Water Harmony Erasmus +

Harmonise teaching and pedagogical approaches in water related graduate education

Page 2 of 3

VIII Project meeting in Jinan

Meeting with representatives of the largest enterprises of China working in water related fields, attending the school with modern education technics, excursion to laboratories equipped with the latest technologies, discussing the purchase of equipment for partners, developing new laboratory courses for the developing lectures and much more were the subjects of discussion at the eighth project meeting in Jinan that was organized by the Shandong Jianzhu University (SJU) and was held from 2th to 6th of November, 2017.

The meeting began with the official part, at which the Vice-Rector of SJU welcomed the partners of the project at the university. “The project “Water Harmony Erasmus +” is an important part of SJU’s international activities and I am very happy, that our educational programs become harmonized with partners from all over the world” – said the Vice-Rector.

The project team visited the Jinan State Primary School and conducted short presentations for the children about the participating countries of the project, emphasizing the importance of learning English and encouraging future students’ ambitions for international education.

Traditional and, for sure, one of the most important activities in the framework of the project meeting was the holding of a seminar on “Wastewater – the untapped resource”, dedicated to the water reuse and the recovery of valuable resources from wastewater. The following presentations were given by the participants:

  1. Wastewater reuse and resource recovery, Harsha Ratnaweera, NMBU;
  2. Value in leachates/Resources from black water?, Martin Oldenburg, UAS-OWL;
  3. Circularity in wastewater management, Zakhar Maletskyi, NMBU;
  4. Wastewater management in food industry, Michał Smoczyński, UWM;
  5. Microalgae for nutrient recovery and energy production, Ketheesan Balachandran, UoJ;
  6. Potential for wastewater reuse in Sri Lanka, S B Weerakoon, UoP.

Also,  was held a meeting with representatives of large enterprises that work in the field of water treatment (Everbright Water Company, Shandong Elong Environmental Protection Co Ltd, Shuifa Group Co Ltd, Origin Water). A unique opportunity for representatives of universities was to demonstrate their scientific development to representatives of Chinese business. The partners presented three practical ideas:

  1. A low-cost innovative method for safer drinking water, Viktor Gevod, USUCT;
  2. Use of industrial wastes (Red mud) in water treatment, Olga Sanginova, KPI;
  3. Use of mechanical cavitation in wastewater treatment, Gennadiy Stolyarenko, CSTU.

In addition, a number of administrative and financial issues were discussed, new tasks and responsibilities were assigned, and was started a work on the development of laboratory courses that would complement the developed lectures by practical skills.

This year was very rich on mobilities,  so this issue was highlighted in a separate session. About the October 2017 Special mobility strand of six teachers from Germany, Poland and Norway to NTUU “I. Sikorsky KPI” told Dr. Zakhar Maletskyi. Students-participants from Shandong Jianzu University of Summer School – 2017, which was held in June -July at the NMBU, prepared a short overview about the spent time. Serhii Shmyhol told about the annual mobility of Ukrainian students to the universities of Germany and Poland.

The closest activities within the project will be the mobility of six teachers from Ukrainian universities to the University of Warmia-Mazury in Olsztyn (Poland) in December, 2017; mobility of six teachers from Ukrainian universities to the University of Life Sciences (Höxter, Germany) in January 2017; IX project meeting of the project participants at the University of Jaffna (Sri Lanka) in February 2018.

 Participants of the project meeting in Jinan express their gratitude for such a high-quality organized events, which made it possible not only to work fruitfully, but also to fully enjoy the unique cuisine, art and other cultural features of the People’s Republic of China. We look forward to the new meetings of the Water Harmony family.

Serhii Shmyhol, sergioshyhol@gmail.com

VIII Project Meeting, Jinan, China, 2-6/11/2017

Flickr Album Gallery Powered By: Weblizar

Mobility of students from Ukraine to Germany and Poland

Since October 2017, 4 students from each Ukrainian partner university (Cherkasy State University, National Technical University of Ukraine ” Igor Sikorsky Kiev Polytechnic Institute” and the State Higher Educational Institution “Ukrainian State University of Chemical Technology” (Dnipro) have received a unique chance to study in one of the best European universities for 1 year. 

