Another term of classes is starting at the Gdańsk University of the Third Age. Difficult, because still in pandemic reality, classes will be compensated by interesting topics, well-known and well-liked and new lecturers.
Classes are conducted online. Lectures and presentations are conducted live or from recordings. Let us remind you that GUTW (TN: GUTA) has 1400 students participating in classes in a stationary mode.
- 'Unfortunately, we had to suspend some of the classes due to low student interest in the online form. The same classes before the pandemic were held with full attendance. Unfortunately, technology is an insurmountable obstacle for some students. We hope that from October we will return to normal classes,' - says mgr Magdalena Nieczuja-Goniszewska, coordinator of GUTW.
Classes, additional lectures and workshops will continue to be held remotely. Whether it be language classes, classes on Japanese culture, dance therapy, workshops on reportage, art, opera or contract bridge.
Despite the change in form and difficulties, Ms Alina Lewandowska still attends GUTW classes. She has been a student for almost 10 years and has adapted to the remote classes. - 'We don't want to break the connection with the university - she emphasises. - Thanks to this we have a lot of new information and interesting topics from Gdańsk. Sometimes I even invite someone from my family, so we can participate together.' She is very satisfied with the lectures, which can be played on YouTube at any time. She would like to see more opera and religious studies lectures in the programme.
In the new term, the students will meet their favourite lecturers, but they will also get to know new topics. Continued and popular lectures will include meetings with prof. dr hab. Beata Możejko from the Faculty of History UG about everyday life in the Middle Ages. We will learn more secrets of old Gdańsk during lectures of mgr Waldemar Borzestowski from the Faculty of History of the University of Gdańsk. This time, a few more meetings will be devoted to the history of the city after 1945.
Meeting with students once again this semester, dr Monika Białek from the Institute of Media, Journalism and Social Communication at the UG stresses her positive surprise with the new formula of classes. She feared that remote classes and the lack of contact with the audience would be difficult. They are certainly different. The students of GUTW are very good at listening to radio reports. - 'This is an age group that remembers radio programmes well,' - explains dr Monika Białek. - 'This form, combining artistry and journalism, is well received by them. They experience many emotions,' she adds.
There are sometimes technical issues - a microphone that is not switched off, or an active camera. That is why sometimes the presenter knows exactly what is going on in the listeners' homes. - 'Sometimes, probably unconsciously, the listeners can even take control over my presentation,' laughs Monika Białek. This semester, she will offer a new journey on the trail of her favourite author, Agatha Chrystie, whose house for holiday retreats at her grandma's she discovered during one of her stays outside London.
The programme of GUTW also includes other meetings with literature. The world of children's heroes from Scandinavian books will be taken away by students of dr hab. Hanna Dymel-Trzebiatowska prof. UG from the Institute of Scandinavian Studies and Fennistics, UG. In turn, dr hab. Marek Adamiec from the Faculty of Languages UG will propose a series of meetings entitled 'Our daily fears in art.' And sometimes serious and shocking classes will be offered with crime scenarios in the background by dr Magdalena Kasprzak from the Department of Forensic Science and Law of Evidence, Faculty of Law and Administration, UG.
There will be no shortage of well-known travel meetings: with prof. dr hab. Tadeusz Palmowski from the Faculty of Oceanography and Geography, UG, the audience will embark on another Dream Journey, and with mgr Katarzyna Skała on Balkan wanderings. Her stories from Indonesia illustrated with photographs and films will be presented by theatre scholar and KOLOS award winner, dr hab. Małgorzata Jarmułowicz prof. UG from the Department of Drama, Theatre and Performances, UG, who has been exploring different regions of Indonesia with her husband for more than ten years, finding in this mosaic of many cultures a field for her research. - 'I will answer the question of why the beliefs and rituals of indigenous Indonesian peoples are a perfect "laboratory" for research on the origins of theatre,' - announces the researcher-traveller. She will also introduce the spectacular elements of traditional Indonesian performances, such as masks, puppets and trance dances.