Agnieszka Flaga , Tomasz Stypka Cracow University of Technology (CUT), Poland F redrik Grondahl

1. Polish-Swedish „Environmental Management” Course – an integrated tool for teaching sustainable development Agnieszka Flaga, Tomasz Stypka Cracow University ofTechnology (CUT), Poland Fredrik Grondahl Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden

2. Polish-Swedish “Environmental Management” Course • was offered to the students from two universities: Cracow University of Technology (CUT), Poland and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden; • has taken place three times in years 2000-2003; • 30 student participants, 15 from each university; • had been organized as two one-week long intensive periods with a break for students’ teamwork via internet; • was held in English.

3. Main goals of the course

4. 1. To teach students the basics of the environmental management and sustainable development in the holistic manner • both universities have different courses available for their students which bring up the environmental management and sustainable development issue; • theknowledge, gained during these courses is very fragmentary; • students cannot see interrelations between what they are taught at one course and another; • the problem is more obvious when talking about trans-boundary pollution (not globally but in “ours” versus “yours” categories, lack of hollistic approach).

5. 2. Develop self-educational skills (e.g. obtaining information from different sources) • raising acquired qualifications, updating the knowledge is a necessity nowadays; • today’s gained knowledge in a very short time might become obsolete and require further studies; • students should be taught that there always is a need of broadening horizons, updating the knowledge, finding new information and checking the credibility of the sources of information; • the self-educational skills are essential.

6. 3. Expose students to unique environmental problems in the two countries and promote mutual understanding of the environmental issues • the two countries are located close to each other, but have different natural conditions, climate, soil, and social conditions, also citizens are raised differently and have different way of thinking; • the approach to the environmental problems in the two countries is very different (this creates problems, to be able to cooperate, and act for the benefit of the common good the best possible knowledge of the other country (neighbor) is essential; • exposing students to unique environmental problems in the two countries could help them to think globally and act locally.

7. 4. Develop skills to work long distance in international groups (via internet) • an international approach to different problems is getting more and more common; • the skills to work long distance in such international groups should be practiced in order to build students’ skills to work in international teams in international corporations.

8. 5. Improve English skills • the good knowledge of at least one foreign language is essential nowadays; • during this course students have an opportunity to practice their English communication and understanding skills; • for many students it has been the only occasion so far, for verifying the knowledge of English in practice; • a chance to challenge themselves in such environment.

9. 6. Enable/strengthen cooperation and networking with other universities at teachers’ and students’ level • The boundaries between countries, people, institutions are fading away.Cooperation and networking are getting more and more important and the universities should be the leaders in that field. • The reality forces cooperation among universities and institutions in order to maintain a high standard of education (having international educational courses, organizing joint seminars and conferences, applying for the European Funds).

10. Organization of the module First week: the Marine Research Station atKristineberg, South Sweden. Second week: Cracow University ofTechnology, Department of Environmental Engineering, Cracow, Poland. The module wasoffered during two one-week long intensive periods.

11. Choosing the students • Each university enrolled the same number of students at the same stage of education (30 students -15 from each country, from the third or higher year of education). • Good command of English was essential.

12. Groups and project works • Students were divided into 15 groups of two to prepare comparative projects on different topics concerning environmental situation in the two countries; • The projects were prepared during the break between the two intensive weeks (communication by internet; a special web page was prepared by KTH to facilitate communication);

13. Students’ work evaluation • Each group had a supervisor to help students with finding information, explaining issues, guiding students, and supervising the progress of the work. The supervisors were chosen from the teachers from both universities who were taking care of the module; • 15 team presentations of the evaluated projects were the basic element of the students’ evaluation;

14. Practice over Theory !!!The number of formal lectures wasreduced to allow hands on labs, workshops, classes and field trips.

15. Students’ field trips and analyzed environmental issues

16. Swedish oil refinery(Scanraff) PROBLEM: Pollution of marine environment, the role of bioindicators, time horizon in the environmental problems

17. Geothermal wells at Banska, Poland PROBLEM: Unconventional sources of energy, capital intensive, but environmental friendly projects

18. The place of a field trip Problem Swedish oil refinery (Scanraff) Pollution of marine environment, the role of bioindicators, time horizon in the environmental problems Incineration plant in Stockholm Waste thermal utilization, pollution of the air, and the nearby environment Steel Works in Cracow Environmental impact of the heavy industry plant, social problems Environmental Protection Department Legal issues of environment pollution, instruments for controlling and executing the duties of environment users Marine Research Station Kristineberg, Fiskebäckskil, Sweden Pollution of marine environment, the role of bioindicators Gardsjo research station, Sweden Problems of acidification of soil and ecosystem recovery Freon replacing facility (COCH – Central Laboratory of Refrigeration) in Cracow Freons, ozone depleting substances, global problems Barycz – the municipal waste landfill near Cracow Solid waste management, environment protection, regional problems Geothermal wells at Banska, Poland Unconventional sources of energy, capital intensive, but environmental friendly projects Pump-storage scheme at Niedzica, Poland Unconventional sources of energy, social conflicts

19. Course evaluation 1 • The set goals of the course have been reached; • Students have learned the basics of the environmental management and sustainable development in the holistic manner; • Developed self-educational skills and skills to work long distance in international groups, using English; • The exposure to unique environmental problems built up common understanding among students – future decision makers, and teachers;

20. Course evaluation 2 • Students got to know each others (customs, tradition, stereotypes), formed friendships, build their own self esteem; • The course was evaluated after its completion by each student (good and very good); • It turned out that there are not serious differences in the students’ educational levels at the two universities. (Polish - very technically oriented whileSwedish - more environmentally cautious).

21. Attention! Students attending the course were not taught any specific procedures or methodology of measurements, but were generally familiarized with the existing problems. Long–term impacts on the environment (e.g. pollution control of the bottom of the sea, bioindicators), social and economical problems related to the environment were only presented.

22. Present and the future • Good evaluation resulted in a new project; • The Ukrainian University at Lwow was invited to join the project; • This year, 2005, is the first year of international cooperation between three universities: Cracow University of Technology (CUT), Poland; the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden, and National University “Lviv Polytechnic” (LP), Ukraine.

23. At present: • students from Poland and Ukraine together with the Swedish students (10 students from each country) are in the middle of realization of “Municipal Solid Waste Management” module; • working on their team work projects. The teams consist now of three students – one from Sweden, one from Poland and one from Ukraine;

24. Conclusions • By taking part in the Polish-Swedish “Environmental management” module students had an opportunity to learn the basics of the environmental management and sustainable development in the holistic manner. • The knowledge and experience gained during such a course is incomparable with a similar course provided by the universities at their own location. • There is a need of organizing such international courses for students. • Universities should look for opportunities of cooperation and networking with other universities.

25. Both projectswere possible thanks to the financial support of the Swedish Institute (SI)

26. Thank you for your attention Questions?