It pays off to be a pioneer
In the Education and Congress Centre of the Silesian University of Technology, a two-day IX Conference on Dual Education – EDUAL took place.Dual studies, which currently have more than 100 students at our University, have a rich history.
The event was attended by, among others, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education Prof. Marek Gzik, the Rector of Silesian University of Technology, Prof. Dr Hab. Eng. Marek Pawełczyk, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Dr Hab. Eng. Marcin Adamiak, Prof. SUT, as well as Dr Hab. Rafał Żelazny - the President of the Management Board of the Katowice Special Economic Zone, which has been cooperating with the Silesian University of Technology since the very beginning in creating dual directions.
- “Science in Silesia has a special dimension. Here, economic and energy transformation is also associated with close cooperation between science and business.” - says Prof. Gzik. – “Dual education at the Silesian University of Technology is a very good exchange of experience and, above all, preparation of the high-level education process, which is a response to the expectations of the industry. This, in turn, ensures that a large percentage of educated young people will find employment in the field they dreamt of. It is also a benefit for the industry, as they will be experienced graduates with the competencies that the industry expects.”
This is the tenth year in which dual studies are present at the Silesian University of Technology. Our university was the first in Poland to launch it. The studies are currently being carried out in the field of mechanics and mechanical engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, where more than 100 people are currently studying.
- “I remember the beginnings of dual studies at the Silesian University of Technology. It was an idea that raised many concerns. We were pioneers, and to this day we are a university that dominates the field of dual studies. That is why representatives of other universities and industry come to us to learn, to watch and to draw also from our experiences.” – explains the Rector. - “These beginnings were not easy, because they are very difficult studies. They require the involvement of serious partners who not only welcome our students but devote an exceptionally long time to educating them. I am glad that for so many years we have maintained the concept of dual studies, and I think that this program at the Silesian University of Technology will be developed further.”
Dr. Hab. Eng. Anna Timofiejczuk, Prof. SUT presented the ten-year history of dual studies in her lecture “10 years of experience in dual education at the Silesian University of Technology.”
- “The decision to create dual studies was great and at that time it was much ahead of the direction of development of education at universities” - says Dr. Hab. Eng. Anna Timofiejczuk, Prof. SUT. – “Similar studies in technical fields were taught at two other universities at that time, but they were conducted completely differently. Then we launched a completely new field of study. In addition, many interesting initiatives were born in connection with the dual studies. In addition, it was also a reason for our teaching staff to constantly learn, improve their competences, look for new opportunities and cooperate with our industrial partners”.
Dual studies are a form of education in which the student takes classes in lecture halls and at the same time takes an internship in companies. The recruitment process is specific, because it starts with a meeting of candidates with representatives of future employers who offer internships, possibly employment during studies, and only then the recruitment to the university takes place. A graduate of dual studies through a much larger number of internship hours in industry or working in industry, is a person with extensive professional experience.
- “I consider this choice to be good and future oriented. Studies are not the easiest by accumulating large material in a short time. However, it pays off due to the opportunity to gain a lot of practical and specialist knowledge through presence in companies, which allows us to gain good professional qualifications” – explains Eryk Dec, a second-year student of dual studies.
“I didn’t originally plan to study in dual mode, but now I don’t regret that choice. In a short time, we get a large dose of knowledge, and then we can learn real engineering work in companies. There we face real tasks, which allows us to gain a lot of experience” – says Mateusz Liszka, a student of the first year of dual studies.
This year’s Conference on Dual Education – EDUAL was combined with a meeting with SEFI, the European Association of Engineering Education. The theme of the event was “Transformation of engineering education for sustainable development.” The first day was connected with discussion panels and speeches prepared by invited guests: President SEFI, Dr Balazs Nagy of Budapest University of Technology and Economics and Deputy Director of Aalborg Centre for PBL in Engineering Science and Sustainability under the auspices of UNESCO, which is an associate partner of EURECA-PRO, Prof. Aida Guerra from Aalborg University in Denmark.
“This is an important conference, not only for our Faculty, but also for the whole University. In their speeches, our guests pointed to the important role of additional soft skills, such as group work, PBL projects and Challenge based Learning, in which students solve real problems that they may encounter in reality in industry”. – explains the Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.
The second day of the conference was dedicated to young people from secondary schools. The participants visited laboratories at the university, had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the offer of science clubs, take part in workshops and listen to lectures, including “Why choose dual studies”, prepared by Dr Hab. Eng. Janusz Mazurkiewicz, Prof. SUT (coordinator of MIBM ( mechanics and mechanical engineering ) dual field of studies) and Dr Eng. Magdalena Zorychta-Tomsia (supervisor of the first year of the MIBM dual studies). The CEK auditorium was also attended by graduates of dual studies who shared their impressions.
- “It was a very good decision. During interviews, employers looked at my candidacy in a completely different way. In addition, I still work in the company where I was on an internship at the second-degree studies” - says the MSc Eng. Barbara Przybyła, a graduate of dual studies I and II degree. – “It is a demanding model of study, but extremely interesting and unique. I would definitely recommend it to everyone.”
