Abstract:

Students come from secondary schools with inconsistent knowledge in the fields of mathematics, physics and computer science. For this reason, the Support Centre (hereinafter referred to as the SC) at the Institute of Technology and Business was established. The SC primarily focuses on improving and deepening the knowledge that students acquire in the basic courses in bachelor's and subsequent master's studies. The knowledge acquired in the subjects of the basic course (mathematics, physics) fundamentally affects other specialized subjects within the technical education.

The idea of the "Math Support Centre" originated in Great Britain in the 1990s. At that time, students from weak population years were coming to universities in the UK. This situation has hit technical universities hardest. For this reason, it was necessary to make the most of the potential of incoming students. Support Centres still operate in many countries. The situation is similar in the Czech Republic now.

The article describes the experience gained during the first year of operation of the centre. We discuss the methods of provided support: individual and group consultations with tutors, repetition lectures and other activities. Selected students from master's studies were involved in SC activities. They participated not only in organizational activities but also in tutoring.

We also present feedback from students obtained based on questionnaire surveys, where we asked mainly about problematic parts of teaching. We also describe the experience with the service of SC in the COVID-19 crisis.

Keywords:

Support Centre, tutoring, Feedback, questionnaire survey, COVID-19.