Abstract:

MADEM, i.e. Mobile Application Development for Environmental Monitoring, is a large educational project whose aim was complex preparation of a new interdisciplinary Master’s specialization conducted in English in the field of computer science. The project development of the new degree program involved preparation of the curriculum, detailed syllabi, complete teaching materials for lectures, laboratories and e-learning courses, scripts for students as well as a technical base in the form of a laboratory for mobile and measurement technologies for environmental monitoring. Furthermore, the didactic staff preparing the curriculum of the new specialization had an opportunity to participate in study visits both in national and in foreign institutions connected with environmental protection. The purpose of the visits was learning about the problems the institutions deal with as well as making long-term contacts. Familiarity with the issues of the environmental institutions enabled to focus didactics on solving ecological problems. The established long-term contacts provide a possibility of modification of educational programs with a view to adapting them to the changing requirements of the environmental institutions.

The new specialization was developed in close collaboration with Scandinavian partner universities and local industry to benefit from the experience of others and to adapt to the market needs. The interdisciplinary character of studies ensures innovation but it is also demanding for the teaching staff. The development of the degree program proved to be a successful and a challenging task both for the staff and the management team.

The paper presents the MADEM project and its achievements as well as the evaluation results of the process of the project implementation from the perspective of the project management team. The evaluation concerns different areas such as academic, organizational, educational, financial and managerial ones. The evaluation depicted in the paper is an element of lessons learned from the MADEM project realized by the project management team. The perspective may be informative and useful for other teams pursuing similar educational projects.

Keywords:

Higher education, educational project, Master’s program, internationalization, interdisciplinarity.