Intellectual and social activation of seniors - the University of the Third Age at the Warsaw University of Technology
Project title
Intellectual and social activation of seniors - the University of the Third Age at the Warsaw University of Technology
Name of Beneficiary/Beneficiaries
Politechnika Warszawska (Warsaw University of Technology)
Name of programme
Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development
Competition
Third Mission of the Higher Education Institution
Project value
PLN 889 950.00
Funding value
PLN 863 250.00
Project delivery period
From 1/03/2019 until 28/02/2022
Have a look at the outcome of our work
Video
What problem does our project solve?
People of post-productive age lose contact with their working environment and this often leads to a decline in their activities, both in intellectual and social terms. Limited contacts and a lack of challenges requiring effort and commitment lead to faster ageing and a reduced quality of life. One effective way of remedying this is through activities organised for seniors, and third age universities are one such form. The University of the Third Age at the Warsaw University of Technology offers its students many types of classes, but as it is a state university, it is cut off from the rich source of funding addressed to the local authorities and the NGS, so students have to cover the cost of classes themselves. The project presented here enabled most of the classes to be run as free of charge for participants, allowing a significant number of new people to attend. In addition, course curricula were developed and posted on the website in a uniform format, with appropriate presentations for some types of courses.
Who will benefit from the outcomes of the project?
It benefited above all its participants. The number and size of language groups increased. New subjects for computer and technical workshop courses, which are a speciality of this UTA, were implemented. The transition to remote classes, forced by the conditions, taught the use of this teaching method to both instructors and course participants. The fact that the classes were free of charge during this difficult period undoubtedly enabled the groups to remain almost unchanged in size. For the Higher Education Institution, too, the experience gained and the curricula developed provide added value.
What was the most challenging aspect of the implementation of the project for us?
Two of the three years of the project coincided with a period of pandemic restrictions. We were forced to switch to a remote form for most of the classes and to limit the implementation of the technical laboratories, which by their very nature had to take place in the laboratories of the higher education institution.