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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

To emphasize development of professional skills rather than content delivery:

• 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

Lecturers – to provide information,

Tutorials:• Freehand drawing,• Computer graphics,

Team project, Poster presentation of

the project.

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Acquired outcomes

Projects were assessed and awarded, Projects were of high quality, of similar standards to their

counterparts in Australia, Students responded adequately to versatile teaching and

learning techniques: • 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

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:

• 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 To make a change:

• 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

rose@civil.uwa.edu.au, santrac@gf.su.ac.yu