Guests from the Hasselt University at the Silesian University of Technology
Between the 17th and 20th of March, a group of employees from the University of Hasselt – a partner of our University within the EURECA-PRO consortium - was hosted at the Silesian University of Technology.
The schedule of the visit included many meetings, during which the guests had the opportunity to meet with the employees of the Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering and EHTIC, the Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering, the Faculty of Chemistry, the Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science, the Faculty of Civil Engineering, the Biotechnology Centre, and the management of the Doctoral School, the College of Studies, the Development Office and the Project Management Centre. The guests also had a meeting with the Rector Prof. Dr Hab. Eng. Marek Pawełczyk.
The delegation consisted of: Patricia Hellriegel, Wim Ectors, Evelien Polders, Hélène Dirix, Pieter Meyns, Raf Meesen, Jean-Michel Rigo, Kathleen Sanen, Britte Vanlessen, Jeroen Put.
During the visit, issues related to the strategy of development of management structures of the European University EURECA-PRO consortium, adoption of legal personality, scientific cooperation, including joint Horizon Europe projects, joint educational initiatives, including joint fields of study, PBL projects, double diplomas and doctorates, cooperation of student governments and many others were discussed.
At the Faculty of Energy and Environmental Engineering Prof. Dr Hab. Eng. Wojciech Adamczyk told the guests about the research topics of the unit, presented the equipment of the Biomedical Engineering Laboratory, and discussed the possibilities of cooperation in the field of bioengineering as well as on joint research projects.
The next meeting was held between representatives of the Faculty of Transport and Aviation Engineering with guests from Hasselt University, specifically the School of Transportation Sciences from this University. The meeting was an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences and identify opportunities for cooperation in the field of traffic and transport systems engineering, as well as to discuss study programs and academic exchange. The academic staff from the Faculty presented the profile of the unit’s activity, presented the visitors the hangar of the Silesian University of Technology and the airport’s equipment. The whole event was coordinated by the Vice-Dean for Student Affairs and Education Dr Hab. Eng. Damian Hadryś, Prof. SUT.
Other members of the delegation visited the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering to get to know the research facilities of the Laboratory of the Department of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials and to meet with the Dean of the Faculty Dr Hab. Eng. Marcin Adamiak, Prof. SUT. Dr. Eng. Anna Woźniak and Dr Eng. Oktawian Bialas talked about the equipment and capabilities of the laboratory. On Wednesday, students of this faculty presented workshop facilities and cars of the Silesian Greenpower Student Science Club.
The Faculty of Automatic Control, Electronics and Computer Science was visited twice. On Tuesday, in the Department of Data Science and Engineering, the head of the Department, Prof. Dr Hab Eng. Joanna Polańska hosted a part of the delegation. During the visit, there was an opportunity to discuss common research areas, exchange experiences and discuss possible cooperation in the future.
The next day, Dr Jeroen Put who is dealing with computer graphics and VR systems, visited the Department of Computer Graphics, Vision and Digital Systems, and the guest was welcomed by Dr Eng. Adam Świtoński and Dr Hab. Eng. Henryk Josiński.
Dr Jeroen Put also discussed the possibilities of cooperation with the Faculty of Civil Engineering with Dr Eng. Arch. Monika Sroka-Bizon and Dr Eng. Marcin Górski, Prof. SUT.
Dr Wim Ectors continued previous discussions and work related to the development of specialized drones for the purposes of diagnostics of civil engineering structures with Dr Hab. Eng. Roman Czyba and Dr Eng. Marcin Górski, Prof. SUT.
At the same time, a group of five guests had the opportunity to visit the Faculty of Biomedical Engineering and EHTIC in Zabrze. The team of employees under the leadership of the Director of the European HealthTech Innovation Centre, Dr Hab. Eng. Marcin Kaczmarek met with the guests presenting laboratory facilities and discussing common research areas.
On Wednesday, the following issues were discussed at the meeting in the College of Studies:
- the important role of an attractive educational offer so that it is competitive in relation to other, closely located, large academic centres,
- the future of such forms of education as project and problem-based learning.
- micro credentials as a new university offer.
The guests were welcomed by the Director of the College of Studies, Professor Beata Orlińska.
On Thursday, March 20, the Doctoral School hosted Prof. Dr. Jean-Michel Rigo, Director of the School of Doctors Health and Life Science of the UH. During the meeting, each of the parties presented the general assumptions of the functioning of the doctoral school. The discussion focused in particular on the directions of future cooperation, including:
- Visit of SUT Doctoral School staff in UHasselt as part of a job shadowing,
- invitation of UH representative to Staff Week, co-organized by Doctoral School,
- Inviting UH researchers to conduct intensive courses for PhD students, implemented as part of the NIH4DS project,
- presentation of the assumptions of the developed database of research topics, intended for implementation in international cooperation.
The meeting was an opportunity to exchange experiences and establish new opportunities for cooperation.
Also on Thursday, Professor Rigo visited the Biotechnology Centre, where he met with Dr Eng. Danuta Gillner and Prof. Dr Hab. Marek Łos, and then went to a meeting with Dr Hab. Eng. Hanna Barchańska from the Department of Inorganic Chemistry, Analytical Chemistry and Electrochemistry of the Faculty of Chemistry.
