General information

The project „University Class of Intercultural Competence" has been carried out continuously starting from the academic year of 2010/2011 within the framework of cooperation with the Institute of European Studies at the Jagiellonian University and High School no. 8 in Krakow.

An overriding aim of the class is to develop students' skills which will be indispensable for work and communication in the international environment. This includes such skills as: broadening the knowledge on European culture, widening the intellectual perspectives, familiarizing students with various European ways of reasoning, expressing feelings, communicating and cooperating with the goal of finalizing a joint project.

Important ideas of the Project are: to develop students' tolerance and respect for other cultures and values together with creativity, entrepreneurship and responsibility for a group and a task, to develop the competence of how to evaluate and conclude from the international cooperation, to recognize the examples of good practices and bad practices to avoid in the future.

Other goals of the projects are to adjust a school curriculum to European standards and to the requirements of a globalized world, to provide an European perspective on the subjects taught in the school, to enrich the learning and teaching processes by introducing a series of lectures and seminars to be held by academic teachers and PhD candidates of the European Studies Institute and to improve the quality of teaching through introduction of practical learning in regards to foreign languages and intercultural education.

Classes with students are held in the framework of modular teaching. The aim is not only to share solid knowledge, but also to teach how to solve problems based on the case studies, creative thinking and correlation between theory and practice.

A class on a particular subject is held in the form of a lecture beforehand and later practiced during the group workshops. During the first year of education (the whole education lasts for two and a half years), students follow a European studies introductory curriculum. From the 2nd grade they begin the modular education. One module or subject is examined for 3 months during which students attend lectures and seminars once a month. Modules are matched according to which students work the subjects are connected with intercultural competence, tolerance and discrimination, identity and culture.

Fot. Przegorzaly Castle, the main location of the Institute of European Studies w Przegorzałach. Maciej Janiec from Flickr on the CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 license.