Organization of the Educational Process and Methods and Means to Enhance the Students Training Assoc

International Society of communication and Development among universities www.europeansp.org Spectrum (Educational Research Service),ISSN:0740-7874

Organization Of The Educational Process And Methods And Means To Enhance The Students Training Assoc. Prof. Asen Asenov; Prof. Velizara Pencheva; Assoc. Prof. Daniel Lyubenov

University of Ruse, 8 Studentska str., Ruse, 7017, Bulgaria,

Abstract

This study was done on the example of training of students in degree programmes in the field of transport. One of the main problems indicated by employers, related to recruiting students to work, is their practical training obtained in universities. Therefore, increasing the practical training of students is an important part of their education. It can be done jointly by training in a real practical environment. An evaluation of the practical training of students was made. The results show that the interest of students in learning increases, and thus their practical training.

Keywords: Students Training; Educational Process; Practical Skills

1. Introduction

In Bulgaria, higher education can be completed in public and private higher schools and universities. According to the National Statistics Institute, during the academic year 2014/2015, in Bulgaria, 221.5 thousand students are trained in state and 35.6 thousand students in private universities (National Statistical Institute. Education in the Republic of Bulgaria 2015). The change in the number of students over the past five years shows that compared to 2010/2011 the number of students in state universities has increased by 6.2 thousand, (2.9%), while in private universities, it has decreased by 4.7 thousand, (11.7%). This may be due not only to financial reasons and good education, but also to mobility and realization that students receive in the state higher education institutions. The University of Ruse “Angel Kanchev” is a state university with over 70 years of history and traditions in education (Страница на Русенски университет). In it, quality of education and research are rooted in its mission and vision for development (Русенски университет) and correspond with the European strategy for smart,

Downloaded from erss.europeansp.org at 16:35 +0330 on Tuesday October 5th 2021 sustainable and inclusive growth "Europe 2020", where the key role is occupied by employment, innovation, education, social inclusion and climate / energy (European commission. COM (2010) 2020). It is also in sync with the requirements of ISO 9001: 2015 "Systems of quality management", according to which every university should identify internal and external circumstances which affect its quality system (EN ISO 9001:2015). Another important factor that is important is the existing ranking systems of universities, through which one can obtain information on the position of the university based on the quality of teaching and research (Министерство на образованието и науката). The University of Ruse provides training in eight faculties - Agrarian and Industrial; Mechanical Engineering; Electronics and Automation; Transport; Business and Management; Science and Education; Law; Public Health and

© 2016 The Authors. Published by European Science publishing Ltd. Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of European Science publishing Ltd. Author name / Spectrum (Educational Research Service),ISSN:0740-7874(2017)101_108

Health Care and 2 Branches located in the cities of Silistra and Razgrad (Страница на Русенски университет). It maintains constant contact with public and private employers for the benefit of its students and alumni. As a result, issues related to the preparation of personnel and their realization are constantly discussed. This paper presents the solutions to be implemented in the practical training of students from the Faculty of Transport, which have been agreed on after these discussions with employers. They refer to part-time and full-time students in the educational and qualification degree "bachelor".

2. Body

2.1. Practical training of students in the Faculty of Transport

The practical training of students from the University of Ruse in transport degree programmes is carried out according to the adopted curriculum and in the curriculum topics for each discipline (Учебен план на специалност “Технология и управление на транспорта” в Русенски университет). It is conducted through various forms such as:  Participation of all students in practical and laboratory work during regular hours in the facilities of the Faculty of Transport at the University of Rousse;  Conducting separate practical exercises in a real working environment of employers with modern equipment (performing annual technical inspection of the car, etc.);  Participation of all students in summer practices included in the academic curriculum in real working environment (workshops, transportation and courier companies, logistics companies, state structures - Ruse Municipality, the Implementing Agencies "Maritime Administration" and "Automobile Administration" port complexes, etc. .);  Participation of students in the activities of academic clubs: Club "Motorist" club "Four wheels”.  Club "Motorist" has an impressive history. In the last three years, its members have been working on the construction of an electric race car and have participated with it in the race for economical and environmental management of Shell Eco Marathon.  Club "Four Wheels" has a Facebook page with 249 members (students, graduates of the University of Ruse and teachers) to date, who share useful information and work in the areas of traffic safety; innovation in transport; useful knowledge; Safe and sports (risk) driving; diagnostics and maintenance of cars; preparation and participation in projects at national level; preparation and evaluation of auto technical expertise;  Participation of students in the approved practice of 240 hours in a real working environment under the Project "Student practices", funded by OP "Human Resources Development", financed by the ESF EU. The project ended in 2015. It is expected to continue this year again when students go to practice in a real environment;  Participation of distinguished students in projects financed by the Scientific Research Fund of the University of Ruse;  Training and practice in the implementation of Erasmus mobility;  Training of individual outstanding students in companies after being admitted to work during their studies at the Downloaded from erss.europeansp.org at 16:35 +0330 on Tuesday October 5th 2021 university and others. The forms of training presented have a great impact on students' education. Therefore, to improve practical training at university, the facilities have been constantly upgraded in line with the trends of material modernization. (Иванов Р. Модернизация и интернационализация на висшето образование). Material upgrade includes the purchase of most advanced experimental equipment that allows theoretical and practical preparation of personnel for the present and future. This is related to the need to provide funding. In modernizing the material base we rely on resources from:

