Search

According to the New UNESCO global survey studying the effect of Covid-19 on higher education (2021) the pandemic has had an impact on higher education systems in terms of access and quality of teaching and learning. Covid-19 has caused the suspension and cancellation of teaching activities and its major impact on teaching and learning is the increase in online education. The Engimath - Mathematics on-line learning model in engineering education - was successfully carried out at the very right moment, as in recent two years there has been a significant increase in demand for a 100% online mathematics course with interactive learning materials and largescale practicing opportunities as well as for a mathematics online assessment model. This project has successfully developed a high-level online course as a basis for offering output-oriented education in engineering mathematics. Some of development stages, that led this project – EngiMath - to an outstanding successful end, will be presented in this paper. These go from the educational needs’ analysis to its implementation and use, even allowing an open and live test., Peer Reviewed, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de Qualitat, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de Qualitat::4.3 - Per a 2030, assegurar l’accés en condicions d’igualtat per a tots els homes i dones a una formació tècnica, professional i superior de qualitat, inclòs l’ensenyament universitari, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de Qualitat::4.4 - Per a 2030, augmentar substancialment el nombre de joves i persones adultes que tenen les competències necessàries, en particular tècniques i professionals, per a accedir a l’ocupació, el treball digne i l’emprenedoria, Postprint (published version)

Six Higher Education Institutions (HEI), from different European countries (Estonia, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Romania, and Spain) joined forces in 2018 to launch a shared Erasmus+ Project under the Key Action - Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices. The project's “heart and soul” was to provide an online course on fundamental mathematical themes that would serve as a base for the specialized domain of engineering mathematics. Upon its approval and funding, partner institutions have developed a common platform for students and professors interested in Fundamentals of Linear Algebra and engineering applications. A mathematics on-line learning model was developed from the scratch and is now available in seven different languages. As presented in the project proposal, the student competition activity was introduced as a Learning/Teaching/Training activity (LTT) and it was established inside the online course setting and framework to add an international dimension to the studies of the enrolled students. The students’ competition in EngiMath project, connected learners from different countries through common tasks. It has settled an open international space, where students could deal with assessment “stresses” in an indirect and ludic manner, promoting, in a gamification way, their self-confidence when dealing with on-line tasks, tight schedules or even “against the clock”, motivating them to complete the course and to avoid drop out behaviour. Despite all of the pandemic limitations that all partner members had to cope with, the students' competition can be considered one of the Project's main triumphs., Peer Reviewed, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de Qualitat, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de Qualitat::4.3 - Per a 2030, assegurar l’accés en condicions d’igualtat per a tots els homes i dones a una formació tècnica, professional i superior de qualitat, inclòs l’ensenyament universitari, Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de Qualitat::4.4 - Per a 2030, augmentar substancialment el nombre de joves i persones adultes que tenen les competències necessàries, en particular tècniques i professionals, per a accedir a l’ocupació, el treball digne i l’emprenedoria, Postprint (published version)

The COVID pandemic has touched many aspects of everyone’s life. Education is one of the fields greatly affected by it, as students and teachers were forced to move online and quickly adapt to the online environment. Assessment is a crucial part of education, especially in STEM fields. A gap analysis was performed by expert groups in the frame of an Erasmus+ project looking at the practices of six European countries. Specialists teaching university-grade mathematics in seven European institutions were asked about their perception of gaps in the assessment of students both before (2019) and during (2021) the pandemic. This qualitative study looks at the difference in perception of such gaps after almost one year of online teaching. The analysis of their responses showed that some gaps were present before the pandemic, as well as others that are specific to it. Some gaps, such as the lack of IT infrastructure and the need to adapt materials to an online environment, have been exacerbated by the outbreak., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

The aim of the paper is to explain the basic principles of carrying out an inventory and follow-up of buildings and their condition assessment, by using the Full Interactive Visualization Method for Building Condition Assessment platform. It is a platform enabling the implementation of construction inventory based on the remote cooperation of many specialists in the field of, among others: building construction, architecture, civil engineering, photogrammetry, CAD, UAV. This type of cooperation is of particular importance especially in the context of the current epidemiological situation related to COVID-19. The idea of the presented platform fits into the broadly understanding of Building Information Modeling. After introducing the methodology, stages of the inventory and follow-up process carried out within the platform are illustrated and discussed on the basis of a case study. Based on the obtained results it can be concluded that the proposed methodology creates a convenient, efficient and inexpensive tool for massive inspection of building resources in large areas. The inventory is based primarily on high-quality photo and video material obtained from the deck of an unmanned aerial vehicle and the expert knowledge of the inspector conducting the inspection. By combining digital images data (photos, 3D model, orthophotos) with substantive data (facade element classification tables, wear / defect classification tables), we get a platform that allows intuitive access to viewing, classification, editing and analysis of selected data., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

