Kolegium Karkonoskie
(Karkonosze College) was established on July the
1st, 1998 among first six state higher vocational schools in Poland
based on the new law act. The college begun the third year of its
activity – 2000/2001 – with six educational profiles, doubling their
initial number. Profiles of 'Polish Language' and 'Care Pedagogy (with
specialties „Physical Education' and 'Re-Socialisation') were
based on a very good foundation of the Teachers College, which already
terminated its activity. Establishing of new profiles – 'German
Language' and 'English Language' has began the process of merging
with the Teachers College for Foreign Languages. Students of 'Electrical Engineering and Telecommunication' profile begun their
education since February of 1999 – starting with specialty on 'Computer Engineering'. The present teaching offer covers also other
specialties: 'Computer Science at School' and 'Medical & Spa
Equipment Engineering'.
The profile 'Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medical
Techniques' is the recent educational proposal, which appeared to be
the first authorization to teach in medical area granted to a higher
vocational school in Poland. The Institute of Medical Education carrying
on those studies was established by converting a group of
post-high-school teaching units into the institute of the KK. Karkonosze College
is also presenting each year a rich offer (mainly devoted for
teachers) of postgraduate studies completing and actuating the knowledge.
The main campus of the KK is located within the area of the health
resort Uzdrowisko Cieplice, therefore, the college made a
strategic decision to over-specialise in education of handicapped
persons. Such decision is linked not only with the adjustment of all
routs of immobilised and blind persons to their capabilities, but
chiefly to elaborate special programmes of studies including physical
and mental rehabilitation of handicapped.
This strategy was the origin of the application for
the pilot project: 'Education and Rehabilitation of Disable Students'
(PERDIS) to the international programme 'Leonardo da Vinci'.
The partnership in this undertaking was proposed to the European
Institute of Postgraduate Studies (EIPOS) of the Technical
University of Dresden, Germany and the Technical University of Liberec,
Czech Republic – partner university, with which the KK is permanently
linked by the agreement of collaboration. The Karkonosze College took
the role of the project promoter and its natural local partner became Uzdrowisko Cieplice Ltd. also bound with the KK by the agreement
of co-operation.
The initial idea of the KK was to offer computer
engineering profile, taught from the first year of the college
activities, to immobilised students. This was the obligation made in the
application. The widening of the KK teaching area of medical and foreign
languages profiles made also possible to extend the educational offer
for handicapped and to include students with visual and hearing
impairments, as well. The last enlargement was possible due to a
valuable collaboration with the team from the Jagiellonian University of
Cracow, specialized for years in educating of blind persons. The
competence in educating of disabled was also increased as the result of
co-operation with the Podlachian Academy of Siedlce – the university
teaching, relatively to its recruitment, the largest number of
handicapped students. All additional tasks were undertook within the
initial budget of PERDIS.
Technical specialties on 'Programming' and
'Administration of Computer Networks' prepared for immobilised
students could be also offered to those with visual and hearing
impairments. For those last the priority are medical specialties on
physiotherapy (dry massage and biological renewal) as well as dietetics.
Students with all types of impairments could also study foreign
languages – English and German, specialising mainly in translating and
interpreting.
The presupposition of Centre for Education of
Disabled Persons has been among obligations signed in the PERDIS
contract. Therefore, the project suggests the initial program of such
Centre, its location and the way of financing by the State Fund for
Rehabilitation of Handicapped Persons (PFRON) – gathering, on
the base of adequate law acts, financial means to support disabled in
Poland. The crucial element of the Centre activity is to implement the
system of screening pupils of primary and secondary education to provide
early selection and contact with impaired children and to present them
possibilities to undertake higher vocational education. It should also
facilitate the crossing of mental brakes against studying.
Some future plans cover also getting an object and
its proper adaptation for sc. 'integrative' students dormitory in
which handicapped person will share a twin room with a colleague ready
to assist.
The KK planning to develop studies for handicapped
has seen them in the near future as the regional offer, widened later on
the territory of all Poland. The further possibility of these studies
internationalisation is linked with the activities of Euroregion
Neisse-Nisa-Nysa the local area of trilateral cross-border collaboration of
Czech Republic, Germany and Poland. Perhaps, through this gate the KK
could draft handicapped students also from European Union. It seams
obvious, that this is a long lasting process and several conditions
should be fulfilled to reach the success..
The natural attraction of such studies linking
education with physical and mental rehabilitation must be increased,
especially for foreigners, by non-conventional form of teaching and
splendid housing conditions. Therefore, it has been planned to take
advantage of electronic tools used in the distance education for
abolishing language barriers, which should enable domestic faculties,
not always prepared to teach in German or English, to follow their
duties. Excellent housing conditions in 'integrative' hotel within
the scenic area of Karkonoshe Mountains and in the centre of the health
resort, should appear also very attractive. The quality of medical and
psychological treatment will be also very important for choosing of such
study offer.
The success of presented plans of educating of
handicapped persons could distinguishably relax the shortage of
candidates for study at the KK, unavoidable after year 2005 when the
demographic depression in Poland will reach higher education.
The KK ambition is, that not only study programmes,
but also the model of education proposed by PERDIS, could be
disseminated and implemented among higher schools having similar
teaching conditions coming out from neighbourhood with health resorts or
other institutions offering medical rehabilitation methods and
facilities.
Prof. Tomasz Winnicki
Rector of Karkonosze College
KOLEGIUM KARKONOSKIE
