Implementing the Practically-Oriented Curricular in the Field of Cyber-Physical Systems: A Case Study of the School for Ukrainian Students

The ERASMUS + project “Development of practically-oriented student-centered education in the field of modeling of Cyber-Physical Systems” (CybPhys) focuses on curricula modernizations in close cooperation with potential employers. Since the CybPhys project pursues to develop practically-oriented student-centered curricula, we involved industry representatives in the creation of new courses from the very beginning of the project. In the paper, we describe the curriculum development stages and obtain feedback from the main stakeholders. As part of the practically-oriented education, European partners in Riga Technical University, KU Leuven, and the University of Cyprus should arrange three schools for Ukrainian students. In this research, we focus on implementing practically-oriented and student-centered training methods at the school for Ukrainian students arranged at the RTU in January 2022. We describe novel methods and approaches applied in the students’ school, such as transversal skills, Design Thinking, involvement of industry representatives in the teacher team, etc. The survey of Ukrainian students and teachers revealed the presence or absence of correlations between students’ general perception of the school and teaching/ learning methods, e.g. developments of creative thinking, practical application of theory, etc.