The Polish market is short of approx. 50 thousand IT specialists. The "IT Graduate" project was the University's response to the needs of the city and the region.
After a solid introduction to IT, the project participants could choose one of 4 paths of further development: a programmer, graphic designer/UX specialist, databases administrator or an availability auditor. In addition, the University offered the participants a specialist language course – IT English and trainings in soft skills.
“In addition to the traditional tasks of universities, which include education and research, in recent years also "the third mission"– cooperation of the academy with the environment – has strengthened its position. University of Lodz constantly meets expectations of employers in order to increase attractiveness of its students and graduates on the modern, very dynamic labour market. The project entitled “IT Graduate. The support programme for the graduates of the University of Lodz" is only one of many examples of the activities of the University of Lodz undertaken in cooperation with the business environment and for its needs"
- prof. Agnieszka Kurczewska, Vice-Rector for External Relations of the University of Lodz.
IT Training in response to the pandemic
In total, under the project 3,000 training hours were completed and 425 participants were trained. In the trainings evaluation studies, the graduates emphasized the high substantive level of the classes.
The first edition of the project was carried out in a stationary mode (on-site), the second – due to the pandemic – took the remote (online) form. During the pandemic, the graduates could learn from any location, while the training frequency (weekend meetings twice a month) allowed for combining professional work with gaining new knowledge after hours. The change in the method of carrying out the classes had a positive impact on attendance and comfort of the participants.
“Computer graphics classes and the creative way of conducting them were the most interesting ones. Programming classes were difficult, very demanding for beginners, but in retrospect, I can say that the knowledge acquired during the exercises was a great investment in myself. The specialist path of an accessibility auditor, let me learn what the WCAG 2.0 standard is and what challenges the IT industry faces in the context of building adequate systems for people with disabilities. The remote form of the classes made it easier for me to "manage" my family and professional work.”
- Magdalena Paszko, participant of the graphic designer/UX specialist path.
Moreover, in the survey summarizing the impact of the project on the professional fate of the graduates, its participants emphasized that it had contributed to positive changes in their lives – it made it easier to start working in IT or change the scope of duties to those related to the branch. As one of the participants wrote:
“Thanks to the classes as part of a database administrator specialist path, I have changed my job to the IT industry, where I can use the knowledge acquired during the training. I appreciate the fact that the training lasted almost 9 months, during which I learned a lot more issues than during standard trainings."
Online training was a big challenge for the training instructors. As Kamil Wojtyra – the database administrator specialist path trainer, says, online classes carried the risk of ensuring the same standard of classes as in the classroom, at the same time providing an opportunity for the educational progress of the participants through thorough repetition of the material using the recordings:
“(...) It was difficult for me to imagine how people without solid IT knowledge would cope with the tasks that I have prepared for them. The problem was so much greater that during the classroom classes I had the opportunity to directly approach the computer of each student and dispel any doubts. Everyone works at their own pace and while in the case of stationary (on-site) classes, the instructor is able to quickly detect when a participant gets lost and guide them without interrupting the work of the rest of the group, then in the online form the instructor is dependent on the impulse from a student. The positive side of conducting online classes, which the participants appreciated above all, was the possibility of recording them. The trainees could play the recording anywhere
and anytime thus, repeat material without the need to take notes during the class."
Artur Lipnicki – in charge of the graphic designer/UX specialist path, emphasizes the involvement of training participants, which, regardless of the form of classes, was a key factor in the educational success:
"(...) I must admit that I was concerned about this form of UX/UI teaching. My fears were dispelled after the first class. The group turned out to be very active and ambitious in achieving the intended goal. All the tasks were done with great commitment."
The project finished on 31 August 2021 and was co-financed by the European Union under the European Social Fund. The value of the subsidy obtained by the University of Lodz was PLN 975,141.72. Spółdzielnia Socjalna FADO [FADO Social Cooperative] was the partner of the project launched in 2019.
Source: Centre for External Relations, UL
Edit: Promotion Centre, UL