Environmental education at the faculty of mechanical engineering technical university of Kosice.

Bosak, Martin ; Rovnak, Martin ; Chovancova, Jana 等

Abstract: Authors recall recent development of environmental education at the faculty of mechanical engineering from implementing the first environmentally oriented subjects to the establishment of independent department. They characterise contemporary state of environmentally education and they outline the perspectives the ways of its further development. At the same time they specify also the profile of graduates and the educational plans for particular types, forms and branches of study and personal and laboratory equipment including scientific-research support of pedagogical process.

Keywords: education, study branches, environmental studies, profile of graduates

1. INTRODUCTION

Environmental education has to be understood, from the conceptional view, as an organic part of whole educational complex at schools, including universities. Its improvement and increasing of its effectivity is a multidisciplinar and interdisciplinar problem which requires systematic and permanent solution coming from scientific investigation, theoretical platforms, comparison of up-to-date practice, current status and prognoses of production, consumption and development of environmentalistics itself.

There are more reasons for extensive and intensive environmental education development of mechanical engineers in Slovakia. Firstly, it is the fact that Slovakia belongs to environmentally most indebted European countries also after its integration to EU. Cumulated problems in environment which can technically be solved but their solution is postponed (so called environmental encumbrance), today represent hundreds of billion crowns and more hundreds of billions will be necessary for building ecologization complexes and application of latest ecologization tools for products and production in accordance with the European legislation.

Solving of the cumulated problems depends on the increased level of environmental knowledge, awareness, behavior and activity of mechanical engineering intelligence.

2. HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AT FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AT TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY IN KOSICE

The beginnings of environmental education at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering go back to 1988, when the first dissertation works in the field of environmental production and its projection were written, within the scope "Production projection and plant operation" of study field "Mechanical Engineering Technology". Department "Projection of Automated production systems" of the then department of Automated production systems intensified its concentration on problems in the relationship Engineering project (production)--environment especially from 1990. In the two last years, students of the study field "Projecting of AVS" with focus on "Automated management systems of production processes in mechanical engineering" could focus on environmentalistics, including state exam, by choosing voluntary environmentally oriented subjects and by choosing the topic of their dissertation work. Approximately 10 students finished each year in this way.

Knowledge and experience from implementation of environmentally oriented subjects, dissertation works, long term cooperation with the Ministry of environment of SR, Regional authorities of environment and industrial practice with realizing the specific projects of ecologization, built up the knowledge base for opening a study field "Development and protection of environment" as a Bachelor study at the faculty in the academic year 1994/95, as well as approval of the study field "Management of ecological impacts of mechanical engineering production" by the scientific court of the faculty within the study field ASR VP in mechanical engineering study. Since then we could mention subjects like "Basics of ecology for engineers", "Ecologization of products and productions", "Technologies of industrial waste manipulation", "Projection and operation of ecological technologies", "Computer support for environmental", etc.

3. CURRENT STATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AT FACULTY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AND PROFILE OF DEPARTMENT

Department of environmentalistics and process management belongs to profiling departments of the faculty with very high personal credibility (2 professors, 4 assist. professors, 5 Prof. assistants and 5 Phd. students) and laboratory equipment (integrated laboratory of environmentalistic, integrated laboratory for assessment and management of environmental noise, technological center for acoustics and vibrations) for the study field Technology of environmental protection for Bachelor and Masters study. By choosing voluntary subjects within Masters study students are allowed to profile themselves into fields of projecting and management of environmental production or Technology of working environment.

Besides basic subjects of the study fields such as (Machines and utilities for environmental protection, Waste management and recycling, Ecologization of products and productions, Environmental management systems, Technique of working environment, Projecting of environmental productions, computer networks for environmentalistics, etc.) the department also provides environmentally oriented subjects in other study fields in faculty

In the area of Phd. study the department provides scientific education in field Environmentalistict with the scope on Environmental engineering. It also takes part in works SOK technical systems safety and work safety and mineralurgy and environmental technologies. These are being finishing and new accredited three-level study--environmental engineering will start.

Scientific and research activities of the department are oriented into the field of the ecologization of mechanical engineering products and productions, logistics of technology waste of out-lived mechanical engineering products management, recycling-oriented production and multi-criterial assessment of environmental load. More grant projects and international scientific research projects are regularly being solved at the department.