6 students (Serhii Shmyhol, Valentyna Kultenko, Liubov Obodenko, Denys Samoilenko, Tetiana Klochko, Viktoriia Bilenko) will be studding for one year at the German Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences (town Höxter), and the second group of students (Mariia Kuptsova, Andrii Slys, Andrii Sviderskyi, Mariia Loboda, Oleksii Novikov, Tetiana Yashchenko) will be trained at the University of Warmia-Mazury in Olsztyn.

At the moment the students, thanks to the responsibility of the host universities, have arranged their house and home, solved all the necessary administrative and financial issues, and began to study the local language, study and work on research projects.

Serhii Shmyhol, Sergioshyhol@gmail.com
Iryna Kosohina, kosogina@email.ua

Student Mobilities To Germany And Poland (since October 2017)

Flickr Album Gallery Powered By: Weblizar

Special mobility strand to KPI

Representatives of three universities of Germany, Norway and Poland were visiting the “Igor Sikorsky Kiev Polytechnic Institute” from 16 to 21 October 2017 in the framework of the Special mobility strand Water Harmony Erasmus + project .

The goals, formulated by the participants of mobility, are related to the increasing the relevance and quality of masters and PhD education in the water related fields through the development and harmonization of educational resources, the integration of education, research, innovation and entrepreneurship. Such a wide range of issues led to an extremely intensive program of the meeting.

On October 16, the project coordinator from the  I. Sikorsky KPI, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Chemical Technology  Sanginova O.V. familiarized representatives of european universities with the peculiarities of the education system in Ukraine, educational process and mechanisms for ensuring the quality of education in the KPI. Also was held a short excursion through the university campus. On the same day, the participants of mobility had an opportunity to see in practice how Ukrainian higher education institutions interact with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) by visiting the All-Ukrainian Environmental NGO “MAMA-86” (https://mama-86.org/), where representatives of the organization talked about their activities in the field of affordable and safe drinking water and sanitation for all. During the week, two more meetings with NGOs were held : the Ukrainian Water Community WaterNet (http://waternet.ua/) and the Water Information Center (Water Museum http://www.aqua-kiev.info). Enthusiasts working in these organizations demonstrated brilliant examples of interaction between public and state organizations.

From 17 to 20 October, professors and teachers of European universities were giving several lectures for students of the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th courses of the Department of Technology of Inorganic Substances, Water Treatment and General Chemical Technology:

  • professor of Norwegian University of Life Sciences Lars John Hem made a presentation “Microbial barrier analysis for water supply”;
  • associate professor of  University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Poland) Andrzej Żołnowski  introdused two topics: “Agricultural sources of water pollution” and “Calculation of maximum doses of nitrogen with animal slurry on specified areas”.
  • professor Martin Oldenburg from Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences (Germany) presented next lectures: “Biological treatment of industrial wastewater” and “Nitrogen and Phosphorus removal in wastewater treatment”;
  • associate professor Sławomir Kalinowski from University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Poland) presented next topics: “Flow analytical methods in Chemical analysis” and “Equilibrium in water solutions of weak electrolyte”.
  • the lecturer of  Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences (Germany) Mr. Volker Pick gave a lecture “Treatment of Tapioca Starch Wastewater: Pilot scale investigations in Tay Ninh”  and also prepared a short overview “Transfer of knowledge to professional practice”.

Also on October 18, the coordinator of the Erasmus + program of the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Andrzej Żołnowski, held the information hour “ERASMUS+. Opportunities”, and other teachers visited the laboratory classes of students.

A visit to the “Bortnicheskaya aeration station” and The Museum of Sewerage on October 19 allowed the participants of mobility strand get acquainted with the experience of cooperation of Ukrainian universities with state enterprises for wastewater treatment. On the same day, the teachers visited Ecosoft, an international company that manufactures filters for water purification, which offers a wide range of products from jar filters to industrial reverse osmosis systems. Many graduate students of the Department of technology of inorganic substances, water treatment and general chemical technology work in this company.

