover, through a continuous contact with the graduate, an answer to the question: how much the foreign practice has helped the beneficiaries to obtain the long-term objective: finding a workplace in the Region, compliant with the qualifications obtained at the University, or starting business activity focused on cooperation with the EU countries – requires a longer period of time. On the basis of an evaluation by the Party inviting, the assessment will be made by the Promoter’s institution.
The training abroad should also be reflected in the students’ diploma dissertations. This constitutes an additional element of the correctness of the objectives of the Project.
Beneficiaries will carry out tasks agreed with the representative of the institution host – the supervisor. If necessary, the tasks and their deadlines will be adjusted on a continuous basis. The coordinator of the Project will be in a constant contact with the beneficiary and the supervisor.

PROMOTION AND DISSEMINATION

The Koszalin University of Technology, together with the District Employment Agency in Koszalin, will run promotional activities, whose objective will be to encourage as many people as possible to participate in the Project. Under the promotional activities, detailed information will be given concerning the selection criteria, conditions of stay and training, as well as principles of financing, culture and language preparation. The District Employment Agency has a lot of experience in gaining candidates for work abroad. The Marshal Office in Szczecin, the Town Office in Koszalin and the District Office in Koszalin will give content related and medial support. Participation of these offices will increase the effectiveness of the activities.
A professional success of the trainees will constitute the best form to promote the Project, both in the academic environment and in the Region. On the side of both the foreign partner and the Promoter, due to the priorities of enlivening cooperation between Euro-Regions, activities to inform local media about the objectives and the implementation of the Project are planned. Through contacts of scientific and didactic staff of the University with different centers, the Project implementation results will be disseminated in the academic environment. Moreover, a collection of beneficiaries’ reports from the training will be published in the “Na temat” University magazine. A report from the training and the effects achieved will be presented in official bulletins of the offices participating in the Project.