The project week forming part of the initial phase of the Sustainable Transportation project took place in Finland
28.11.2022
One of the project partner universities, the Finnish Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences, hosted this intense project week.
Altogether, six teams of 24 students from four participating countries - the Czech Republic, Finland, Belgium and Germany - focused on Sustainable Aftersales in the automotive industry (maintenance and repair of cars and the circular economy) during the project week. As part of the project week, student teams focused on designing activities in an upcoming subject aimed at transportation sustainability. Participating academics subsequently integrated the student teams’ results into the design of the forthcoming subject, which is currently being tested as a trial at the Finnish university. Consequently, the student team from ŠKODA AUTO University presented their week-long intensive work to representatives of Škoda Auto a.s.
Bc. David Křupka, a first-year student of the SAU Master’s programme, described his attendance in Finland and subsequent presentation at ŠA by saying: “During the project week in Seinäjoki, Finland, we could see and experience a lot. Each team visited several local companies involved in the automotive industry. By doing so, we gained a lot of valuable insights into the topic of Sustainable Aftersales. Moreover, we worked in international teams for the whole week, collaborating to gain new knowledge and prepare outputs that could contribute to preparing the upcoming subject on this topic. The interaction within the different teams was gratifying, as each participating university focuses on a different field of study. After returning to the Czech Republic, we presented our acquired insights and outputs gained during the project to the Aftersales management at Škoda Auto a.s. We would like to express our gratitude to this department as they helped us obtain a lot of information from the aftersales field and generally prepare ourselves for the entire project.”
Dominik Hercík, a third-year student of Bachelor’s studies, perceives his involvement in the project week in Finland as an unforgettable experience and a great challenge.“The Sustainable Transportation project provided an unforgettable experience and a great challenge. Apart from deepening our knowledge in sustainable mobility, I really appreciated the opportunity to meet senior managers from Škoda Auto a. s., including the Head of the Aftersales department, Ing. Stanislav Pekař. In Finland, we were able to practice working in international teams and presenting our results to a large group of people. Besides the university, we visited one of the car service branches, ESS Autotalo, and the whole process of the servicing was explained to us. We also visited the automotive laboratory at the university and could practice the diagnostics of an Audi, including a simulated ordering of spare parts and repair of a reported defect. On a personal level, it was fascinating to meet a lot of new people, improve my English communication skills and explore a new country and its culture,” says Dominik about his experience.
The Sustainable Transportation project is divided into three parts. The first part has been completed, and preparations are currently underway for the second phase focusing on Sustainable Vehicle Design and Supply Chain Management. In this part of the project, the research team will meet from 27 to 31 March 2023 at the ŠKODA AUTO University in Mladá Boleslav. The project team will comprise six students from each participating country, along with three academic representatives from Belgium, five from Finland and one from Germany.
This team will be expanded to include students from the ŠKODA AUTO University; the students will be selected in December this year.
More about the project:
Sustainable Transportation, SusTrans, is an international research project supported by the Erasmus+ programme that is being realised in cooperation with the Finnish Seinäjoki University of Applied Sciences, the German Ostbayerische Technische Hochschule Regensburg and the Belgian Thomas More University in Mechelen-Antwerp. The project focuses on the subject of sustainability in transportation and aims to enhance the quality of university education.