On Friday, October 20, there was a discussion of ways to increase the relevance and quality of Masters and PhD education in the water related fields. The participants of mobility plan to use this experience for further development and harmonization of education.

Nataliia Tolstopalova, Head of Department  Department of technology
of inorganic substances water treatment and general chemical technology,
Olha Sanhinova, the project coordinator from the Igor Sikorsky KPI

SMS To KPI (Ukraine) 16-21 October 2017

Flickr Album Gallery Powered By: Weblizar

International student mobility – the experience of CSTU

The students of the Department of Chemical Technologies and Water Treatment of the Cherkasy State Technological University who participated in three-week summer schools in Sri Lanka (2016) and Norway (2017) and one-year-mobility program students shared their experience and impressions of their stay.

Many students dream to study abroad. The lack of practical information about the existing opportunities and requirements for participation often strict us of applying applications and achieving most ambitious dreams. That is why the Department of Chemical Technology and Water Treatment regularly organizes meetings of students with participants of international mobility programs.

“These meetings are an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences between those who were lucky enough to take part in summer schools or master’s programs abroad, and students who are planning to apply,” says Professor Hennadii Stolyarenko. “Thus, we not only popularize Water Harmony projects and create an opportunity to get answers from the first mouth to any questions, but also to motivate our students. “

All international mobility programs are regularly organized in the framework of Water Harmony Eurasia – II and Water Harmony Erasmus+ projects with the support of the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU) and the European Union.

Serhii Shmyhol, sergioshyhol@gmail.com

Flickr Album Gallery Powered By: Weblizar

International Summer School “Water Harmony” 2017

During the three weeks from June 18 to July 8, 2017, the best students from Bangladesh, Belarus, Germany, Canada, Kazakhstan, China, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, USA, Tajikistan, Uganda, Ukraine, South Sudan, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Japan participated in the international summer school “Water Harmony” in the framework of the project “Water Harmony Erasmus +”.

This year the number of participants was a record – 66 people! Organizers believe, this experience of the unification of different countries representatives brings unique fruits: from the establishment of intercultural dialogue to joint scientific work in the future.

The students attended the course of THT-311 (Water Resources Management and Treatment Technologies) at NMBU. To get acquainted with modern and high-tech enterprises, excursions were organized at the Lillelstrøm drinking water treatment plant for the needs of Oslo city in Norway.

Undoubtedly, the “highlight point” of the School this year was a one-week trip to UNIS University (University Centre In Svalbard) at the Svalbard archipelago, which included classroom activities and the passing of the exam after the special course THT-312 (Water Management in a Cold Climate). For students this trip was not only an extraordinary opportunity to enjoy the beauties of Svalbard (which it is impossible to describe in words, you just need to see it with your own eyes), but also to visit one of the largest satellite stations in the world KSAT (Kongsberg Satellite Services), the island’s water treatment equipment and other unique infrastructures , which is typical only for places with a similar climate.

At the end of the summer school, the participants took the exam. The examination commission consisting of teachers from NMBU and teachers from other countries under the guidance of professor, Water Harmony Erasmus+ project coordinator Harsha Ratnavira.

The closing of the summer course was a festive ceremony in one of the oldest NMBU’s auditoriums, where motivational and inspirational words were told by high-ranking guests. The festive dinner already became traditional, which was prepared for the participants by graduate students and students of the Norwegian university.

The project participants wish all the best to graduates of “International Water Harmony Summer School” and invite to follow the news at our Facebook page.

Flickr Album Gallery Powered By: Weblizar

Project meeting in Cherkasy

The seventh project meeting was held on July 8-11, 2017 at the Cherkassy State Technological University, in the framework of the project “Water Harmony Erasmus +”. Representatives of 10 partner universities from Germany, China, Norway, Poland, Sri Lanka and Ukraine took part.

