Gediminas Blaževičius, age 38.
In 2015 graduated PhD in VILNIUS TECH faculty of civil engineering. His research was focused on the optimization of steel structures in the elasto-plastic state.
During doctorate studies, G. Blaževičius started lecturing as an assistance and in 2019 he received associate professor diploma.
G. Blaževičius is a co-author of textbook “Integral structural mechanics. Basics. Analysis of truss structures” (in Lithuanian https://doi.org/10.3846/1516-S ). He also translated the famous Anil Chopra’s textbook “Dynamics of Structures” into Lithuanian (ISBN: 978-609-457-894-6).
Gediminas is passionate about Engineering Education. He actively participates in the “Educational experts group” in VILNIUS TECH, takes leader position in the “NORDTEK Engineering Education” network ( https://nordtek.net/engineering-education/ ), develops ATHENA university alliance Plato school of teacher training, and co-manages Erasmus+ KA2 project for student soft skills and mental health ( https://costabex.eu/ ).
Since 2013 G. Blaževičius prepared and lectured six different courses in faculties of Civil Engineering, Architecture, Environmental Engineering and Creative Industries. Subjects varied from “Mechanics of materials” for undergraduate students to “Optimal shakedown design” for master students. All ten years his focus remained on the course “Dynamics and stability of buildings”, which G. Blaževičius teaches in Lithuanian and English and both for daytime students and distant study program. EUCEET awarded Gediminas Blaževičius for his work on encouraging student creativity in this structural dynamics course. An abstract of the innovative teaching methods he used is given below:
„In 2017, I introduced a new choice for my students in dynamics course – to make a creative project instead of taking the final exam. Encouraging creativity is a key to the contemporary student oriented education. The open type project assignments that I use allow students demonstrating their personal skills and following individualised learning path.
The main idea is to give students open assignments focused on “learning by doing” methods. It usually means experimenting with real life objects – structural models made by students or actual structures in the city (pedestrian bridges and similar). Students are encouraged to find their interest in the field of dynamics and define their own assignment (with mentoring from the lecturer). For example, students would build a wooden structure model, measure natural frequencies, damping, dynamic response, model it with commercial FEM program and compare results. Projects involve team work, social aspect analysis and other soft skill development.
Proposed teaching method has several main benefits:
1. Project diversity fosters student oriented learning and highlights individual talents
2. Projects allow engagement in the subject, which generally results in better grades
3. Advanced-level students can personalise their studies and find motivation to achieve even deeper knowledge
4. For less academically engaged students, hands-on DIY projects might be the only way to pass a difficult study subject
5. Spending time in working groups strengthen student social skills
6. Projects save time in the exam session, as students have one exam less to take
7. Engaged curiosity motivates students to learn skills beyond study course scope: coding, 3D printing, new software or even video making.
8. Studying peculiar structural dynamic behaviour increases student interest in civil engineering field, motivates them for master studies
9. Interdisciplinary and cross-department projects involve students in the university community thus increasing their overall satisfaction with studies
This learning method shows good results and becomes more and more popular among students in my course. In the future, this teaching method may change the classical lecturing approach entirely.
The framework of this project-based teaching is readily exportable to other study courses. Due to its empirical nature it is particularly suitable for engineering studies, where students tend to like practical assignments. “
