INTERNATIONAL SEMINARS AS A PART OF MODERN MASTER COMPUTER SCIENCE EDUCATION

The article emphasizes the role of regular made international seminars in the education process. Modern education, besides traditional way of teaching based on lectures and laboratories, should be supported by different kind of activities. Interesting examples of them are seminars conducted by experts from academic centres from different countries. Participating in such seminars gives students ability not only to spread their theoretical and practical knowledge but also to get information about activities and projects conducted at foreign universities. Such experience is also an occasion for students to consult their ideas, projects and problems connected with seminars’ topics. Teachers who conduct seminars are selected to present material which is not covered by the regular master degree program. That is why such meetings are popular among students and they enable them to broaden their horizons.
International seminars are special kind of meetings, where students can feel free to take part in discussions and panels. It gives them also possibility to check their language skills. Moreover, seminars consist the base for future mobility to foreign universities. Students, encouraged by those meeting, very often decide to take part in such programmes as Erasmus or in international internships.
International Seminars on Computer Science (ISoCS) are also great opportunity for the teaching staff of the hosting university. Direct meetings with experts give ability of sharing of newly gained knowledge. They also help in breaking barriers between universities from different part of world. Seminars consist also opportunities for strengthen cooperation and partnership. This gives results in new joint projects and activities.
The seminars described in the article are conducted by the educational project “A graduate of our time” granted by Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The project covers creation of new specializations for the computer science master degree program in Lublin University of Technology.
The details of the project and description of conducted ISoCS are presented in the paper, as well as results of students survey made before and after seminars and SWOT analysis of ISoCS. Survey results show advantage and disadvantage of ISoCS. Some barriers of participating are diagnosed and describe as well as the methods of its breaking.