 State subsidy;  Local, national and international projects;  Targeted funding from the state;  Donations from individuals (alumni) and legal entities (companies). Author name / Spectrum (Educational Research Service),ISSN:0740-7874(2017)101_108 3

2.2. Applied methods to enhance the practical training of students

Practical preparation of students has been the focus of educators and academic faculty and leadership, as a planned action for the involvement of employers in the preparation of study documentation, practical training of students, internship programs, building of modern facilities and others. In the Department of Transport there are laboratories equipped for training of students and scientific research: CAD design systems - Autocad, Solidworks (Kosmanis, T., S. Krol, M. Pecqueur, A. Dobreva, G. Georgiev, V. Dobrev); constructing separate aggregates, engines and vehicles; testing of parts, aggregates, internal combustion engines, tractors and cars; experimental and simulation study of AVL-BOOST software impact of various fuels (ethanol, methanol, diesel, gasoline, methane, butane, etc.) on the characteristics of internal combustion engines [(Iliev S. A Comparison of Ethanol and Methanol Blending with Gasoline Using a 1-D Engine Model) and (Iliev S. Developing of a 1-D Combustion Model and Study of Engine Characteristics Using Ethanol-Gasoline Blends); organization and management of traffic; simulation modeling PTV VISSIM (PTV VISSIM 5.30-05 User Manual); technology and organization of national and international transport; logistics and innovation; energy efficiency of cars and electric vehicles; traffic safety; diagnostics and repair of motor vehicles. The teaching is done in two degree programmes "Technology and Transport Management" and "Transport Equipment and Technologies". For conducting practical training to enhance students’ knowledge was purchased or created state-of-the-art equipment which includes: a car - Dacia Logan model in 2015 Euro 6 gasoline engine with 75 ph, engine capacity of 1200 cm3 and gas equipped engine running on alternative fuels: methane and LPG; mobile modular system Video VBOX Pro to measure the dynamic characteristics of vehicles and software VBox Tools for data processing (Racelogic. Software User Manual); Free duck electric vehicle produced by Ducati Energy, equipped with tools for the measurement of electric current, voltage, power and power consumption during operation and charging the batteries with electricity (Асенов, А. В. Пенчева, Е. Савев); mini solar charging station with polycrystalline panel of 24 V and meter Data logger TRC DL8 (Асенов, А. В. Пенчева, Е. Савев) real simulator for simulating operation of the car with a digital (Асенов А., В. Пенчева. Лабораторен модел с дигитален тахограф за симулиране и оценка работата на водач и автомобил) and analogue tachographs; thermograph, to monitor the temperature regime in refrigerated cargo spaces (Пенчева, В., А. Асенов. Условия и контрол при автомобилен превоз на бързоразвалящи се продукти); real simulator for simulating operation of vehicles in the terminal, including road, rail and air transport with LEGO and others (Учебен план на специалност “Технология и управление на транспорта” в Русенски университет). In the ongoing meetings with employers in the transport sector the most frequently discussed issues are related to the practical training of students and their willingness to: work with the equipment at their bases (diagnostic equipment service climate in workshops, conducting technical inspection of cars, etc.), which generally is not cheap; arranging shipping, transport and control activities related to knowledge of process technology and regulation, which includes required documentation (CMR, TIR carnet, Invoice, etc.). At joint meetings the following organization of practical training of students was adopted: basic training and modern equipment that is available at the university, in order to reduce the risk of errors during the subsequent internship or work for the employer; additional training in a real environment with the equipment of the employers Downloaded from erss.europeansp.org at 16:35 +0330 on Tuesday October 5th 2021 during extension trainings, mandatory and additional practice. Thus a student is educated and meets the requirements of employers and the economic environment in the country, reducing the time for staff training on recruitment and means of employer training. This form of training is similar to "Dual training" (Economic department, Bulgarian Government. Дуална система на обучение), which is prevalent in countries such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland and in recent years started to become increasingly popular among universities and employers in Bulgaria.

