Hajdi Biuk and Anamarija Jolić from the Faculty of Law and Blanka Rakuljić and Leonora Hibić-Burtina from Faculty of chemistry and technology, together with mentors from the Association for Nature, Environment and Sustainable Development Sunce procured, equipped and installed bins for plastic, paper and mixed municipal waste at a total of five faculties and one university in Split. In addition to setting up the bins, students also recognized the problem of lack of knowledge about waste separation, so they prepared and placed information posters above the bins themselves. The faculties that responded to this action are the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Science, the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy, the Algebra Center Split and the Faculty of Chemistry and Technology, which has already participated in similar activities.
These efforts were carried out by students within the service-learning program implemented within PATI! (PAZI!) project. PATI! project (Practically-Active-Together-Interdisciplinary) is a project of the European Social Fund worth more than 1.2 million HRK, which the Sunce Association is implementing with the Association of Alumni and Friends of the Faculty of Chemistry and Technology in Split and four faculties from Split – Philosophy, Economics, Law and Chemical-Technological Faculty. These faculties enable their students in the project to do part of the class and achieve mandatory ECTS credits for a particular course through work in Sunce on their own projects and activities. Professors and the Association Sunce employees are mentors to the students, and the students work together and have 3,800 HRK per project and one semester (minimum 30 hours of work) to design and implement their projects.
The project of our students from the story is just one of a series of projects that the Association Sunce is implementing with students and faculties in Split, and we hope that service-learning will become more popular and represented at colleges and as a form of teaching. From the experience of the Association Sunce and three years of work on these projects, we are pleased to say that there are great benefits for colleges, mentors, the Association Sunce itself and primarily for students who choose to participate, as they have the opportunity to develop knowledge and skills for the labor market.