Logistics teachers familiarized themselves with the offer of postgraduate studies, which allow them to improve their qualifications. They also received specially prepared discs with teaching materials. These are the result of the university’s cooperation with logistics companies, which share their projects, photos, and videos for educational purposes. During the forum, the portal http://www.szkolysrednie.wsl.com.pl/ was presented, where teachers can consult with each other and exchange materials. Forum participants learned about the program of school trips to the Poznań School of Logistics (WSL). The Poznań university has already hosted over 2,500 students, organizing lectures and visits to logistics companies for them. One of the topics discussed during the meeting was curriculum changes in the teaching of logistics technician and freight forwarding technician professions. New textbooks for schools (“English for Logisticians” and “Inventory and Warehousing”) were also presented. The information panel of the forum concluded with a report on the 2nd edition of the National Logistics Olympiad. The forum organizers also discussed three EU projects implemented by WSL, from which teachers can benefit: “Wielkopolska Must Know,” DELPHI, and “Virtual Laboratories – Success of Innovation.” As part of the “Wielkopolska Must Know” project, a Logistics Research Platform is being created. It will be an internet portal enabling closer cooperation between schools and companies, while also serving as an information base on work and logistics education. Since 2010, the LOGISTICSTUBE platform has been launched as part of the DELPHI project. Thanks to it, teachers will have access to teaching materials. The third project – “Virtual Laboratories – Success of Innovation” is scheduled to start in June 2010. Thanks to it, three schools from each voivodeship will conduct classes based on innovative online logistics, forwarding, and warehousing laboratories. The presentation by Jerzy Rozynek, Director of the Secondary School Complex in Sulechów, who discussed the organization of the teaching system using modular programs, was met with great interest from the forum participants. The conference concluded with workshops where teachers became familiar with, among other things, the MonZa Edu software designed for the “Warehouse Laboratory” subject.
– Every year we have more and more participants in the Teachers’ Forum – says Wojciech Zalewski, WSL press spokesperson. – This is because teachers recognize the enormous amount of work being done to improve the quality of logistics education at the secondary level and want to be part of this program, as well as deciding to draw from the experiences of others.
Media patronage over the 4th Teachers’ Forum was provided by the magazines: “Logistyka,” “Polska Gazeta Transportowa,” “Gazeta Szkolna,” “Logistyka a Jakość,” “Nowoczesny Magazyn,” “Transport i Spedycja”; Radio Planeta, and the portals: logistyka.net.pl, student news.pl, e-fakty.pl. The event partners were: Institute of Logistics and Warehousing, Raben Group, Elettric 80, ProLogis, Epicor, Panopa, DHL Express, Promag, Quantum Software, SKK Barcode Systems, Wincanton, and Pekaes.