They studied online across Europe. EUTrack has first graduates, most at UWB

Students at nine European universities in the EUPeace alliance could, for the first time, take courses at partner institutions online without having to travel abroad. More than 400 courses were offered. UWB had the highest number of students that completed the new programme.

When a student from western Bohemia enrolls in an artificial intelligence course in Germany, a class on the European Union in Türkiye, or even Chinese language studies in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it hardly sounds like a typical semester at a Czech university. Yet this is exactly how EUTrack works – a new educational program of the European university alliance EUPeace, whose first students graduated this year.

A total of 41 students from various faculties at the University of West Bohemia met the requirements for receiving the certificate by earning at least six credits at partner universities. Two students from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering also achieved Level 2 with twelve credits. Level 3 requires eighteen credits.

The most popular courses among Pilsen students were those offered by Justus Liebig University Giessen in Germany. 15 students enrolled in a course on artificial intelligence, while another 9 chose Introduction to Sustainability. Courses from Türkiye’s Çukurova University were also well received, especially a course on the European Union, as well as courses from the University of Mostar, where students showed interest in Chinese language studies.

One of the students who achieved Level 2 was Štěpán Cízler. “I genuinely enjoyed the topics covered, and from an educational perspective, the experience was very valuable for me. The only thing that surprised me was the rather chaotic organization at the beginning of the courses. That was resolved fairly quickly and everything then ran smoothly. I found out about the opportunity to join the project completely by chance while selecting courses in the university portal,” said Štěpán, who completed courses on the EU and artificial intelligence. The credits earned count as elective courses and are recorded as such.

Coordinators consider the pilot year a success. “It became clear that students are genuinely interested in courses offered by partner universities. At the same time, we learned a great deal ourselves – both technically and in terms of communication with students,” said Jana Čepičková, EUTrack coordinator at UWB.

“I see the greatest benefit mainly in the opportunity to compare teaching methods at foreign universities. It was interesting to observe how courses are conducted, how communication with students works, and how the organization of teaching differs from what I am used to at UWB,” said another Level 2 graduate, Eliška Červinková.

“International cooperation between universities is no longer only about studying abroad. EUTrack allows students to gain experience in international education without leaving their home university for several months. That is particularly important for those who cannot take part in a traditional study stay abroad for various reasons,” added UWB Vice-Rector for Studies Jiří Kohout.

The nine European universities will now use students’ feedback and experiences as they prepare for the next academic year. Information about new courses and enrolment will be gradually published on the EUPeace and UWB websites, in the Partnerships section.