According to the agenda of the meeting, was negotiated administrative issues related to finances, contracts, reports, progress report for the EACEA, development of training materials for six training courses, as well as the use of the Canvas platform for distance learning. Partners from Germany (UAS) took the responsibility for preparation of guidelines for the laboratory courses until the beginning of the autumn.

In discussion about improving cooperation between universities and enterprises, the analysis of existing experience of cooperation was made, selected best practices by taking into account the answers to the following questions: “What is the best way to establish contacts with enterprises?”, “What is the most beneficial form of cooperation with enterprises?” and “How to initiate and conduct contract research?”. According to responses of all participants, was prepared a rating questionnaire for identifying the current state at universities, where everyone could describe when and how he used the methods given in the questionnaire. The results of the analysis will be available on our website in the near future.

Each project meeting of the project “Water Harmony Erasmus +” is characterized by open lectures for students and teachers on various topics related to water issues. This time the seminars were held in the Cherkasy Oblast State Administration and were called “Water in a Changing World” and “Water: from challanges to opportunities”. Students and teachers had the opportunity to listen to the following lectures:

  • What is wastewater? Prof. Lihua Cheng, QTU (China);
  • Climate change impacts on water resources – adaptation for enhancing resilience, Prof. S B Weerakoon, UoP, Sri Lanka;
  • Process control in water management, Dr. Olga Sanginova, NTUU KPI, Ukraine
  • Project examples for resource orientated sanitation systems, Prof. Martin Oldenburg, UAS, Germany;
  • Challenges & possibilities of Erasmus, Prof. Andrzej Zolnowski, UWM, Poland;
  • Introduction to Entrepreneurship, Prof. Harsha Ratnaweera, NMBU, Norway;

You can get acquainted with materials of seminars by the following link.

The official part of the meeting was held in the press-center of the Cherkasy state administration with the participation of the First deputy head of the administration Vitaly Koval, the rector of the ChSTU Oleh Hrygor, the heads of departments, journalists. Mr. Koval noted the importance of the project for the region, as it concerns two of the most important areas included in the “Development strategy of the region until 2020 “, which are environmental protection and human development. The project coordinator Prof. Harsha Ratnaweera thanked to the representatives of the regional authorities for the comprehensive support of the project and  for supporting of the Department of Chemical Technologies and Water Treatment of the ChSTU.

In one of the blocks of the meeting students of ChSTU, who visited the summer school “Water Harmony” at the Norwegian University of Natural Sciences, made the presentation. Participants of the mobility shared their impressions of the educational process, study trips to Svalbard and city Be, excursions to the water and wastewater treatment plants of Norway, as well as their free time spending with participants from other countries.

In addition to students from Ukraine, students from Poland Marlena Skrobisz and Artur Wiktorski shared their experience of participating in the project on student mobility, who from March 1, 2017, have been studding in ChSTU. They told about the experimental part of the work in four areas related to water, namely: coagulation, ozonization, electroactivation, ion exchange in a continuous acting unit. Based on the results of the studies, the students prepared a report.

Until the end of this year, the project provides a number of activities for students and teachers mobility:

  • По 2 студента от каждого украинского университета-партнера проекта с октября 2017 года отправятся на годовое стажировку в университет University of Applied Science (Германия) и University of Warmia and Mazury in Olshtyn (Польша).
  • 6 teachers (2 from NMBU, UAS, UWM) in October 2017 will visit the KPI named after Igor Sikorsky to exchange experience and improve pedagogical practices, and six teachers from Ukrainian universities (USCTU, KPI, ChSTU) will learn from their colleagues at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn.
  • 2 students from each Ukrainian partner-university will be departed for an annual internship to the University of Applied Science (Germany) and the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olshtyn (Poland) since the 1st of October 2017.

At the end of the working meeting, important issues were discussed: involving partners in joint research, mentoring in the preparation of scientific papers, and publishing joint publications. The rector of the Ukrainian State University of Chemical Technology (Dnipro), Alexander Pivovarov, invited all the colleagues to join the editorial board of specialized scientific magazines, which are published by the USCTU.

