As part of Learning-Teaching Activity BioEra+ partners organized an international course for students from partner universities, led by a team of lecturers from Poland, the Czech Republic, Portugal, and Spain. For two weeks, students from the University of Agriculture in Krakow and Mendel University in Brno stayed at the University of La Laguna in Tenerife, while students from the Polytechnic Institute of Beja and the University of La Laguna stayed at Mendel University in Brno. The teams of lecturers were also divided between these two locations.
The course comprised nine substantive modules on bioeconomy topics—ranging from the context of planetary boundaries and societal needs, through macroeconomic conditions, enterprise management, to the closed production cycle in bioeconomy—primary production, biotechnology, and the recovery of biological matter. An important topic for the countries involved in the project was water, its recovery, and water resource management in the context of water bioremediation.
Students participated in hybrid classes—teachers conducted sessions with part of the group in direct contact, while the other part of the students was in a different country. Methods developed within the project were used during the classes, moving away from the conventional lecture model towards a stronger relationship and dialogue between the lecturer and the student. The applied model was demanding and forced participants to step out of their comfort zones. The international teaching team also had to work closely together to achieve the consistency of the joint course’s message.
Students found themselves outside their home institutions, in a different cultural and organizational context. The experience proved to be extremely instructive in terms of using new methods for the instructors, organization, and technological experience. During the summary meeting, problematic areas were identified—for example, in distance teaching, the presence of an active assistant is necessary to hand out microphones to students, give them the floor, organize the distribution of materials, etc. Various online education support systems were tested—from communicators to quiz applications, creating shared mind maps, tests, and knowledge control, which allowed the selection and learning of the most effective tools.
Place: University of La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain and Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic
Time: 13 – 25 May 2024