Jan Perner Transport Faculty is one of almost 30 European institutions which are members of EFLE - the European Forum of Logistics Education. The aim of this forum, as the name itself suggests, is to internationalize third level education in the field of logistics and enhance its standards completely. Members of EFLE meet every year to renew contacts, exchange information about study programmes at their respective universities and listen to expert lectures about the newest trends and technologies in logistics sector.
The venue of the EFLE conference differs from year to year. Last year‘sEFLE was held in Zagreb, Croatia, and this year, between 4 – 7 October, Jan Perner Transport Faculty was proud to be able to hold it in Pardubice. In total, 31 people from 11 European countries attended this year`s conference.
The topic of the conference had already been decided last year. As the Czech Republic belongs to one of the leading car producers in the world, the vice-dean of JPTC for external relations, who was also head of the new organizing committee, Assoc. Prof. Petr Průša, Ph.D., pushed through the topic of automotive logistics.
On the first day the members of EFLE learned about it in theory. Three lectures were held in Pardubice Hotel Zlatá štika. Assoc. Prof. Průša delivered the requested lecture about development of automotive logistics in the Czech Republic and the most up-to-date trends in this field. This was followed by a lecture presented by a representative of the firm Iveco Czech Republic, Ing. Michal Kurka. Mr. Kurka spoke about the production of buses, specifically the Irisbus brand, which is produced in the company`s Vysoké Mýto branch. He first spoke about the history of this plant, went on to describe the current situation in more detail and outlined a future vision of the company, especially in relation to implementing the so called Iveco production system. The range of lectures was closed by Ing. Jan Křikava from Škoda Auto. His presentation was focused on logistics and production of aggregates in Škoda.
On the second day the theory turned into practice. In the morning hours the attendants of the conference visited a branch of Škoda Auto in Kvasiny. Here they were gladly received by a kanban specialist Ing. Dagmar Chaloupková together with the manager of material administration Ing. Roman Šuma. In the afternoon the EFLE members were welcomed in Iveco, Vysoké Mýto. The excursion started with a short presentation of the managing director himself, Ing. Pavel Pachovský, and then, accompanied by the manager of department of safety and services, Ing. Miloš Huryta, the guests witnessed how buses are produced.
Opportunity to assess newly gained experience was provided by workshops held on the third and last day of the conference. The main focus of the workshops were current trends applied in teaching, in particular use of information technology and computer networks in classes. Other possibilities of making the mutual cooperation of institutions more effective - whether in relation to tuition or research, and also a possible creation of new networks were discussed. At the very end the new venue was introduced, which will be Čeljabinsk in Russia.
As usual, the programme of the conference was not purely based on the professional side of things, but it was complemented with cultural activities also. On Wednesday the organizers brought their guests for a tour of the town, and then they boasted the local beer of Pardubice production with a tour of the local brewery, the Pernštejn brewery. Of course there was a tasting of the product. On Thursday the visitors had a chance to admire Litomyšl Castle, which is on the list of the many UNESCO monuments within the Czech Republic. In the evening, after a meal of the best food and drink, they viewed a performance of the Pardubice folklore group Lipka. Some of the members were even taught how to dance like a local.
The EFLE 2011 programme was jam-packed with events and judging by the thankful emails that the attendants sent after their return to their respective countries, it seems they were more than satisfied with it. Let`s hope they will come back to the Czech Republic soon!
