Socrates/Erasmus

This is a programme whose objective is to standardize curricula so that they could be recognized, to improve the quality of teaching and to jointly develop majors and teaching methods. Is has been implemented since the academic year of 1998/99.

Projects realized by the University in the year 2004, under the Erasmus Charter:

• An adaptation and making recognizable curricula in all the majors connected with regional development, through mobility actions (SM, TM, OM and ECTS), based on 35 bilateral agreements with 12 EU countries.

• Development of intense curricula (IP) in the areas connected with regional development: in the scope of building engineering (“European Construction Practice”, 5 partners, 4 EU countries) and relations between urbanization and tourism (“Urban Space and Tourism”, 7 partners, 5 EU countries)

• Development of curricula in Thematic Networks (TN), in areas of a global significance, such as: consumer society (“Consumer Citizenship Network”, 129 partners, 22 countries, 3 international organizations, like: UNESCO, IAU, the World’s Consumer Federation). A paper delivered in UNESCO head office in the year 2004, entitled “FP6 Sustainable Development and Towards the Knowledge-Based Society”), as well as relationships between teaching and research (“Teaching and Research in Engineering Education”, 15 partners, 22 countries).

The Koszalin University of Technology has been participating in SOCRATES-ERASMUS programme since it was made available, i.e. since the year 1998. For this purpose, in the academic year of 1997/1998, the University Contract was drawn up, and in the year of 1998/1999, our first students went to study in Spain (Universidad de Granada) and Portugal (Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa). Cooperation is based on Bilateral Agreements. There are 30 such agreements in 11 EU countries (and Turkey, starting from September 2004).
In the recent years, apart from traditional actions under Socrates: OM (Organization Mobility), SM (Student Mobility), TS (Teaching Staff Assignment), transferred at present to TM (Teaching Mobility), and preparation of ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) catalogues, the Koszalin University of Technology has joined European IP (Intensive Programme) projects, and 2 networks: CCN (Consumer Citizenship Network) and TREE (Teaching and Research in Engineering in Europe).

One of these programmes, entitled “European Construction Practice”, has successfully been realized by the Faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering for two years now. Last year, we received attention in Germany, won their trust, and so this Faculty was assigned with the task to organize workshops in the year 2004. For this very reason, in May 2004, a group of 20 students came to Koszalin in order to take part in a joint undertaking of seven European universities. Mr. Mariusz Meller, Ph.D. M.Sc. managed the preparation and organization works, while the dean of the Faculty, Mr. Szymon Pałkowski, Prof. Doctor Habilitated, M.Sc. supervised the total of works. Prof. Antero Stenius from Finland was the coordinator of the programme and the holder of the funds.

The following universities are participating in this project: Oulu Polytechnic (Finland), Fachhochschule Hildesheim/Holzminden/Göttingen (Germany), Kingston University (Great Britain), Technologiko Ekpeideftiko Idrima Pirea (Pireus – Greece), Universidad de Granada (Spain), Universitatea Technica din Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and the Koszalin University of Technology. 3 Fins, 3 Greeks, 4 Spanish, 5 Germans, 3 Romanians, 2 English and 6 academic teachers from these schools came to Koszalin.

The topic of the international student workshop is: “Management in Construction Engineering: European Practice”. The programme of the workshop comprised 60 hours of lectures and seminars, as well as of work in groups. The subjects of the activities concerned the following issues: running a construction business in the united Europe, an influence of the conditions in the environment in particular countries, barriers in free competition in building industry in Europe, quality in building industry, and the future of building industry in the common Europe.

After the completion of the classes, the students received a certificate of participation, signed by all the lecturers. The guests also had an opportunity of visit two seaside cities: Gdansk and Kołobrzeg.

In the year 2005, the workshop will be held in Spain.

More about Socrates/Erasmus:

http://llp-erasmus.tu.koszalin.pl/Erasmus1.htm
http://erasmus.org.pl/index.php/ida/56/
http://ec.europa.eu/