The aim of the paper is to analyze practical aspects with use of 3D Model for accurate building condition assessment. Use of fully interactive visualization methods from a technical condition assessment platform going to be, especially taking into consideration current COVID-19 scenarios, a very supportive tool for the massive inspection of building stocks, particularly in big residential areas. The authors present the approach based on high-performance images that were captured by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The next step is the generation of a 3D model and orthophotos of building facades. The graphical information together with tables of attributes will allow the interactive geo-referenced management and assessment, that is proposed as a form of interactive cooperation. The idea of this approach corresponds widely with the Building Information Modeling aims. The authors introduce the methodology, stages of the inventory and follow-up process carried out within the platform requirements together with advantages of the visualization techniques, basing on a particular case study. Technical details about the information system and the analysis connected with the visualization utility will be presented and illustrated., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

The aim of the paper is to introduce a tool for the accurate assessment of the technical condition of buildings. The proposed methodology is becoming an efficient strategy for the massive inspection of building stocks, in big residential areas. The authors have developed an utility based on high-performance images captured by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The flights of the UAVs have been technically protocolized in order to get the proper high-quality information about the real condition of the building. After collecting the images a 3D model is generated and orthophotos of building facades are created. The graphical information is connected with tables of attributes which allow the interactive geo-referenced management and assessment. Main requirements and advantages of this visualization technique will be presented by analyzing a particular case study. The selected example will allow the illustration of the methodology. Ongoing developments and technical details about the information system and the analysis platform connected with the visualization tool will be also reported., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

The aim of the paper is to introduce a tool for the accurate assessment of the technical condition of buildings. The proposed methodology is becoming an efficient strategy for the massive inspection of building stocks, in big residential areas. The authors have developed an utility based on high-performance images captured by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The flights of the UAVs have been technically protocolized in order to get the proper high-quality information about the real condition of the building. After collecting the images a 3D model is generated and orthophotos of building facades are created. The graphical information is connected with tables of attributes which allow the interactive georeferenced management and assessment. Main requirements and advantages of this visualization technique will be presented by analyzing a particular case study. The selected example will allow the illustration of the methodology. Ongoing developments and technical details about the information system and the analysis platform connected with the visualization tool will be also reported., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

The aim of the paper is to introduce a tool for the accurate assessment of the technical condition of buildings. The proposed methodology is becoming an efficient strategy for the massive inspection of building stocks, in big residential areas. The authors have developed an utility based on high-performance images captured by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). The flights of the UAVs have been technically protocolized in order to get the proper high-quality information about the real condition of the building. After collecting the images a 3D model is generated and orthophotos of building facades are created. The graphical information is connected with tables of attributes which allow the interactive georeferenced management and assessment. Main requirements and advantages of this visualization technique will be presented by analyzing a particular case study. The selected example will allow the illustration of the methodology. Ongoing developments and technical details about the information system and the analysis platform connected with the visualization tool will be also reported., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

In this paper authors conduct a case study analysis by implementing the use of UAVs in the data collection within the BRAIN framework for the failures diagnosis of facades. The main goal is to assess the conditions and usefulness of UAVs in the BRAIN protocol by analyzing the goodness of fit to the fundamental requirements that support this inspection methodology. This preliminary qualitative approach allows the authors to investigate the benefits and potential of this high performance technology as a complement or alternative tool to the initial method, which is based on visual inspections supported, as maximum, by high resolution digital camera images. For the study a sample of facades has been selected in Poland. A full equipped UAV has been collecting the images. Finally, full procedure, collected data and positive and negative issues has been assessed under the perspective of the requirements involved in a multiscale BRAIN inspection. Overall scoring conditions has been determined and, as a conclusion, it can be stated that the use of UAVs for technical inspections in a population based predictive approach is, and even more it will be in the future, an interesting complementary tool for the data collection., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are becoming more and more popular for use in a various sectors of the economy. The paper presents the results of experiments using a UAV, equipped with a high resolution digital camera, for a visual assessment of technical condition of a building with connection to a big project implemented in Barcelona that required visual data about buildings and their changes with time. Authors try to find out possibilities for the usefulness of digital images obtained from the UAV deck in concrete examples and figure out if they may be complementary to traditional ways used so far in a project called Building Research Analysis and Information Network, which is a platform for analysis to allow strategic decision-making for the maintenance and the sustainability of building stock., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)

In this chapter authors conduct a case study analysis in order to evaluate the potential benefits of using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UVAs) for the data collection involved in the failures diagnosis of facades. A quantitative approach is performed by testing for statistically significative differences between the proposed methodology and traditional visual inspections. Results allow to state that a highly significative global improvement for the data collection exists., Peer Reviewed, Postprint (published version)