The finals of the 20th National Olympiad of German Language
At the Silesian University of Technology, the final of the 20th National Olympiad for students of Technical Universities took place. The aim of the event is to promote the German language and culture among students of technical universities. The winner of the Olympiad was a student of the Silesian University of Technology Nikodem Kałusek.
On behalf of the Rector of the Silesian University of Technology, the participants were welcomed by Prof Beata Orlińska, who read the letter addressed to the organizers and participants.
- On behalf of the entire Silesian University of Technology community, I would like to express my sincere congratulations and appreciation for the professional preparation of this unique event. The jubilee nature of the Olympiad underlines its importance in promoting language competence among future engineers. In today’s world, where innovation and technology cross national borders, foreign language skills are becoming a key tool in professional work, international projects and building a position on the global market. The event perfectly fits this need, giving the opportunity to develop skills that are necessary in the modern economy - said the Rector of the Silesian University of Technology Prof. Marek Pawełczyk.
The organizer of the National Olympiad of German Language is the Team of German language teachers of the Foreign Languages Centre at the Silesian University of Technology. This is one of the most important events organized by this unit.
- The first edition of the Olympiad took place in 2015. The originator of the event is the former management of SJO (Foreign Languages Centre) in the persons of Barbara Zioło (head of SJO), Anna Gaj (deputy head of SJO) and Weronika Tyslik (teacher at the German language team). In this way, we wanted to promote learning German language among students and PhD students, because it is always worth knowing the language of a neighbour, especially one with whom we have a broad cooperation. In addition, German, after English, is the second foreign language spoken by non-native speakers,” says Dr Małgorzata Rachwalska-Mitas, Director of the Foreign Languages Centre.
Knowledge of a second foreign language is an important asset in today’s world. English is something that is obvious, especially for young people, but it is the knowledge of a second foreign language that is a kind of added value, both during learning and in later professional life – says Gabriela Szeviola, a German language teacher from the Foreign Languages Centre at the Silesian University of Technology.
As Dr Marcin Tyslik, Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany in Gliwice emphasizes, Germany is our largest economic partner and therefore mastering this language significantly increases our qualifications. Knowledge of a language is also knowledge of the culture of a country. This certainly helps in professional contacts, convinces contractors and employers – emphasized the Consul.
This year, 27 students from 12 universities qualified for the finals of the 20th National Olympiad of German Language for students of Technical Universities.
- The first stage takes place at the parent universities. Everyone passes the same test on the same day at the same time. Then the final takes place at the Silesian University of Technology - says Dr Małgorzata Rachwalska-Mitas, Director of the Foreign Languages Centre.
Among the finalists was Patryk Stasik from Rzeszów University of Technology. – I work in a company where we have clients from all over Europe, so knowing not only English, but also German is very useful to me – he says.
The winner of the Olympiad was a student of our University - Nikodem Kałusek.
- I took part In the Olympiad because it is a chance for me not only to establish contacts with German language, but also to test my knowledge in this area" - emphasizes the winner.
In this year’s final of the 20th National Olympiad of German Language for students of Technical Universities, the winners were:
1st place: Nikodem Kałusek, Silesian University of Technology
2nd place: Krzysztof Feretz, AGH University of Science and Technology
3rd place: Mikołaj Cichocki, Łódź University of Technology
