Project: „It's time for an electric bike - designing and constructing the electrically powered bicycle and intergenerational partnership in Europe” will be realized by the partner schools ZSM 1 in Cracow and BBS1 in Mainz, which are reliable partners in the implementation of educational projects for students and training projects for teachers. The planned project is the result of long-lasting cooperation and the exchange of coordinatorsˈexperience of international cooperation from both schools and it takes into account the needs of Polish and German participants. It is an innovative project which consists of the development of skills and technical competences of Polish and German pupils and teachers and involves them in local community life. The project consists of innovative technical solutions far beyond school curriculum in Cracow and in Mainz. The students will have to design and construct four bicycles with electric drive, two from each school. One of them will become the didactic module and the other one will be donated to senior community from one of the schools. The projects will be done thanks to cooperation between international teams and their experience in this branch, which will be a valuable asset in the project. The combination between the subject, educational objective and European aspect of the project will allow the electric bicycle to become a symbol connecting generations and integrating young people from Europe. Thanks to the realization of the project, the following goals will be achieved: increasing the professional knowledge of participants and their technical skills in the range of design and construction of modern solutions for electric drives used in bicycles, the usage of information and communication technologies (ICT), strengthening intergenerational integration of participants with senior community, and getting to know the regions of Lesser Poland Voidvodeship and Rhineland-Palatinate. In order to ensure high quality of the project implementation knowledge and experience of teachers from ZSM 1 in Cracow and BBS1 in Mainz will be used as well as the one of the engineers from universities and employees from bicycle services in Cracow and in Mainz. Project’s participants will be students and teachers from the Polish and German schools: 12 students from each school, studying in the profession of motor vehicle technician and mechanic technician, interested in electric drive technology in two-wheeled vehicles and teachers: 3 teachers from each school, who will improve their knowledge through participation in training and exchange of experience. The project assumes the following activities: elaboration of technological projects and construction of bicycles with electric drive, elaboration of the guidebook in English entitled „Design and construction of a bicycle with an electric drive”, presentation of the results achieved, integration meetings and learning how to use electric bikes by seniors, organization of common bicycle events with the participation of seniors in the local communities of both partner schools. During the project implementation modern activation methods will be used specifically the ones based on information and communication technologies, presentation and self-presentation, project method, observation and constructive thinking, taking initiatives and team work skills. The results of the project: bicycles and guidebook - they will use all the technological solutions developed by Polish and German pupils. They will be a "tangible" effect of the project.The implementation of the project will have an impact on the increase of technical knowledge, social and intercultural competences of the participants. Electric bicycles and guidebook will be used in schools to conduct professional classes in the range of bicycle mechanics and electric motors, which will serve as a support for gifted pupils. This will contribute to improving the quality and effectiveness of pupil education in the long term. Established during the project implementation, the cooperation with seniors, universities and bicycle services will be continued after the end of the project. Technological solutions used to build electric bikes and guidebook will be widely promoted in Lesser Poland Voivodeship and in Rhineland-Palatinate.
Project: „It's time for an electric bike - designing and constructing the electrically powered bicycle and intergenerational partnership in Europe” was realised by the partner schools ZSM 1 in Cracow and BBS1 in Mainz, which are reliable partners in the implementation of educational projects for students and training projects for teachers. The project was the result of a long-lasting cooperation and the exchange of coordinatorsˈ experience in international partnership between the two schools. It also took into account the needs of Polish and German participants. It was an innovative project which consisted of the development of skills and technical competences of Polish and German students and teachers, and involved them in local community life. The project consisted of innovative technical solutions far beyond school curricula in Cracow and in Mainz. The students had to design and construct four bicycles with electric drives, two for each school. As a result, in BBS 1 the participants built: a three-wheeled rehabilitation bike donated to a disabled person, and a fast cross bike (fun-bike), which remained at school and serves as a didactic tool for students. In Cracow the students built a three-wheeled rehabilitation tandem, which was donated to a Social Welfare Home, and a fast recreational extreme bike (fat-bike), which is a didactic tool for students in one of the professional workshops. The bike models were completed thanks to the cooperation between international teams and their experience in this field, which was a valuable asset of the project. The combination between the subject matter, its educational objective and the European aspect of the project allowed the electric bicycle to become a symbol connecting generations and integrating young people from Europe. Thanks to the realisation of the project, the following goals were achieved: increasing the professional knowledge of participants and their technical skills in the field of design and construction of modern solutions for electric drives used in bicycles and other vehicles of that type, developing key and communicative competences, the usage of information and communication technologies, strengthening the intergenerational integration of participants with senior communities in the respective school areas, and getting to know the regions of Lesser Poland Voivodeship and Rhineland-Palatinate. In order to ensure high quality of the project implementation, knowledge and experience of teachers from ZSM 1 in Cracow and BBS1 in Mainz were used, as well as the expertise of the engineers from universities and employees from bicycle services in Cracow and in Mainz. During the project realisation, young people got to know the technological basis for electric drives, as well as the ways of assembling the technical elements. All the students together prepared a brochure in English presenting the particular stages of the bikes construction, as well as a photographic documentation and multimedia presentations of the whole project. Both Polish and German students had a chance to broaden their professional skills and put the idea of voluntary work, international and intergenerational cooperation into practice. Project outcomes: electric bikes built by students and a manual describing bikes construction are a tangible result of the project in which technological solutions developed thoroughly by Polish and German students, as well as the skills gained by them, were used. The project benefits will be visible long after it is finished. Electric bicycles and the manual will be used in both schools to conduct professional classes in the field of bicycle mechanics and electric motors, which will serve as a support for gifted pupils who can develop their abilities under the supervision of well prepared teachers. This will contribute to improving the quality and effectiveness of students‘ education, both schools work, and increasing their educational offers in the long term. Established during the project implementation, the cooperation with seniors, universities, social organisations and bicycle services will be continued after the end of the project. The possibility of using ecological, electrical bikes by seniors and the benefits of their physical activities will be widely promoted by young people in Lesser Poland Voivodeship and in Rhineland-Palatinate. The project and its visible results, together with the participants‘ high evaluation of the activities performed, will certainly influence further cooperation between the schools in Cracow and Mainz, which focuses on the integration of young people in Europe according to the motto „Europe thrives on cooperation“. This motto has been a driving force of lasting for 10 subsequent years partnership between ZSM nr 1 in Cracow and BBS 1 in Mainz. It is the present school year when the implementation of another Erasmus+ project between the schools started, this time incorporating a new school from the Czech Republic.