Search for European Projects

Virtual and Intensive Course Developing Practical Skills of Future Engineers
Start date: Dec 1, 2016, End date: May 31, 2019 PROJECT  FINISHED 

VIPSKILLS project responds to an increasing need for changes in the higher education system due to developments in the construction sector, availability of ICT technologies, need for higher mobility and employers’ expectations.Preliminary research about the competences of graduates of technical universities showed inability to conduct comprehensive analysis taking into account different aspects: technical, economic ecological, social, climatic and legal to choose the best energy effective solution. Nowadays, creative thinking, language skills and ability to cooperate are indispensable to work in the international labour market. Engineers working in the area of construction and energy systems are expected to be not only designers solving their own tasks but also energy advisors, who share their knowledge with investors to decrease energy consumption.To achieve the aim of the project a cohesive consortium with active involvement of 3 HEIs and one association of engineers was established. All partners understand inevitability of changes in the study programmes and have wide experience in different areas related to the high-efficiency suitable buildings and energy resources. Joint work and participation in 3 short trainings, each for 16 teachers from the partnership, will enable the exchange of knowledge about constructions, energy resources and innovative heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems. It will also contribute to the creation of a long-lasting network of cooperation in the field of teaching and research.We will create an innovative learning module including two segments of a face-to-face course (2 weeks in Poland and 2 weeks in Spain) separated by a 2-week-long e-learning part. Our ideas, tools and methods will be tested on two groups of 24 students each (8 students from each HEI, from faculties connected with civil, environmental, energy engineering) in summer 2017 and 2018 to verify and evaluate them after each edition of the course. VIPSKILLS project focuses on the necessity to exploit benefits of ICTs. We will use modern software during classes and a distance learning module. We will develop at least 4 e-labs that will provide remote access to the equipment and/or will allow to simulate operation of systems depending on external variables. The project supports personalized learning by providing additional e-materials for individual use as well as cooperation in international, multidisciplinary teams on joint projects. All products verified during the courses (syllabus of the course, didactic and e-learning materials, e-labs, e-dictionary, results of analyses conducted within the project in 4 languages) will be delivered and available for free on the VIPSKILLS web page. We will also provide a book in printed version (to be sent free of charge to libraries of 30 HEIs) and as an e-book available on the web page. The innovative VIPSKILLS module will be included in our HEIs programmes and offered to students from various universities as a facultative subject (6 ECTS). The implementation of this module will allow to enhance the attractiveness of technical studies, complement the programme with modern ICT technology achievements and make the teaching content more consistent with the practical aspects to prepare graduates to work in the demanding international labour market. Participants of VIPSKILLS project (students, teachers) will improve their language, computer and interpersonal skills, raise their multicultural awareness and specialist knowledge. Employers taking part in joint meetings will find HEIs as opened for cooperation with business and industry in many fields (joint case-studies, trainings etc.)In the future, VIPSKILLS module that is open for new technologies and flexible to information from the labour market will much better prepare students for future tasks, and thus will contribute to the development of the economy.We will organize at least 6 multiplied events in 3 partner countries, to promote results of VIPSKILLS project and ERASMUS+ ideas at various levels. We will encourage high school students to apply for technical studies that guarantee good preparation for future work. We will also disseminate the results among students, teachers and scientists – we will share our outputs, facilitate access to materials that will be helpful in different disciplines and courses. The results of the project will also be submitted to the executives of HEIs to inspire them to further improvements in educational process and show possibility to adopt the syllabus of VIPSKILL course to their requirements and capabilities.Moreover, we will disseminate the results of our analysis among citizens to improve their technical knowledge about highly-efficient systems and materials in buildings etc. to make them more environmentally conscious, which hopefully will result in larger use of modern innovative solutions, reduction in energy consumption and decrease of greenhouse gasses emission.
Up2Europe Ads

Coordinator

Details

3 Partners Participants