On Friday, 18 May, students of the Mechanical Schools Complex in Bolesławiec (under the supervision of teacher Marek Kornosz) had the opportunity to attend classes at Wrocław University of Science and Technology. This marked the start of implementing the cooperation agreement between the Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering of Wrocław University of Science and Technology and ZSM.
A group of fifteen second- and third-year students of the Mechatronics Technical School carried out a practical exercise in electropneumatics at the Laboratory of Discrete Process Automation. The exercise involved building and expanding an electro-pneumatic control system for operating a double-acting actuator. The “mechanic” students were introduced to the laboratory equipment, the fundamentals of electropneumatics and occupational health and safety regulations by Dr Tadeusz Wiśniewski.
Under the guidance of Dr Artur Jędrusyna, the students handled the exercise very efficiently and correctly. Dr Jędrusyna rated their work very highly; in his opinion, the young mechatronics students performed better than some of the university students. This was also influenced by the fact that the workstations used by the ZSM students are equipped almost identically to those they work with at school.
The remainder of the visit was devoted to learning about the teaching facilities of the Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering. Dr Henryk Szewczyk, founder and head of the Fluid Mechanics Laboratory, presented the facilities, while Dr Sławomir Pietrowicz presented the Thermodynamics Laboratory, which uses, among other things, a thermal imaging camera. It was used to take a photograph of the “mechanic” students—you can see that their heads are working!
The visit to Wrocław University of Science and Technology was successful. The students saw for themselves what classes at a higher-education institution are like. They realized that ZSM prepares them well for further education, that they are capable of meeting the demands of higher education, and that this is a good path to a successful career. And finally—that higher technical education is for everyone!!!
(information: ZSM Bolesławiec/ii)