4. STUDY PROGRAMS CHARACTERISTIC OF TECHNOLOGY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

A) TECHNOLOGY OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Graduates profile

A graduate of 2nd level of environmental engineering study achieves complex knowledge for application research needs, projecting for technological impacts assessment on environment quality, modeling and simulation of process pollute environment, impacts of ionized radiation, quality protection of water, air, soil, development of new remediation and recycling technologies for waste management needs, using environmental biotechnologies, environmental monitoring, computer data processing and its assessment etc.

Emphasis on study is put on providing deep knowledge in fields as chemical science, engineering science, physics and mathematic, with wide using of computer technique.

B) ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Graduates profile

Graduate of environmental management course masters system of progressive directing, decision-making, coordinating and source control, processes and relationship of organization focused on environmental problems solutions. He knows and uses environmental management systems and environmental audit following from world wide approved documents. He creates and applies educational and training programs, he is able to stimulate, shape and model virtual mechanisms of the behavior of natural and human systems and impact of harmonic or disharmonic (pathologic) influence on environment, he knows methods of identification, diagnostic and leading of individuals and target groups. He coordinates activities of involved parts by solving problems of environment on regional and local level. (Badida et al., 2007)

5. CONCLUSION AND PERSPECTIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AT SJF TU

Growing interest for study at the department (annually app. 40 applied students after the third grade of master study, app. 40 applied students for internal bachelor study and more than 100 for external bachelor study and app. 5 applied PhD. students) and requirements for pedagogic assurance of environmentally focused subjects from other departments of the faculty as well as other faculties is pleasant on one side, but in relation to quality of pedagogic process and putting into effect of graduates, it is challenging on the other hand. From the view of human resources and laboratory equipment, the department of environmental studies and process management considers its capacity to app. 120 graduates (app. 30 in each form of study: bachelor, master--internal and external) per year and 2-3 PhD. students. The interest for the study in all study forms exceeds abilities of the department. Trend in number of graduates in the last 8 years is documented in Fig. 1. We can consider as stabilized numbers the data from last 2 years.

In next academic years the main goal will be improvement and stimulation of teaching process in finished integrated laboratory of environmental studies, quality and safety in the meaning of integrated management of company and preparation of graduates for this perspective and newly developing field in a way that the requirements of industrial praxis will be fulfilled and all graduates will find practical use in their field.

Presented results are part of solution of the project KEGA 3/3115/05.

6. REFERENCES

Badida, M.; Majernik, M. & Bosak, M. (2007). Pedagogicka dokumentacia KeaRP (Teachers documentation of KeaRP), SjF TUKE, Kosice

Sinay, J. (2003). Akreditacny spis programov: Technika ochrany ZP, Environmentalne manazerstvo, SjF TU v Kosiciach (Acreditation dokument of programms: Technology of environmental protection and Environmental management), Kosice.

Majernik, M.; Badida, M.; Kralikova, R.; Bosak, M. & Lumnitzer, E. (2002). Vyvoj, sueasny stav a perspektivy environmentalneho vzdelavania na Strojnickej fakulte TU v Kosiciach (Development, actual state and perspective of environmental education at Technical University of Kosice), Mechanical Faculty, Vienala, ISSN 1335-2393, Kosice.

Kolektiv (1995). Strategia environmentalnej vychovy a vzdelavania na skolach (The strategy of environmental upbringing and education at universitys), Ministerstvo skolstva SR, Bratislava.

Rusko, M. (2005). Ekolabeling a LCA ako sucast' environmentalne orientovaneho manazerstva (Ecolabeling and LCA as a part of environmental oriented management), ISSN 1335-2393, Acta Mechanica Slovaca, Kosice.

Siska, F.; Badida, M.; Majernik, M.; Sebo, D. & Hradocky, L. (1997). Environmentalne vzdelavanie, stav a perspektivy na Strojnickej fakulte TU v Kosiciach (Environmental education, status and the perspective at Mechanical fakulty of Technical university of Kosice), Acta Mechanica Slovaca, ISSN 1335-2393, Kosice.

Trebuna, F.; Maokova. I.; Kovae, M. & Smrcek, J. (2001). Akreditaeny spis I., II., III., IV. (Acreditation dokument No.1, No.2, No.3 and No.4.), Vienala, Kosice.

Fig. 1: Development of graduates number at the
Department of environmentalistics and process
management at SjF since academic year 1997/1998

 Bachelor Master (Ing.) Bachelor Master (Ing.)
 study study study--external study external

98/99 23 17
99/00 20 21
00/01 21 46 21
01/02 21 29 19
02/03 32 34 34
03/04 38 26 53 16
04/05 27 32 47 28
05/06 32 24 41 22
06/07 45 52 46 46

Note: Table made from bar graph.