Transcript WUS AUSTRIA - 2004 Brain Gain Program

Sharing Teaching and
Learning Experiences –
Brain Gain Program
Ruza Ostrogonac Seserko - University of Western Australia
Petar Santrac – The Faculty of Civil Engineering, Subotica
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Introduction
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There is a big gap between engineering
curriculum in developing countries (DC)
and less developed countries (Laces),
Lack of funds and digital resources,
Political instabilities in some LDCs,
The conflict in former Yugoslavia has left
universities in newly formed states in a very
poor state.
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Old fashioned curriculum,
To long studies,
Enormous amount of duplication in teaching and
administration,
Poor infrastructure,
Lack of funds,
Unmotivated staff with extremely law salaries
compared to their counterparts in DCs.
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Support Programs
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There are a number of different
support programs around the world,
One of them is World University
Service Austria (WUS),
An association committed to the
promotion of the human rights in
education on the basis of academic
freedom and university autonomy,
It has consultative status with the
United Nations and the UNESCO,
It has set up local offices in five
cities in South-Eastern Europe
(SEE), Belgrade, Podgorica,
Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Pristina.
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WUS Austria Activities
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BRAIN GAIN PROGRAM: Invite
academics originating from the
region to lecture courses which are
not available at the SEE universities,
The COURSE DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM: for the implementation
of new or modified courses,
eLearning TASK FORCE PROGRAM:
creation of a collaborative
environment between the academic
community and third parties in
Serbia.
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The aim of BRAIN GAIN
PROGRAM
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To provide international
scientific exchange and
cooperation,
“Brain gain-effect" by
linking guest lecturers to
already existing networks in
their home countries,
Make them a driving force of
knowledge transfer and
quality assurance in their
countries of origin.
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Guest lecturer
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Worked for 20 years in the
Faculty of Civil Engineering in
Subotica, The University of
Novi Sad Serbia,
Left country in 1995 and since
then has been teaching at the
Faculty of Engineering,
Computing and Mathematics
at the University of Western
Australia,
Was invited in 2003 to lecture
the courses which are not
available at the SEE
universities.
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Introduction of new unit
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VISUAL COMMUNICATION
• multi-disciplinary collaboration
of the whole range of graphical
expressions:
• computer graphics,
• engineering freehand
sketching,
• technical illustrations,
• diagrams,
• poster presentations,
• photography,
• movies,
• web pages.
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Teaching philosophy and
expected outcomes
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To emphasize development of professional skills
rather than content delivery:
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The ability to communicate effectively in visual, written and
oral way,
The ability to solve engineering problems,
The ability to work in teams,
The ability to work independently and develop life long
learning skills,
To test the possibility of delivering teaching and
learning in English.
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Learning activities
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Lecturers – to provide
information,
Tutorials:
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Freehand drawing,
Computer graphics,
Team project,
Poster presentation of
the project.
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Acquired outcomes
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Projects were assessed and awarded,
Projects were of high quality, of similar standards to
their counterparts in Australia,
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Students responded adequately to versatile teaching
and learning techniques:
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They showed that they can communicate effectively and
efficiently in visual, oral and written forms,
They were able to work in teams as well as independently,
They showed ability and enthusiasm in using the latest
technology once it is accessible to them,
The use of English had positive outcomes.
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Discussion
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Constant lack of funds is halting progress in engineering
education in SEE,
In their training students are exposed only to first two steps of
Bloom’s taxonomy: knowledge and understanding,
Significant changes should be considered to provide active and
deeper learning and provide movement towards next levels of
Bloom’s taxonomy pyramid: application, analysis, synthesis
and evaluation:
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Emphasize development of professional skills,
• Link knowledge from different engineering disciplines,
• Move teaching and learning process from lecturer to student and
organize learning activities during the whole term,
• Final exam should be only a part of versatile assessments.
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Conclusion
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To make a change:
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Use WUS Austria and similar resources,
• Take active role in Bologna Declaration,
• Provide permanent staff development training in
teaching and learning centres,
• Encourage teaching and learning research,
• Use global information system, attend
international conferences on engineering
education and talk to academics from different
parts of the world, establish contacts,
cooperation,
• Link to international journals on engineering
education and read what is available online,
• Visit leading universities.
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Big thanks to WUS Austria
[email protected], [email protected]
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