Innovation of the Occupational Health and Safety Study Programme Ivana Tureková, Gabriel Bánesz Faculty of Education Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra Nitra,Slovakia iturekova@ukf.sk, gbanesz@ukf.sk Abstract— This article focuses on the innovative form of the subject Risk analysis methods which was realized as project education. The aim of the new method and form of instruction was not only mediation of the curriculum from an active teacher to a passive learner, but it was a reciprocal dynamic process. Knowledge of students is formed by the permanent dialogue between what students know and what they have discovered within their own activities. This method is very interactive and uses also modern Information and communications technology. The paper deals with the results and the effectiveness of new teaching forms used in this subject. The objective was to implement and resolve the real examples from practice through explained and acquired techniques of risk analysis. The level of students´ knowledge was detected and we reported the inputs and outputs (at the beginning and end of the lesson), thus confirming the effectiveness of new forms of teaching. The output examples of this innovative education are presented in this article. Keywords—education; safety work; risk analysis; project education I. INTRODUCTION Ensuring pupil and student safety has been part of the ethical framework for decades. Schools have legal responsibilities for safety which is an integral part of education and training [1]. Risk management is a key management practice because it plays a vital role in creating safer and healthier workplace [2], [3]. Risk management is a process of identifying hazards which can potentially harm the health and safety, assessing the risk associated with those hazards, elimination of those risks and monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of risk assessment and control activities [4]. The key principles of the risk management system include: x determining resources, priorities, objectives, stakeholders and criteria for evaluating risk, x consultation and communication, x training, education and awareness, x identification of hazards, x analysis, assessment and evaluation of risks, x management of risks by developing and implementing appropriate improvements, x monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of risk oversight, x documentation and reporting of risk activities and results. The subject of Risk Analysis Methods is a key pillar of the study programme Occupational safety and health (OSH) [5], [6]. II. CURRENT STATE OF THE DISCUSSED ISSUE The Faculty of Education at Constantine the Philosopher University provides expert education in the area of safety and health at work. It prepares university educated graduates who have a wide application range afterwards. Every year approximately fifty students finish their bachelor studies in both full-time and distance form [7]. The study programme of OSH continuously aims to improve the preparedness of the students in terms of practice in their following occupations. Students - graduates are prepared to perform safety technician positions. To determine how labour inspectors, who work professionally at the Labour Inspectorate, perceive the activities of the safety technicians in terms of educational achievement, quality of work and experiences, an anonymous questionnaire survey was carried out [8]. A survey was performed among 35 work inspectors with the aim of finding out what skills and knowledge should a bachelor graduate in the field of OSH have gained (Fig. 1). The survey has shown that a majority of the inspectors agree that OSH is an applied field of science with plenty of research problems and questions. It is universities that provide the best environment and conditions for their resolving and obtaining output information applicable in practice. Inspectors determined which skills and competencies they consider necessary from the professional point of view. The provided options were: communication skills, work precision, awareness of legal regulations, technical thinking, pursuit of continuous education, the ability to discuss, problem-solving skills. The anonymous survey provided the range of five replies: yes, rather yes, cannot judge, rather no, no. The results are summarized in Fig. 1. 978-1-4799-8706-1/15/$31.00 ©2015 IEEE 20-24 September 2015, Florence, Italy Proceedings of 2015 International Conference on Interactive Collaborative Learning (ICL)