ADVANCED FORMS OF EDUCATION IN GEOTECHNICS FROM ERASMUS INTENSIVE PROGRAMME TO EUROPEAN TRAINING NETWORKS

The paper deals with advanced forms of education in geotechnical engineering. The solving of geotechnical engineering problems requires a wide variety of skills, significant knowledge, a multidisciplinary approach and flexibility. Geotechnical engineers are usually civil engineers who specialize in geotechnical engineering. An important step in a civil engineering career is the achievement of a professional qualification. This is recognized as a quality benchmark and it defines a person as a professional capable of a fieldwork across Europe. At the beginning of career engineers learn to apply most of what they have learned theoretically at universities. There are only a few specialized study programs (MSc, PhD) for professional geotechnical engineers in European Higher Education Area. At the same time there are disproportions in educational systems and geotechnical engineering curricula across Europe. The result is a lack of graduated geotechnical engineers within the EU and quality differences. As a respond to this situation consortium of nine universities from five countries implemented GEOTACO project. The project focused on an advanced education in geotechnical engineering and brought together students, lecturers and practitioners from five European countries.