She runs a package called Open and Inclusive Campus, which aims to open 70 courses for students and employees of the participating universities. How does she perceive the alliance and what do our students gain by going on a study visit or internship? She replied in an interview.
VSB-TUO together with partners from the U!REKA Alliance of European Universities succeeded in the European Commission's challenge with the U!REKA Shift project, which is divided into seven parts, the so-called packages. You specifically run the WP4 package. But what were your beginnings on the team?
I have been active at U!REKA since 2023, taking over the leading role of the WP4 package last year. Its goal is student mobility and implementation of a common campus.
Do you already have an idea of what a common campus will look like?
The common campus, which can be imagined as an interactive website where students will be able to choose from many courses offered by individual alliance partners, is starting to take on a concrete form, because IT specialists have also been involved in its development, who know more precisely what we can and cannot afford. In the beginning, the campus will be relatively trimmed, but later it will start to grow.
What will interested parties find in it?
Not only students but also staff will be able to apply to the campus. We will offer courses, courses and subsequently perhaps mobility. We have a huge commitment within the U!REKA Alliance, which assumes that 50% of all students will participate in mobility among its members. If it was only about physical long-term mobility, it would not even be possible, fortunately there are also short-term mobility, thanks to which students can participate, for example, in BIP (BIP – Blended Intensive Programme, it is also possible to say that it is a program with short-term mobility and virtual part), which can also take place virtually. VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava supports this a lot.
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Sustainability is also one of the goals of U!REKA. How does it fit into a virtual campus?
It is important that what we come up with as part of this project can be used repeatedly and in the long term and not just for one-off consumption. As part of the alliance, we also agreed that students of all participating universities will have a subject in their study plans that will familiarize them with sustainability in their field.
What platform will the common campus run on?
It will run in Wordpress. Those interested will find a link to it not only on the U!REKA website, but also on the websites of VŠB – Technical University of Ostrava and all other partners. In the first phase, it will serve primarily as a catalogue of courses.
So something like our LMS, the Learning Management System?
Not exactly. Rather, think of it as a filtering page, where candidates will have preset various offers that universities have prepared for them within their field of study. We try to develop the common campus in a way that makes it as user-friendly as possible.
I can't help asking. Most of our U!REKA partners are focused on applied sciences, while we are a technical university. What can we offer within the alliance in this respect?
I don't think VŠB-TUO would be too different. Like us, our U!REKA partners are also involved in technical fields, but they are more focused on practice, while we are focused on research. We have more experience with research projects, which is something we can offer them. For example, our partner U!REKA universities also have a different approach to education, students learn much more interactively, in the form of different projects they develop. This can be interesting for our students and teachers.
We have mentioned 50% of all students' mobility. It is common knowledge among our students that it is difficult for technical students to go abroad. Is it different at other U!REKA universities?
What is important is that students find similar subjects at foreign universities, which are then approved by their home university. For example, the Portuguese IPL has faculties with a much similar focus as our university. In general, however, students of the EKF travel more than students from technical faculties. It is much easier for them to find similar subjects as they have in their study plan at home.
So what do technical students gain from mobility?
Studying or interning abroad has huge benefits for them too. They can learn different approaches, get a different perspective on the same issue. Teachers can already start to make that change, for example by travelling themselves and sharing their knowledge and experience with colleagues from Portugal, Germany or Finland. Because that's what the alliance of European universities U!REKA is about.
What else will U!REKA bring to our university?
Definitely diversity. Different subjects, different knowledge, different ways of working and thinking. Each of those universities works differently, thinks differently. It will give students and employees broader mobility opportunities, they will be able to establish cooperation, share experiences and knowledge. U!REKA also brings a certain cultural perspective. I think that a multicultural environment is very important. It will open your eyes that things can be done in different ways, and yet we can achieve the same, equally good, result.
U!REKA SHIFT ends in 2027. Where do you see U!REKA and your package in those two years?
The way I see it, as part of the WP4 package, we will have our online campus, which will be fully functional for students and employees, and will include a wide range of courses, courses and other options that will make a significant contribution to the higher quality of their education or career, choosing courses, courses that will be beneficial to them. As for the whole project and other packages, you have to ask others about that - a decoy for the continuation of a series of interviews.