Experience from the Project Approach in Teaching Technology Subjects at the University of Chemical Technology Prague – Teaching for Practice

Abstract

A proposal was formulated at the University of Chemical Technology (UCT) Prague in 2016 to implement the project approach in teaching technology subjects. A grant was awarded for an Operational Program Research Development and Education project called “Education Improvement – UCT Prague Priority” from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic. The project’s main goals were that UCT graduates would un-derstand the application of chemistry in practice simulta-neously in the context of the given field of study, as well as the law, economy, safety and environmental impact, realize the importance of viability and profitability of technical projects, learn about usable methods applied in the implementation of technical projects, and get acquainted with the principles of creation of teams and team work. A team of teachers and outside consultants from practice have been created. Using the Internet and personal con-tacts, experience with the use of project approach in teaching at the Czech universities has been gathered. Experi- ence from the project approach in teaching at UCT Prague has been summed up. Basic 12 modules of real-life technical projects have been defined and described in a Me-thodical Handbook which also includes a number of tools for students. A new subject has been created on the use of scheduling software. A total of 8 technology subjects have been selected for piloting of the project in 2018–2021, employing the created tools. The experience with teaching the pilot subjects was used in the lifelong education of the university teachers. The results will also be used for the teaching other technology subjects at UCT Prague. It can be expected that the project will contribute to a better em-ployability of fresh graduates, their faster adaptation to the requirements of practice, a faster career growth, and that it will improve the feedback from graduates to the teaching staff and their activities at UCT Prague.