3. Modernization of facilities to enhance the practical training of students

This section considers some of the solutions for the modernization of the facilities used for students training in "Angel Kanchev" University of Ruse. Author name / Spectrum (Educational Research Service),ISSN:0740-7874(2017)101_108

3.1. Dacia Logan test car with recording equipment VBOX 3i and Video VBox Pro

The students from the Department of Transport are trained in the course "Road Traffic Safety" and "Accidents Analysis and Reconstruction" Training in these two courses involves the use of a test car with the recording equipment VBOX 3i GPS Data Logger of the company Racelogic Ltd – UK (Fig. 1) (Kostadinov S., M. Marinov, D Lyubenov), (Marinov M., J. Gelkov, D. Lyubenov), (Racelogic. Software User Manual), (Любенов Д., М. Маринов, С. Костадинов), (Любенов Д.A). These systems provide students with the opportunity to study various parameters characterizing the vehicle movement (speed, time, distance, accelerat ion, etc.). Students participate in various studies in real traffic conditions in the city. This allows, for example, in the study of the vehicle braking properties (road traffic safety course) to be used data for the coefficient of friction of the road surface and vehicle braking deceleration obtained for specific road conditions. Using these real data the students conduct simulations with different software products to determine the level of influence of various parameters on the length of the total stopping distance of a vehicle. The results thus obtained are more accurate in comparison with the use of obsolete data.

2 4

1 6 5 a b

Fig. 1. (a) Dacia Logan Test car; (b) Recording equipment VBOX 3i: 1 - VBOX Data Logger; 2 - Power connector; 3 - GPS antenna; 4 - Brake trigger; 5 - SD card.

These results are presented by students at scientific conferences and seminars where they receive publicity. This allows these real data to be used by аccidents experts, working in the field of accidents analysis and reconstruction. Thus, accurate and objective accidents investigations for specific traffic situation can be prepared. Students use the System Video VBox Pro (Racelogic. Software User Manual) to study the traffic safety and evaluate the effectiveness of urban passenger transport on individual indicators (Fig. 2). 1 2 3 4 5 Downloaded from erss.europeansp.org at 16:35 +0330 on Tuesday October 5th 2021

Fig. 2. Recording equipment Video VBOX: 1- Dacia Logan Test car; 2 - Video Camera; 3 - Video VBOX Data Logger; 4 - Camera Preview Monitor; 5 - Video Camera. Author name / Spectrum (Educational Research Service),ISSN:0740-7874(2017)101_108 5

Students conduct experimental research on the basic parameters of real traffic flows. Based on the results of these studies they check various theoretical models to predict the speed of vehicles on individual routes change or create new schedules, change the organization and management of traffic in the city. As a result of this work students offer different technological and organizational measures to improve the safety and efficiency of urban passenger transport (introduction of priority by traffic light signals or "bus" strip, parking prohibit, etc.). During тhe practical training of students in transport degree programmes students use car driving simulator. Especially important in the study of the possibilities of preventing car accidents is the definition and analysis of various traffic situations leading to accidents, (Любенов Д.A., Матеев В., Костадинов С.). Such situations can be recreated through driving simulator. The students study driver behavior in various traffic situations (urban roads, highways, mountain roads) and different weather conditions (rain, snow, day time, night time). The students use and Alcohol Impairment Goggles to study the influence of alcohol when driving.

