3rd edition of Education Quality Days at UO

Participants attending the Education Quality Days at the University of Opole exchanged experiences and best practices whilst taking part in lectures, discussions, training sessions and other interesting initiatives held at the university from 11 to 15 May 2026. The event attracted university teaching and administrative staff, students, doctoral students and invited guests.

Participants attending the Education Quality Days at the University of Opole exchanged experiences and best practices whilst taking part in lectures, discussions, training sessions and other interesting initiatives held at the university from 11 to 15 May 2026. The event attracted university teaching and administrative staff, students, doctoral students and invited guests.

‘We would like to show what the University of Opole has to offer. It is not just about degree programmes, of which there are currently over seventy, but about the fact that we are keeping pace with the changes brought about by our civilisation,’ said Prof. Anna Weissbrot-Koziarska, Vice-Rector for Education. ‘It is primarily about new technologies and AI but also about skills that are not necessarily included in the study curricula, such as communication, conflict resolution, mediation, negotiation and teamwork.

On the first day, the focus was on micro-credentials, i.e. documents certifying skills in a specific area, obtained with minimal effort and based on established standards. They address changing learning methods and the demands of the labour market. Micro-credentials are issued by institutions that adhere to established standards of education and training quality, such as schools, universities, educational institutions, non-governmental organisations, sports associations and clubs, as well as private companies.

The event was opened by the Vice-Rector for Education, Prof. Anna Weissbrot-Koziarska. Afterwards, lectures were given by Wojciech Jaślar from the Educational Research Institute (“The digital skills ecosystem: Micro-credentials as a new value for students, lecturers and universities”) and Dr Agnieszka Schwalbe-Tiszbierek from the Opole University of Technology (“Micro-credentials and badges in practice – the Odznaka+ app”).

The lectures were followed by a student and PhD student debate on ‘Digital Micro-Credentials’, moderated by Dr Agnieszka Schwalbe-Tiszbierek (Opole University of Technology) and Angelika Chęcińska (Office of Education and Quality Assurance, UO). The participants also listened to a lecture combined with a demonstration presented by Dr Piotr Dzierwa and Computer Science students Julia Olszewska and Michał Hutsch entitled ‘Slicer 3D Image Processing Platform’.

‘Our reality and the job market often change faster than the duration of a degree programme. It is not about students coming to us just to get a degree, but about them acquiring specific skills and knowledge,’ emphasised Prof. Weissbrot-Koziarska. ‘Even if the study programme they have chosen does not meet their needs or live up to their expectations of studying, they will still be able to take advantage of micro-credentials, which are short-term ways of acquiring knowledge and skills and broadening their interests.’

The second day featured a panel discussion entitled ‘University studies and AI: Cheating or skills for the future?”, as well as workshops on ‘Effective learning training’ and ‘Soft skills training – Stress and how to cope with it’ run by Maja Florczak and Samanta Ostrowska – IFMSA-Poland soft skills coaches.

The workshop ‘From theory to practice’ was prepared by Prof. Monika Haczkowska, Faculty of Law and Administration, whilst the workshop ‘Jungian psychological types in improving the education process for students of natural sciences’ was delivered by Dr Paweł Świsłowski (Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology) and the comparative study ‘Ways of teaching law in Poland and abroad’(the Netherlands and Canada)’ by Dr Tomasz Tomczak, Faculty of Law and Administration.

The theme of the third part of the Education Quality Days was equality, accessibility and communication. Prof. Marzanna Pogorzelska, Institute of Linguistics, gave a lecture entitled “Safe and accessible university: Combating discrimination as an element of education quality and Dr Ewelina Wojtarkowska-Forczek, Ombudsperson for Employees, UO, gave a talk entitled ‘Between cooperation and tension – on conflicts in master-student relationships’

The programme also included a workshop for PhD students entitled ‘In conflict, but not without influence – how to navigate a difficult academic relationship’, run by Dr Ewelina Wojtarkowska-Forczek. In addition, Dr Barbara Pietrzyk-Tobiasz, Ombudsperson for Doctoral Students from the National Representation of Doctoral Students, gave a talk entitled “Supervision of doctoral students at the Doctoral School”.

The fourth day of the event featured the following lectures: ‘Neo-education: Designing classes that win over attention, meaning and quality’ (Dr Bartosz Sobotka, Syntea SA), ‘Digital technologies in academic teaching – new opportunities for improving the quality of education’ (Dr Bartłomiej Janicki, Faculty of Social Sciences), “A supervisor’s expectations of a graduate student” (Dr Anna Kusakiewicz-Dawid, Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy) and “Erasmus+ international cooperation partnerships (KA220-HED) as a tool for improving the quality of academic education – experiences from the implementation of the BREATH and INSTEpp projects” (Dr Agata Mroczek, Faculty of Health Sciences).

The agenda also included a workshop entitled “Developing teaching skills in the area of modern lesson planning based on UDL principles” (Dr Bartosz Sobotka, Syntea SA) and a panel discussion moderated by Prof. Dawid Zych (Faculty of Chemistry and Pharmacy), entitled “Between the master and the algorithm; or, how educational role models and authority figures are changing”.

On the final day of the event, lectures were given by: Dr Piotr Herok from the Faculty of Theology “The oldest textbook on critical thinking? The Bible in university teaching”, Dr Mateusz Antczak from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology “Not just popularisation. How non-formal education supports science and attracts students – the example of the Biology and Palaeobiology Programme” as well as Dr Piotr Urbaniec from the Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Computer Science “Synergistic parallelisation, or an easy gateway to difficult topics”.

On the fifth day, we learned about the projects that the University of Opole has completed or is still implementing. Prof. Elżbieta Szymańska-Czaplak, Dean of the Faculty of Philology at the University of Opole, spoke about the initiative ‘Quality first – developing competences and the education management system at the University of Opole’. The project “Integrated measures taken by the University of Opole to combat drop-out rates” was discussed by Prof. Anna Weissbrot-Koziarska, Prof. Iwona Dąbrowska-Jabłońskaand Karolina Gęsikowska.

The Education Quality Days were accompanied by the ‘Melancholy’ exhibition, organised by students from the Faculty of Art, the UO Academic Swimming Championships, the UO Bench Press and Multi-Press Championships, fitness, Pilates and dance workshops, as well as a volleyball tournament.

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