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Description
The main purpose of the Prof. A. Bukaluk visit at the University of Bergen is establishing contacts with the Staff of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The main area of interest for visitor, who is an experienced specialist in the physicochemistry of materials, will be the didactic process, and especially the interdisciplinary education in the area of natural sciences. The attention of Prof. Bukaluk will be focused on teaching mathematics, physics and chemistry to students of technical and natural fields of study. He is also interested in the use of modern teaching methods, such as problem-based teaching, design thinking, teaching-by-doing, using media techniques in the teaching process. The process of evaluating the quality of education will be also a subject of his interest, Meetings with the UiB academic staff, visits to didactic and research laboratories, will be good opportunity to transfer Norwegian good practices to educate students at UTP in Bydgoszcz.
Summary of project results
The primary purpose of the project study visit was to establish contacts with the Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Bergen. The main area of interest of the visiting Prof. Antoni Bukaluk, who is an experienced specialist in the physicochemistry of materials, is the didactic process, especially the interdisciplinarity of education in the area of natural sciences and the application of modern didactic methods in the educational process, such as problem-based learning, design thinking, teaching by doing, the use of media techniques in education, as well as the evaluation of the educational process. Meetings with academic staff, visits to teaching and research laboratories are the basis for using the Norwegian experience in educating students at UTP in Bydgoszcz. In his meetings with Prof. K. Ullaland and Prof. S. Eliassen, he discussed the strategic management model in operation at UiB, the interdisciplinary nature of education, and the link between the research activities carried out and student activity (projects carried out in laboratories, thesis work). Prof. Ullaland also provided detailed information on the methodology for accreditation of laboratories and labs, as well as cooperation in this regard with industry and national and international institutions. The change in the schedule of the visit from that originally planned did not affect the merits of the visit. Two participants took part in the visit, but only one person was scheduled to participate in the application. Due to the allocation of funds under the cost category "Organizational support - sending institution" in the amount of 1500 EUR, the Project Manager, in consultation with the university authorities, decided to allocate this amount for the trip to the University of Bergen. Thus, the university decided to carry out all administrative and financial activities at no cost, and the salaries of the staff handling the organization of the visit were not paid, and the amount due was decided to be used for "other costs necessary for the implementation of the visit", i.e. the Project Manager''s participation in the visit. In the short term, the visit to Bergen will allow modification of the functioning study programs in physics at the Technical University of Bydgoszcz. During the visit, it was proposed to sign a bilateral agreement UiB-PBŚ within the ERASMUS+.
Summary of bilateral results
Contact with Prof. Helge K. Dahle - then dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (MANAT) at the University of Bergen - was made at the proposal preparation stage. After learning that the project had been received, Prof. Bodil Holst of the Institute of Physics and Technology (IFT) was contacted and appointed as the contact person on behalf of UiB. She provided the most important information from the project''s point of view about the operation of the University, the MANAT Department and the IFT institute in the first two months of 2020. The visit to Bergen is jointly scheduled for April 2020. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, this trip did not take place, and in 2 years the visit to Bergen was planned 6 times and canceled at the last moment. During this time, Prof. Bukaluk was in contact by e-mail. Prof. Holst sent answers to questions and provided information on topics of interest. The university''s website also proved to be a very good source of information, as well as the teaching materials made available (e.g. study programs, course syllabi). As a result, over the course of two years, Prof. Bukaluk was able to obtain knowledge on topics of interest by correspondence. In this way, he learned about UiB''s research and teaching cooperation with CERN in Geneva, UiB''s participation in the Norwegian "Smart Ocean" program, and IFK''s role in the Norwegian space program (Birkeland Center for Space Science). Information on strategic management, on the other hand, provided an orientation to the university''s management system. The curricula of the subjects received (Quality Management, Quality in Analytical Methods, Data Analysis, Quality Assurance of Chemical Analyses) made it possible to get an idea of the modern teaching methods used. In preparing the visit in the period of 2-7.05. (canceled) and 13-17.06. the UiB staff was in current contact with Prof. Bukaluk. As a result, the visit to Bergen was perfectly planned and organized.