3.2. Simulator for simulating operation of the car with digital and analogue tachographs

In Bulgaria today, in carrying cargo and passenger traffic, according to Ordinance 12 on the requirements for mandatory use of the equipment for recording the movement of vehicles and work crews, as well as functional and technical requirements to them (Министерство на транспорта, информационните технологии и съобщенията. Наредба № 12 от 5 януари 2007 г.), carriers are allowed to use analogue and digital tachographs. In this connection, for the training of students a simulator is used, in which they can be trained to work with analog (placed at the bottom of Fig. 3) and digital (placed at top of Fig. 3) tachographs. It is expected that in the near future analogue tachographs will be completely eliminated and then the training will be done only with digital ones. With that simulator students are trained to work with both real tachographs without using a motor vehicle. In this simulation students are drivers who conduct driving, and carriers need to lower information from the tachograph to analyze the work of the management of driver and vehicle.

Fig. 3. Simulator with analogue and digital tachograph

Downloaded from erss.europeansp.org at 16:35 +0330 on Tuesday October 5th 2021 In the Internet space are available other types of simulators, which are programs that allow training with a virtual vehicle and tachograph (Web page of the Digital tachograph simulator. 2014). In the beginning, before being prepared, real simulator training was used, but the results were not very good. Students coped quickly when working with a virtual simulator, because they were not allowed to make mistakes, and it really helps the learners, but they did not score well in the exam, making a lot of mistakes. Real simulator training proved to be much better, because when it is necessary it is possible to think and not to carry out mechanical operations and to rely on assistance. Today, training is carried out only on a real simulator. Moreover, the training of students continues with a second phase, in which information from the digital tachograph and driver card is captured and transferred to a computer for processing and archiving of data that must be kept by the employer. For this purpose devices are used to download data (Fig. 4) and software CalTacho.

Author name / Spectrum (Educational Research Service),ISSN:0740-7874(2017)101_108

a b Fig. 4. (a) Devices for downloading data from tachograph; (b) A system for downloading data from a digital map.

The software product CalTacho archived in the computer information from the digital tachograph and driver card. It can then be viewed and analyzed for performance and violations of the driver when driving the vehicle. This information is useful for the carrier and supervisory bodies of Executive Agency "Automobile Administration" in Bulgaria.

3.3. Simulator for simulating operation of vehicles in the terminal, including road, rail and air transport

The University of Ruse was a partner in the "Harmonized Inland Navigation Transport through education and information technology", (HINT), financed by South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme. 2012- 2014, (Web site of the project “HINT”, financed by South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme. 2012-2014). During the project in the city of Enns, Austria, was prepared simulator training of designer "Lego", by imitating the work in the river terminal between road and waterway. The results showed that very good training is obtained by the simulator and it was recommended to be used in the future. For students training in the courses “Technology and Organization of Freight”, “Commercial Exploitation” and “International Transport“ in the University of Ruse a simulator was also prepared, which simulates the operation of the terminal by road, rail and air transport “Lego”, where vehicles are remotely controlled (Fig. 5).

Downloaded from erss.europeansp.org at 16:35 +0330 on Tuesday October 5th 2021

Fig. 5. Work with the terminal simulator

The simulator is a good way to visualize, motivate and easily learn the material taught to students. Organization of training was as follows: Students explain the process technology; indicate what the necessary documents for the carrier are; driver; vehicle and cargo in national and international transport; simulated real preparation, loading unloading and carriage of goods by various modes of transport. Author name / Spectrum (Educational Research Service),ISSN:0740-7874(2017)101_108 7

The whole process of learning is conducted by a game that is interesting and useful to students. During the training, the teacher asks questions of various types, which stimulate students to think and use knowledge from the lectures. Furthermore, students have the right to perform those tasks in the exercise more than once, and so to prepare fully.

4. Conclusion

In this work modern tools and equipment for the training of students from the Department of Transport at the University of Ruse as actually used in practice. Thus, upon completion of their studies, students can apply the knowledge in a real work environment with employers in all types of internships and starting work. This allows to reduce the time required by employers for additional training and introduction of new workers into the workflow. Modern systems for the study of various parameters characterizing the movement of vehicles in real road conditions and actual traffic flows are presented. Based on the results of these practical tests, students inspect various theoretical models and provide various technological and organizational measures to improve traffic safety and efficiency of urban passenger transport. The article reflects the results of the work on Project No 2016 - FT - 03 on "Study of the simulator for driver training to improve traffic safety", financed by fund "Scientific Research" University of Ruse.

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