First Learning, Teaching Training Activities (LTTA) Event in Bologna (Italy)

The first LTTA event took place in Bologna, Italy, from 19^th to the 22^nd June 2023, in the new Science Park Navile of the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, in presence. In this occasion Distinct partners met in person and worked together to illustrate and share advanced solutions applied in remote learning in their own Institution. Participants came from Jagiellonian University (JU), Technische Universität Wien (TUWIEN), Latvijas Universitate (UL), Vilniaus Kolegija (VIKO) and a representative from the European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN).

Partners were asked to participate to practical activities demonstrating the potential of various hardware and IT tools for teaching and assessing in remote/hybrid courses. The shared experience allowed partners to widen their knowledge and apply new or improved methods to their teaching activities.

The meeting was opened by Cristina Femoni from University of Bologna (the hosting Partner), then contributions from Erwin Rosenberg (TUWIEN) and Mariafrancesca Fochi (UNIBO) on digital support for lab courses and video making followed.

The second day a practical demonstration by Ciro Polizzi (UNIBO) showed advanced hardware tools for remote/hybrid remote activities, followed by a visit to the teaching laboratories to examine the actual equipment used in the demonstration, and more.

After the lunch break, the afternoon was dedicated to active demonstrations of various IT tools from UNIBO.

First, Marco Garavelli and his PhD student Francesco Montorsi showed the participants advanced IT tools for modelling courses, with the presentation of a test case.

Second, Cristina Femoni and Mariafrancesca Fochi involved the other Partners to engage in other IT tools exploited for formative assessment which also help to break the lecture flows.

On the third day Lauma Buša, Jāzeps Logins and Anete Stīne Teimane showed the numerous IT tools available for formative and summative assessment.

Vincenzo Russo from ECTN illustrated relevant didactic aspects for laboratory activities, which not only take place on the days of the actual lab experiences but should also consist of pre- and post-lab moments to prepare students and summarize the expected results. These moments are as well crucial to the lab assessment, as rubrics are presented. During this contribution the different roles of tutors, demonstrators, technicians, teachers were pointed out.

After lunch, people from CESIA (UNIBO IT System), more specifically Dr. Antonella Cirigliano and Dr. Fabio Belsito, explained to the other Partners how UNIBO reacted to the pandemic, pointing out that University of Bologna was mentioned by the Financial Times as one of the first Institutions in the world to set up a system to move online (for remote lecturing and assessment) over 90% of the courses for more than 80,000 students in just three days!!! The head of CESIA, Dr. Enrico Lodolo, was also present at the meeting, together with Dr. Rebecca Micheletti and Nadia Perri.

Michał Woźniakiewicz (JU) contribution was on useful software for supporting research-based learning. Later, the Project Coordinator, Marek Frankowicz (JU) illustrated future perspectives for the Distinct Project.

The social event was a dinner at the “Buca Manzoni” trattoria, downtown, to enjoy some local food like the worldwide famous Bolognaise sauce and mortadella.

The third day was devoted to wrap up all the contents, outcomes and compiling the guidelines according to the modules we had all agreed on.

And now… we are looking forward to participating to the LTTA event in Vienna!!!!

First  TPM Meeting in Riga

On the days of May 11-13, 2023 the partners of the Erasmus+ project “Digital Support in Chemistry Teaching (DISTINCT)” met in Riga, Latvia for a project meeting to discuss the overall development of the project, the ongoing activities and future steps for achievieng the set objectives. Participants from all partner organizations were present and collectively worked on the roadmap for achieving our future goals, aligning our steps towards the successful implementation of upcoming activities.”

We are looking forward to participating to the TPM event in Vilnius now !

Presentation of DISTINCT project during the VIKO International Staff Training Week

On 21^st of June in Vilnius Kolegija (Vilnius, Lithuania) during the VIKO International Staff Training Week, there was a short presentation of DISTINCT project. The project was presented by Aleksandra Lis from Krakow  as one of the initiatives of collaboration between JU and VIKO.

After a short introduction of a project idea, also a Question and Answer part was provided. The Training Week in Vilnius brought together lecturers from European, Asian and African universities and was a great opportunity for sharing DISTINCT project with a new audience and extent the networking of the project.

2^nd TPM at Vilniaus kolegija / Higher Education Institution, Faculty of Agrotechnologies

The second transnational partners‘ meeting took place on January 24 and 25, 2024 at Vilniaus kolegija / Higher Education Institution, Faculty of Agrotechnologies.

Representatives of the Faculty: Lecturers of the Department of Chemistry and Food Technology: Erasmus+ Coordinator Nijolė Ružienė and Kristina Žilionytė; Faculty Vice Dean dr. Erika Kubilienė and Project Manager Marius Ignatonis organized the meeting and welcomed the project colleagues from the universities of Poland, Italy, Latvia and Austria, the representatives of the European Chemistry Thematic Network Association (ECTN).

During the meeting, the main goal of the project was emphasized – to find an appropriate approach to the digital transformation of chemistry, taking into account the situation of the last pandemic, to develop an experience-based digital pedagogy (peer-to-peer learning, a “bottom-up” approach), to implement accessible supporting technologies for distance and blended learning, to create the DISTINCT platform – an integrated system of educational and practical training offers in the chemistry sector.

During the meeting, the implementation activities of the DISTINCT project were discussed and specific deadlines and commitments were defined: Design and development, testing, monitoring and implementation of project results; dissemination to the professional community and the public, events, publications, participation in conferences; interaction with other projects, activities covering the entire chemical sector, networking for digital transformation; project management, communication between partners, preparation of reports, organization of partner meetings. The results of the project will be directly applied both in the national context (partner institutions) and at European level (through the activities of the European Chemistry Thematic Network Association (ECTN) and associated partners). The results of the project will be integrated into the overall digitization policy at institutional, national and international level (European chemistry education sector).

It is intended that the results of the project will meet the needs of the academic community in chemistry in terms of digital transformation. The DISTINCT project consortium contributes to support and help to solve the main issues related to digital transformation: “How to carry out a balanced, systematic digital transformation of the chemistry curriculum?”; “How to live and survive in the digital world?”; “How to accept the “new reality“ and overcome the psychological barriers caused by IT?”; “How to get used to the risk and uncertainty caused by the pandemic after a long period of stability and predictability?”; “How to act when you get out of the rhythm of daily life?”; “How to build resilience to possible future crises through digital solutions?”

The project results – DISTINCT platform (integrated multilingual collection of good practices based on self-learning modules); Remote Lecturing Support Toolkit; Remote Laboratories Support Toolkit; support and recommendations from all interested parties – will undoubtedly contribute to the improvement of digital pedagogy and experience of using digital tools in chemistry education and provide support to academic, technical and administrative staff (online training materials for students and teachers, including educational videos on the use of IT tools in training activities). The results of the project will help to further open up the study of chemistry to people with special needs. During the project, partners from different institutions develop examples of good practice, considering their needs and aiming to ensure adequate impact and sustainability of the initiatives. Methodological guidelines and support will be provided for other sectors of education and training in the field of chemistry (secondary schools, vocational training, workplace learning). It is expected that the results of the project – DISTINCT toolkits, recommendations, and media – will facilitate the work of teachers and students and motivate them to achieve the study outcomes foreseen in the study programs.

The VIKO Faculty of Agrotechnologies is pleased and proud of the opportunity to be part of the DISTINCT project consortium, to contribute to the development and implementation of the project results and to create a future in which the study of chemistry becomes even more accessible, efficient, and inspiring.

Disclaimer: The European Commission’s support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.