Department of Geoengineering and Raw Materials Extraction

On June 12-16, an Education and Training Visit was held at the University of Alicante (UoA, Spain) within the framework of the "Geomatics for Disaster Risk Reduction" (GeoDRR) Erasmus E+ Project. Silesian University of Technology (SUT) is the Leader of this Project. The Project is managed by the Department of Geoengineering and Raw Materials Extraction (DoGaRME), and its Lead Coordinator on behalf of SUT is Dr. Krzysztof Tomiczek, from DoGaRME (Department of Mining, Safety Engineering and Industrial Automation - DoMSEaIA). Staff of the Department of Safety Engineering (DoSE, DoMSEaIA) also participate in the Project.

The Project involves 10 Partners: 6 universities from Southeast Asia (Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia), universities from Greece and Spain, and a consulting group from Luxembourg. The Project has been implemented since 3 years; the Project Coordinator since 2022 is Dr. Krzysztof Tomiczek. The goal of the Project is to launch a 2nd degree study "Geomatics for Disaster Risk Reduction" (GeoDRR) at 6 South Asian Universities, including the necessary laboratory equipment. In addition to coordination, management, managerial and administrative activities, the Silesian University of Technology, together with European universities and a consulting company, conducts training activities for Asian Partners and promotional activities as part of the GeoDRR Project.

The GeoDRR Project is a difficult and challenging project. This is due to the number of Partners, the complexity and diversity of undertaking activities, the distance between Partners, and independent external factors (the C19 pandemic, the geopolitical situation in Europe and Asia - the war in Ukraine, broken supply chains, the increase in apparatus prices). Asian Partners are challenging Partners - some universities are highly ranked on the Shanghai list. Since Dr. Krzysztof Tomiczek took over the coordination of the GeoDRR Project, from 2022, complementary and corrective actions have been introduced to make up for the delays in the implementation of tasks in the Project, resulting also from certain competence, organizational and logistical problems.

May 4, 2023. the Project received, based on the Mid-term / Interim technical report submitted by the Coordinator, an EACEA E+ rating of "GOOD".

2 weeks before the meeting in Alicante (ES), due to a sudden and serious illness, the trip of the Coordinator Dr. Krzysztof Tomiczek was impossible. Despite the concerns of the Coordinator, both the meeting in Alicante and the implementation of the Project for 3.5 weeks went well and smoothly.

This was influenced by prior detailed planning and appointment of potential representatives, the already functioning mechanisms for Project activities, and the trust built within the GeoDRR Partners Team. The schedule for the Alicante meeting had been set for several months, the program for 4, the potential representatives of Coordinator for 2, and the previously prepared presentations with voiceover.

The undesirable circumstances were accompanied by quite interesting cultural experiences. In addition to well wishes from colleagues from the SUT, wishes from foreign Project Participants came in waves, including information about prayers, both from Partners with predominantly Christian and Islamic faiths. Despite the physical and online absence of the Coordinator, he managed to " give" 2 presentations - files with pre-prepared voiceover.

The meeting in Alicante in place of Dr. Krzysztof Tomiczek was moderated by Prof. Sergio Molina-Palacios and Cristina Beans (UoA ES), and the Project Managers' meeting was chaired, also in place of Dr. Krzysztof Tomiczek - by Prof. George Hloupis (Uniwa GR).

The time of the visit was from morning to late afternoon with lectures, simulation trainings, trainings, laboratory activities and field laboratories. Spanish lecturers and researchers were the main presenters, in accordance with the fact that the organizers always take the main role in the event.

During the meeting, 4 lectures were presented by staff of the SUT as part of the training sessions: PhD Krzysztof Tomiczek (pre-sent voiceover file) and PhD Krzysztof Słota (online transmission, DoGaRME), DSc Anna Bluszcz and DSc Katarzyna Tobór-Osadnik ("in real mode", DoSE, DoMSEaIA, SUT).

The meeting in Alicante was visited by all Partners, with the full, maximum possible participation declared in the Project proposal. This also indicates the good direction of the implemented activities.

The meeting, training and coaching went smoothly and in a good, cheerful atmosphere, which sends a positive message for the future.

Photos are here.