Nicholas and Kaitlyn came from Halifax, Canada, in April 2025 to take their 2 month-long training within Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility programme.
They both study at the Department of Process Engineering and Applied Science, Dalhousie University (DAL) and the training could provide them with new experience and practical knowledge in process safety.
DAL and VSB-TUO have cooperated closely since 2023 and thanks to International Credit Mobility programme, the exchange of students and staff is funded by EU. It leads to closer research activities and serves as a perfect platform for sharing knowledge and experience.
Kaitlyn worked in the laboratory with 20-liter and 250-liter autoclaves under the supervision of Dr. Vojtěch Jankůj, an expert in explosion prevention and hydrogen safety. She designed experimental procedures for determining maximum explosion parameters and carried out a series of experimental measurements on dust samples based on corn starch and on gaseous mixtures containing hydrogen. The experimental work was preceded by a literature review focused on testing explosion parameters of dusts, gases, and hybrid mixtures.
Kaitlyn’s stay in the Czech Republic also had an important personal dimension. Her grandfather originally came from Krnov, and she therefore wished to get to know the country where he had lived. For Kaitlyn, her stay in Ostrava was her first trip to Europe, and she used her free time to visit historic cities, hike in Beskydy Mountains as well as to explore Czech culture and traditions.
Nicolas ‘training focused on CAD modeling and 3D printing using plastic and ceramic materials. He participated in the preparation and execution of measurements using the GASMAS method. He learned to measure carbon dioxide concentration based on spectroscopically based techniques. He also worked on modeling the combustion process using detailed chemical kinetics. The training was carried out under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Václav Nevrlý and his research team.
Both of them enjoyed their stay in Ostrava. They went cycling around Ostrava, tasted traditional dishes, and tried paddleboarding at Hlučín Lake.
Before their departure back to Canada, we interviewed Nick so that he could share with you what he enjoyed most during his stay and how he evaluated his time at the Faculty of Safety Engineering.
What was your motivation to take a training at our Faculty?
I was interested in training at your faculty because it has similar interests to my faculty, and I wanted to experience what it was like to work in with a different lab group. I also wanted to experience what it was like working abroad as I had never travelled outside of my own country before the training period.
What was the content of your training here?
My work involved designing a burner for leaning methane flames. This involved choosing the type of burner I wanted to test, creating a CAD drawing, 3-D printing structures out of ceramic resin, and analyzing the burner using computational fluid dynamics. I also designed and 3-D printed a flow cell for gas analysis using gas in scattering media spectroscopy.
How did you enjoy the stay in general?
Overall, I had a great time during my stay. My work was interesting, the faculty and administration were very friendly and helpful, and the town itself was great.
Did you learn anything new, and can you use (and how) the knowledge in your further work?
Yes, I gained a lot of experience with 3-D printing as well as computational fluid dynamics analysis for combustion applications. This experience will help me in the future because I am doing coursework that involves computational fluid dynamics, and I am considering doing a PhD in this field. Experience with 3-D printing is very useful for engineering applications in general.
How do you like/dislike Ostrava and is there a big difference in living in Halifax and Ostrava?
I really enjoyed my stay in Ostrava. It was a friendly town with everything I needed as an international traveler. There were many local sights to see, as well as a few fun events being held during my stay. I also made a friend at the faculty who showed me some of the sights to see which was nice. As for the differences between Halifax and Ostrava, the living experience was quite similar in my opinion. The language barrier was of course a struggle at times, but it was more than manageable. I found that Ostrava had more social events than Halifax such as concerts, and it had much better public transport.