Project Meeting in Žilina
On September 12-14, the University of Žilina hosted the second international meeting within the project “Materials Science Ma (s) ters – developing a new master’s degree” co-financed by the European Union under the Erasmus + KA220 HED program. The meeting was attended by representatives of partner universities, including the University of Silesia in Katowice: Joanna Maszybrocka, Małgorzata Karolus, Magdalena Szklarska, Tomasz Goryczka, Patrycja Wajda-Mierzwa / Afyon Kocatepe University, Turkey: Şükrü Talaş, Yılmaz Yalçın, Halil Aytekin, Metin Özgül / Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine: Lidiya Boichyshyn, Iryna Marczuk / University of Žilina: Juraj Belan, Milan Uhricik, Viera Zatkalikova, Lenka Markovicova, Alan Vaško, Denisa Medveck.
The meeting was started by vice-rector prof. Dr. Otakar Bokůvka, who welcomed the participants and introduced the participants to the University of Žilina during the presentation. During the meeting, the existing cooperation and the effects of the first stage of the project were discussed and summarized. Based on the conclusions of the report “The market and science environment needs analysis” and the seminar “Needs and barriers in didactics of materials science and engineering”, recommendations were prepared. They will be used in the development of a new, interdisciplinary master’s program in materials science responding to the needs of the modern economy, labour market and society. During the meeting, the activities to date disseminating the project and ensuring the quality of the project were also summarized. At the end of the meeting, activities related to the implementation of the second stage of the project were discussed and a schedule for their implementation was established.
Courtesy of the organizers, the meeting participants, could also visit the laboratory base of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Žilina. It was an opportunity not only to get acquainted with the equipment of laboratories but also to talk about teaching and research carried out at the Department.
In their free time, the organizers provided the participants with a nice attraction – visiting the historic city of Žilina. Wandering with a guide, you could see, among others Andrej Hlinka Square, Mariacki Square (Mariánske Námestie), The Church of the Holy Trinity, Burian’s Tower. From the latter, 46-meter high Renaissance bell tower, you could admire the view not only of the city center, but also of the picturesque panorama of the surrounding mountains. The last stop was to visit Budatin Castle and walk along the alleys of the charming park that surrounds it.
