The TUL proposal Improvement of qualifications and competence of Lodz University of Technology personnel who perform teaching duties (Podniesienie kwalifikacji I kompetencji kadry prowadzącej dydaktykę w Politechnice Łódzkiej) was awarded 1.88 million złoty, whereas the total budget of the project is 1.93 million złoty.
The primary goal of the project is to strengthen the capacity of Lodz University of Technology. Project activities, which are scheduled from June 2024 to November 2026, will result in the advancement of modern teaching and learning methods, digital competence, green transformation, universal design, as well as assessment and evaluation. 341 individuals will benefit from the process geared towards the improvement of qualifications and competence.
‘In this project, the spotlight is on multidirectional efforts geared towards adapting teaching and learning methods to the demands of the dynamically evolving world. Digital revolution, the development of artificial intelligence, issues of social isolation, challenges we as humanity face with regard to the environment require an awareness and a conscious approach from engineers, which altogether has a tremendous impact on the way we educate students and shape their attitudes’, says Rector Professor Krzysztof Jóźwik, who coordinates the project implementation.
Activities selected for the project accommodate the needs of teaching staff, ranging from training on problem- and project-based methods, e.g. Project/Problem-Based Learning, Challenge-Based Learning, and the case method. The training will be conducted by specialists from universities and international experts. They will be delivered in different modes from traditional classroom-based courses to distance training to summer schools that, by definition, require concentrated effort.
‘We intend to emphasize learner-centered forms of education and to consider the well-being of project participants. The training offerings will therefore include activities to develop teaching staff’s coaching and mentoring skills. Special attention will be given to novice teachers: we will try to provide them with the fundamental instruments of student activization and motivation before, during, and after classes’, Vice-Rector for Education TUL prof. Andrzej Romanowski adds.
Another goal of the project is to prepare educators to convert traditional classes and teaching materials into digital resources. They will be shown how to take advantage of artificial intelligence, their attention will be drawn to areas of their work that can be automated or shifted to an e-learning platform.
‘We expect to learn a lot from our colleagues at British and Australian universities, especially about sustainable development, the implementation of the Green Deal, and doing research in the area of education’, the Vice-Rector points out.
Project participants will take part in study visits to learn about the mechanisms and issues incorporated into degree programs’ curricula to advance green transformation and universal design. They will also be introduced to innovative tools to measure, collect, analyze, and report learner data in different contexts, which is another important competence- and qualification-developing component of the project. These experiences will be help formulate recommendations for universities concerning the improvement of the quality of education and reducing dropout rate among university students.