2nd International Congress on Education Quality [coverage]

Day 1

Meetings of Learning Communities

During the first day of the Congress, Meetings of Learning Communities were hosted at each of the universities belonging to the Consortium; in the form of workshops and presentations.

Our University hosted a meeting with Program Directors on the topic of "Program Management at the UE Katowice".

Meetings were focused on improving the teaching competencies of instructors and those who administratively support teaching quality implementation, upgrading tools for course design and implementation, introducing modern teaching methods promoting individualization of education, and analyzing good practice in the field of educational quality.

Day 2

Challenges of university education in a changing reality

Inauguration of the Congress

All gathered guests were welcomed during the official inauguration. Then, the Rectors and Vice-Rectors of the universities associated in the Consortium discussed what activities were held at the universities as part of the event.

Vice-Rector Prof. Sławomir Smyczek shared with all attendees conclusions after the meeting with Program Directors and Managers of our University:

For a whole week now, in Katowice, we have been implementing activities related to improving or promoting quality among our academic community. The purpose of meeting with Program Directors and Managers was primarily the exchange good practice in the implementation of the teaching policy of our University. In short, we define this strategy as the "4-Us" policy [...]

 

• The first U is "unaukowienie" (education), the transfer of knowledge from our University research and the involvement of students in scientific research.

• The second U is "unowocześnienie" (modernization), which means modern methods of teaching.

• The third U is about "upraktycznienie" (practicality); economics is by definition practical knowledge, which means including professionals in education, our strategic, business partners joining course curriculum boards, and finally building lasting relationships with our graduates.

• Finally, the last U, "umiędzynarodowienie" (internationalization), is the inclusion of foreign professors and students, the internationalization at home. All of the elements have been discussed and shared [...].

On the same day, expert discussions and a meeting of the Eurdesk representative with students took place. The Erasmus+ representative met with doctoral students and representatives of the doctoral governments of the universities affiliated with the Consortium.

Other panel discussions addressed important issues, such as the mechanism certifying the achievement of learning outcomes in specific practical skills, which is common in various European Union institutions.

The panel entitled "Procedures for assessing the quality of education - experiences of Polish Accreditation Committee (PKA)members and experts from Silesian universities" was attended by prof. dr hab. Grażyna Trzpiot.

Day 3

Education for Peace – International Experiences

During that day, there were numerous presentations of activities that the Consortium's institutions are undertaking or may undertake and intensify in the future to improve the quality of education in international cooperation. The overarching theme was the broadly understood notion of education in service for peace. Our University experts participated in the following panel discussions:

• Dr. Marcin Baron in "Impact - what does it mean? How to define and measure the impact of a university's activities on the socio-economic environment from the perspective of international accreditation standards and Ministry of National Education (MEiN) evaluations", chaired by Edyta Lachowicz-Santos, Director of Internationalization.
• Dr. Krystyna Mitręga-Niestrój and Edyta Lachowicz-Santos also presented in "Switching from ILOs to competencies."

The organizers of the International Congress on Quality of Education were the universities that are part of the Academic Consortium Katowice – City of Science:

• University of Silesia in Katowice,
• Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice,
• Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Katowice,
• Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice,
• Politechnika Śląska,
• Silesian University of Technology,
• University of Economics in Katowice.

Partners of the event:

• Silesian voivodeship,
• City of Katowice,
• Metropolis GZM,
• National Agency for Academic Exchange,
• Foundation for the Development of the Education System National Agency for the Erasmus+ Program and the European Solidarity Corps.

Honorary patrons of the Congress included:

• Minister of Education and Science,
• Minister of Culture and National Heritage,
• Minister of Health,
• Governor of the Silesian Voivodship,
• Marshall of the Silesian Voivodship,
• Mayor of the City of Katowice,
• Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland,
• Polish Accreditation Committee,
• National Agency for Academic Exchange,
• EuroScience.

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