9th edition of the mentoring program “Spread Your Wings”
Developing the intellectual potential of students, supporting their scientific and personal development, as well as providing individual mentoring support from academic teachers - these are the main objectives of the Mentoring Program "Spread Your Wings". The program is addressed to the best secondary school graduates, undertaking studies at the Silesian University of Technology.
This is the 9th edition of this project. So far, 102 students of our University have participated in it. The participants are students who were winners of the competition for the “Golden Index of the Silesian University of Technology” or achieved a high position in recruitment.
- We offer a very rich support within this program. Students can count on various types of cooperation within the university, but also national, international, scientific, or industrial support. But most importantly, they receive the excellent care of our mentors. After so many editions, we can confidently say that our mentors are extremely experienced and know better how to lead young people so that on the one hand they can develop their careers and on the other hand participate in the scientific development of our University – said the Rector of the Silesian University of Technology, Prof. Marek Pawełczyk.
- The “Spread Your Wings” program is very important for us, because it brings together the most talented young people, who are scattered throughout the University, in different faculties and fields of study. Therefore, every month we organize various events for them, during which they can exchange experiences or even plan joint projects – adds the Vice-Rector for Student Affairs and Education, Prof. Anna Chrobok.
The meetings are an opportunity not only to integrate, but also to develop soft skills, extremely desirable on the labour market.
- Students learn teamwork and presentation of projects as well as how to use their competences in everyday life. It is important for the student to be able to assimilate and create his or her skills and knowledge to the needs that he or she meets in his or her professional life – emphasizes Grażyna Maszniew, Director of the Studies Service Centre, which is responsible for the implementation of the program.
This year, 12 students have been beneficiaries of the “Spread Your Wings” program. A scientist dealing with a subject that interests the student became their own mentor.
- What is very valuable in this program is the fact that we can work with the most talented students with whom we share common scientific interests - emphasizes Dr. Hab. Eng. Konrad Tudyka, Prof. SUT. from the Division of Geochronology and Environmental Isotopes at the Institute of Physics.
- I am glad that thanks to participation in the program I will be able to develop my interests in the field of nuclear physics, especially because after graduation I would like to continue my scientific career, so building my competences, gaining experience and knowledge is also very important for me - says Marta Banaś, student of The First Year of Technical Physics.
- Participation in this project is for me an opportunity to develop also outside the field of study and a chance to do something additional - adds Filip Niedziela, a first-year student at the Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering.
As the student’s mentor Dr. Hab. Eng. Jarosław Kozuba, Prof. SUT from the Department of Air Transport emphasizes, acquiring theoretical knowledge is very important, but not enough. – Equally important is the acquisition of practical skills. Acquiring them at the desired level is possible primarily in the creation and implementation of projects. This program offers such an opportunity – emphasizes Prof. Kozuba.
- At first, young people undertaking studies find it difficult to find themselves in the maze of information or activities at the University, so our role is to direct and then use their potential - says Dr Eng. Piotr Rzepka from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, who, together with his student Jan Szaniewski, will deal with issues related to the integration of renewable energy sources. - I think that this is a great opportunity for me, because apart from a normal program of studies, I can gain knowledge from topics not developed more widely in the study plan, which will be useful for me in the future and help to improve my competences - emphasizes the student.
The “Spread Your Wings” program has been implemented at the Silesian University of Technology since 2017; many scientists are taking part in it once again.
- The program is also implemented in academic secondary schools of the Silesian University of Technology. It happens that students who took part in it in secondary school later implement it at the University – says Dr Eng. Bożena Wieczorek from the Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science. - The benefits of this program are huge. First of all, we meet young people and talk, discuss, we can exchange information and knowledge. We also write together articles for didactic journals, sometimes also for scientific and didactic ones. So, they will also get to know this whole workshop of writing articles, which can be helpful when writing later an engineering or master’s thesis. They will learn the research workshop, i.e. how to conduct experiments, how to perform them, how to describe them later, so this is something that will be useful for them in the future - emphasizes Dr Eng. Bożena Wieczorek.
The program is implemented throughout the period of the first-degree studies.
