Higher education is currently facing a huge challenge related to the 'Z' generation, the 'digital natives', who expect universities to make extensive use of mobile technologies and gamification.
The answer to such needs in the field of soil and environment sciences education is the project Share Your Soils (SYStem) prepared by dr hab. Marcin Świtoniak (coordinator) and dr hab. Przemysław Charzyński from the Department of Soil Science and Landscape Management of the Nicolaus Copernicus University. The application received a total of 88 points out of 100 and was the highest rated project out of 50 submitted, thanks to which it obtained funding in the Erasmus + Action 2 Strategic Partnerships competition. It will be implemented by a consortium of specialists from 10 universities from 8 countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Slovenia and Spain) with research and teaching experience in soil science issues in various regions of Europe.
The goal of SYStem is to create edutainment social media dedicated to the description and classification of soils according to international WRB classification. The main tool created under the project will be a mobile application for sending soil profile photos with a description and geolocation, and a classification proposal. Users will have the opportunity to interact and share their knowledge, helping less experienced colleagues through comments and suggestions on soil genesis and classification. In addition, a soil Omnibus will be prepared dedicated to teaching the latest edition of the WRB system (2015) at the university level. Project results will provide an innovative teaching tool supporting not only college teachers but also high schools as well as environmental researchers and practitioners.