This year, colleagues will meet again in the next project meeting, which will be held in Jinan (China) in late October.

Flickr Album Gallery Powered By: Weblizar

Meeting of the partners in Germany

17458043_1316142278470976_5668022990199539997_nMarch 22-27, 2017, the Ostwestfalen-Lippe University of Applied Sciences held the fifth meeting of the participants of Water Harmony Erasmus + project , which was attended by teachers from Norway, Poland, Ukraine, Sri Lanka and China.

The aim of Water Harmony Erasmus + is the harmonization of higher education in water related fields in partner countries.Project coordinator, prof. Harsha Ratnaweera underlines: “The project is a two-way street. All countries have both strengths and problems in the subject areas. Therefore, the exchange of experience is the basis for activities within the framework of the project”.

The main topic of the meeting was the joint development of six educational disciplines: Water resource management, Water supply, Municipal wastewater treatment, Industrial wastewater management, Innovation and entrepreneurship, Academic writing and presentation. The idea of the project is to create modular training materials, which will allow each of the partner university, independently form the training courses, choose the necessary lessons from the general box of knowledge.

The participants discussed the issues of studentы and teacherы mobility within the framework of the project. There were two staff mobilities in 2016: into the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and the Ukrainian State University of Chemical Technology. Furthermore, 11 students from Ukrainian universities was enrolled for annual training at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, and their colleagues – 5 students from Poland, training in partner universities from Ukraine.

In addition, in 2016 the University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka) conducted an intensive course for students from partner universities. Participants of the intensive course from Germany shared their impressions with the project coordinators: “At home, we do not notice what we know and what we have. In Germany, high-quality drinking water from a tap is a normal situation, not a luxury. In Sri Lanka it is not available, so our experience can be useful to change the situation. It inspires and motivates to do something new” – said Anna Busch.

Participants also had the opportunity to visit one of the largest water exhibitions in Europe, which takes place every two years – Wasser Berlin. Besides familiarizing themselves with the latest technical trends, representatives of partner universities had the opportunity to establish connections with enterprises, which were taking part in exhibition, and discuss areas of cooperation.

– An important part of the project is the development of a professional network between six countries. Each project meeting strengthens the family of Water Harmony, which means that even after the end of the project, the partners will stay in touch and work together” – mentioned prof. Ratnaweera.

More information about the project: www.waterh.eu

Flickr Album Gallery Powered By: Weblizar

Visist to the leader of water treatment

Within the Water Harmony ERASMUS+ project students of Cherkasy State Technological University visited the leading Ukrainian enterprise manufacturing water purification equipment – Ecosoft.

On 20 th of January 2017 Ecosoft, company, which holds over 50 percent of the Ukrainian market of water purification equipment, kindly opened their doors to students and teachers from the Department of chemical technology and water treatment ChSTU.

Ecosoft is one of the partners in educational project Water Hamony ERASMUS + and was founded in 1991 by the graduate of Kiev Polytechnic Institute, and now professor Tatyana Mitchenko. Future market leader began with a small own laboratory in which young team designed solutions for the treatment of water for energy and food industries. Now the company employs about 300 professionals, 40 of which – the water industry professional of high qualification. This company is a prime example of the science and business synergy, the results of which were the developments that are in demand in Ukraine and in 44 countries, including USA, Germany, UK, Italy and others.

Besides acquaintance with production and technological processes of products manufacturing was also discussed the possibility of passing the practice at the plant and in partner companies by the students of the Department of chemical technology and water treatment. It was also agreed to set up and  reestablish reverse osmosis system, which was developed within the framework of the international project “Water Harmony”.

An excursion was organized in the frame of the implementation project objective: improving of cooperation with enterprises. Also special thanks expressed to the labour union of ChSTU, which helped to cover the voyage cost.

S. Shmyhol, s.smyhol@chdtu.edu.ua

Flickr Album Gallery Powered By: Weblizar

Erasmus+ project meeting in Qingdao (China)

The project meeting was carried out from 1st to 4th December in Qingdao (China).

