INCREASING THE QUALITY OF MECHATRONICS STUDY PROGRAMME AT “LUCIAN BLAGA” UNIVERSITY OF SIBIU

Mechatronics study programme was started in 2008 at “Lucian Blaga” University of Sibiu. Since then, the teaching staff involved in the programme was continuously trying to improve its quality.

Of course, there were inherent difficulties and challenges associated with the start of a new study programme, but until now, they were exceeded. This assumption is made based upon the feedback coming from the employers and from the labor market. All the graduates from the two series of engineers with Mechatronics domain, which finished the studies found jobs according to their qualification. Moreover, nearly 80% of them are involved in research and development activities.

However, continuous improvement is one of the main objectives of the Mechatronics study programme. In order to achieve that, a set of actions were taken during 2014 and 2015, under the framework of a European funded program.

One of the first steps unfolded was the revision of syllabuses, in order to adapt them to the latest requirements of the labor market. First, a set of questionnaires was sent to a large number of companies (over 250) in which the responders were asked to assess the main competences and abilities required for an engineer within the Mechatronics field. Another set of questionnaires was sent to the graduates in order to evaluate their degree of satisfaction related to the training provided to them by means of the study programme. A final set of questionnaires was sent to all people linked with the study programme (employers, graduates, teaching staff) with questions related to the curriculum design and the content of the syllabuses.

After processing all data gathered by means of questionnaires, a mixed committee was established, consisting of experts in Mechatronics and related sciences, experts in teaching sciences, employers and graduates which revised the content of more than 34 syllabuses within the curriculum of the Mechatronics study programme.

Another objective of the improvement program was to increase the flexibility during the teaching process, by providing the students with a significant number of course materials in e-learning format. E-learning materials have been developed for more than 11 subjects within the curriculum of the study programme.

Increasing the awareness towards the Mechatronics study programme was another objective. In order to fullfil that, a set of “open doors” workshops were organized. During these workshops, potential candidates (pupils from high-schools) were put in contact with students and graduates who presented them the study program and the opportunities of a career as an Engineer in the Mechatronics domain.

Last but not least, a set of workshops were organized with the thematic of “opportunities for women in the Mechatonics domain”, which presented success stories of female graduates of the study programme, in order to attract more young women to a career in Mechatronics.