Science and practice - a well-tried alliance

20.02.2013

The reflection that for decades the students of profiled faculties have drawn substantial benefits from the so-called professional apprenticeship may sound rather banal today. It served the purpose on the condition, however, that a hands-on practice would meet the required criteria in terms of relevance and purpose. The reformed education system seems to have lost the very core of the idea, although opinions are more and more frequently voiced - e.g. from the university and secondary school students paying numerous "study visits" to the Port of Gdansk - that it is hard to overestimate the bilateral benefits of re-introducing this form of confronting theoretical knowledge with everyday practice.

These opinions had effectively led to the signing of the agreement on 20 February 2013 by the head of PGA SA Management Board, Jerzy Melaniuk, MBA, and by Professor Krzysztof Dobrowolski PhD, Dean of the Economic Faculty of the University of Gdansk. The agreement stipulates that already in the coming spring term third-year students of the Transport and Maritime Trade Faculty will have the opportunity to participate in classes prepared by the management of PGA joint stock company. The lectures curriculum will cover both the monographic characteristics of the port together with the analysis of transformations in the port operations reality, as well as the legal specification of port management functioning, the practical aspects in terms of tender procedures implemented for the purpose of EU projects development, the specification of seaports' operation in the Baltic Europe, the principles of the environmental protection, safety and security of port facilities, and the practical conditions of port management operations and its cooperation with the national authorities. This wide-ranging formula devised for the theoretical curriculum will be additionally enhanced by providing the students with an opportunity to participate in trade-related events such as fairs, exhibitions and conferences recommended by the port authority.

The intention of this agreement is first and foremost to create a solid foundation for sensible professional apprenticeship programmes which will help verify students' knowledge acquired in university lecture rooms. Students will be given an opportunity of finding an interesting career, whereas the port authority will be able to select from among the University of Gdansk graduates those best predisposed to holding the particularly demanding positions. A firm belief was emphasized that such a well-tested alliance between science and practice will undoubtedly bring about substantial benefits to the both parties involved.

Janusz Kasprowicz
PGA SA PR Officer