The participants were welcomed by the vice president of Qingdao Technological University prof. Li Guohua and coordinator of the project from the University prof. Xuejun Bi.

After opening the meeting, the Chinese colleagues conducted an interesting excursion-presentation of research and development and teaching laboratories of the University. The audience showed a great interest in the laboratory, designed for conducting classes, equipped with a model of water treatment units. Representatives from many universities expressed a desire to establish similar models in their laboratories, which would allow students to perceive the course material better and prepare them for the practical training at the enterprises in the field of water.

During the meeting a seminar for students and teachers was held. Participants were presenting the latest achievements from the sphere of their scientific interests.

Aspects of high importance, such as: the mobility of students and teachers, the coordination of the upcoming meetings of the working group and the development of lectures and presentations related to 6 studying courses, were discussed in the meeting as well.

Concerning student mobility, the following dates were agreed: 18.06-08.07.2016 for summer training courses in Norway and the 1st of October 2017 as the start up date for annual studying in Germany and Poland. In addition, the requirements for English proficiency, established by host universities, were discussed.

Besides, the dates for the next three project meetings were set: in Germany (Höxter) – 25.03-28.03.2017; Ukraine (Cherkasy) – 8.07-11.07.2017; China (Shandong) – 24.10-24.10.2017.

A lot of time was devoted to the content of the training courses, analysis of what has already been done on the subject of “Wastewater Treatment” course. In addition, prof. H. Ratnaweera raised the issue of the teaching quality improvement – presentation of the lectures and the ability to awake students’ interest and curiosity by the subject of the lecture, which also entailed quite a hot discussion, exchange of best practices between the teachers. Finally, all the above-mentioned resulted in the design of 10-12 practical recommendations for lecturers that will attract the student attention to the studying material.

On the topic of cooperation with enterprises, it was decided that during the project implementation, every university should involve at least two companies in the practical training sessions for students and their further employment there.

Between discussions and contentious work the Chinese colleagues organized a kind of educational excursion to the Wastewater treatment plant in Qingdao and provided an interesting city tour.

In general, the meeting was fruitful, informative and interesting. Colleagues from Qingdao Technological University made good conditions for work and rest, and provided the opportunity to catch a glimpse of Chinese identity, to get acquainted with its culture and traditions.

Serhii Shmyhol, s.shmyhol@chdtu.edu.ua

Flickr Album Gallery Powered By: Weblizar

Special Mobility Strand at USCTU

From the 17th to 23rd of October 2016, Ukrainian State University of Chemical Technology  (Dnipro, Ukraine) was hosting representatives of Warmia and Mazury University in Olsztyn (Olsztyn, Poland), University of Applied Sciences of Eastern Westphalia Lippe (Lippe, Germany) and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (As, Norway) in frame of the Water Harmony ERASMUS +project mobility program.

The agenda was well prepared and included educational, scientific and cultural activities.

The main objective of this mobility – exchange was to improve the quality of teaching in the partner universities. Each of the participants held an open lecture for students and staff of the host university. The participants visited the laboratories and lectures, and also got acquainted with the electronic educational test system, which functioning in USCTU.

The presentations in water related sphere were given by Professor Nicolay Koshel and Associate Professor Victor Gevod from the Ukrainian State Chemical Technology University, Professor Harsha Ratnaweera and Associate Professor Olfa Khelifi from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Professor Slawomir Kalinowski and Professor Lech Smoczyński from the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Professor Joachim Fettig and Volker Pick from the University of applied Sciences in East Westphalia Lippe.

The company Aqua Holding, USCTU’s partner, hold the presentation about the company and modern business trends in water treatment.

The participants visited two the largest water companies in the region – the brewery “Carlsberg” and Dnipro water-power plant.

According to the results of the mobility the working group produced a report with recommendations for improving the teaching methods in water related disciplines.

Shmyhol Serhii, sergioshyhol@gmail.com
Smotraiev Roman, smotr00@gmail.com

Flickr Album Gallery Powered By: Weblizar
« Older posts Newer posts »