The popularization of science, modern methods of education and the development of cooperation between the academic community and business became the basis for the signing on September 24, 2018, at the Banker's Club, of an agreement between the Polish Bank Association, the Warsaw Institute of Banking and the Young Science Foundation regarding cooperation in the development of the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) e-learning platform.
photo: Adrianna Żołdak
The agreement assumes close cooperation between the signatories, the exchange of long-standing experiences, and the sharing of teaching materials for dissemination and popularization among students. Thanks to this agreement, the MOOC platform will be enriched with the content of long-standing educational activities in the financial sector (including the Bankers for Education sector program and the Modern Business Management program) and will enable broad outreach activities, divided into various advancement paths, ensuring that knowledge in economics, banking, and entrepreneurship is tailored to the needs of its recipients.
The Polish MOOC is a systemic solution that creates a collaborative network between universities and other recognized distance education providers. The project's main goal is to create a publicly accessible learning platform, providing a wide range of virtual courses for various social groups and bringing together diverse communities: universities, research institutions, businesses, and non-governmental organizations. The project is being implemented for the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
Krzysztof Pietraszkiewicz, President of the Polish Bank Association, spoke about the importance and long-term cooperation between the financial sector and Polish universities, also emphasizing the importance of cooperation between all sectors of business and the economy and the academic community.
photo: Adrianna Żołdak
"We must remember one thing: the achievements of Polish banking and the Polish economy that we have today would not exist if it weren't for close and fruitful cooperation with Polish universities. The fact that we can now benefit from certain legislative and algorithmic solutions, and have broad access to online and mobile banking is precisely the result of the synergy of Polish economists, bankers, and scientists. The extensive experience of the banking sector in Poland is invaluable material for students studying at Polish universities. However, we want knowledge, including economics, not to be perceived solely as a set of practices and skills reserved for a select few. Through our educational activities, we reach not only students but also hundreds of thousands of Polish citizens who want to expand their knowledge of banking and economics. For nearly 10 years, we have been popularizing economic content and raising awareness among the younger generation of the importance of knowledge in areas such as finance and cybersecurity for our daily lives. We are pleased to be joining the MOOC platform." This is a valuable and noteworthy initiative, thanks to which we can jointly develop educational activities using modern teaching methods. Today's world places increasingly greater demands on us, and we, as the banking sector, are meeting these demands, not only in our daily work but also in our educational programs, striving to provide young people with the best we have to offer," said Krzysztof Pietraszkiewicz, President of the Polish Bank Association.
The role and value of online courses was also emphasized by Dr. Kinga Kurowska-Wilczyńska, President of the Young Science Foundation, who pointed out the importance of joint implementation of the project so that the recipients receive the most complete tool possible for unlimited use in educational processes.
"Polish MOOC will be an ecosystem in which knowledge will become accessible to everyone, anywhere in the world. It will complement traditional forms of education and, thanks to a network of universities and other recognized distance learning providers, also be one of the most reliable and credible sources of online education. Given that the National Centre for Research and Development will soon announce a competition for the development of approximately 100 courses from all types of universities, one of the first classes on the platform will be a course for course creators themselves, created by the Foundation," said Dr. Kinga Kurowska-Wilczyńska, President of the Young Science Foundation.
photo: Adrianna Żołdak
Krzysztof Kokot, President of the Warsaw Institute of Banking, also shared his experiences in cooperation with distance learning platforms, drawing attention primarily to the wide availability, huge scale and diversity of educational offers for students in one place without leaving home, thanks to online materials.
"Having implemented a number of educational and training activities for Polish society and the banking sector for many years at the Warsaw Institute of Banking, we see how rapidly the approach to educational tools is changing. Today, a simple multimedia presentation and a well-published textbook are no longer enough; they are already a thing of the past. Young people need additional incentives to encourage them to absorb sometimes complex content. Reliable and proven knowledge requires an effective and attractive system whose parameters allow for full use of available materials. Only high-quality materials combined with proven and reliable substantive content will be effective."
"We can encourage and convince recipients to take advantage of educational offers on a daily basis. A huge advantage of online courses is that they significantly reduce delivery costs while increasing their accessibility and popularity. If we currently reach nearly 500,000 recipients through our projects, imagine the scale that will be possible after introducing widely accessible online courses and training. Thanks to the platform, we will be able to make our courses, training, and certifications available to anyone who wants to use them, with unlimited access, anywhere in the world," said Krzysztof Kokot, President of the Warsaw Institute of Banking.
photo: Adrianna Żołdak
The agreement assumes, among other things, the preparation of courses for students and academics in the field of economics and entrepreneurship, divided into two tracks: for economics, law and management, and all other fields (technical, scientific, humanities, etc.), the implementation of existing WIB educational courses, the preparation of a certification process for course completion and knowledge-testing exams, and the provision of access to electronic versions of industry journals.
