WWSI - a socially responsible university
Project title
WWSI - a socially responsible university
Name of Beneficiary/Beneficiaries
Warsaw University of Information Technology
Name of programme
Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development
Competition
The University’s Third Mission
Project value
PLN 889,675.00
Funding value
PLN 858,475.00
Project delivery period
01.11.2018 to 30.11.2021
Meet our team
What problem does our project solve?
The project 'WWSI - a socially responsible university' is an educational project that is part of the so-called third mission of the university. The overarching goal was to improve the ICT competences of the project participants - people from non-standard audiences for higher education: secondary school students, adults with no IT background and people 50+ at risk of digital exclusion.
Training and workshop topics were tailored to the needs of each group. Thus, those without an IT background who wanted to retrain had the opportunity to acquire competences in IT project management methodologies and the basics of cloud computing. Programming, web technology and graphics were on offer for students. People at risk of digital exclusion were able to improve their competences in this area.
At the same time, the implementation of the project has contributed to increasing the competence of the university's teaching staff, who have gained experience in working with trainees from outside the academic environment. With people of different ages and with diverse learning skills.
The project was in line with the specific objective of the OP WER which was: Preferencing the competences of those participating in higher education to the needs of the economy, the labour market and society.
Who is going to benefit from the project results?
The beneficiaries of the project were:
- secondary school students (high school or technical school) who participated in courses, study circles and courses with elements of vocational orientation. The topics of the courses revolved around programming (Python and C# languages) and graphics and web technologies. Ultimately, participation in the project began 715 pupils.
- adults without an IT background who are working in IT-skilled jobs or want to retrain in this direction, who have attended certified industry training courses in cloud computing (AWS), risk management (M_o_R) and Agile methodologies. In the project, 190 adults took part in specialised courses ending with an examination enabling them to obtain a trade certificate.
- people who were over 50 years of age at the start of the project and who wanted to increase their digital competences in connection with their work and their functioning in the digital society. They were able to participate in two forms of support - 32-hour workshops or individual consultations to solve specific problems related to the application of IT competences in everyday life and work.
A total of 38 people over 50 took part in these forms.
Which aspect of the project implementation have we found to be the most challenging?
The project period partly fell during the COVID19 pandemic. This has resulted in the need to adjust or change the forms of support provided for implementation. In the main, the changes involved a shift in the organisation of training and courses to remote forms. Thanks to the commitment of the trainers and the goodwill and openness of the beneficiaries, it was possible to adapt quite smoothly to the new formula of meetings. In addition, as a result of the cost savings associated with in-person meetings, it was possible to set aside funds for several additional remote training sessions. As a result, it has been possible to support a larger group of people than expected.