Dear codification friends, preparations for this year’s NCS College were very thorough even for its excellent lecturer and moderator Zuzana Ježková. Many of more than a hundred students who completed the International Codification Courses in Brno will remember her well. Zuzana also became very popular due to co-organizing codification competitions at the end of the courses. We will find out from this interview how she coped with the pandemic situation and postponing of NCS College to the next year.
Zuzana, as one of the main trainers of NCS College, how did you accept the decision to cancel the International Codification Courses in Brno this year and move them in their full-time form to the year 2021?
I welcomed this solution because for me personally, NCS College is not only about the formal transfer of information, but also about meeting people, sharing experiences and making friends.
However, it was not at all easy to cancel this year’s NCS College and the decision had been preceded by long discussions and considerations of various options of how to organize NCS College in this year of anti-epidemic measures. The remote online form of codification courses would undoubtedly have many practical advantages. Students could learn safely from the comfort of their offices or homes, and more professionals from around the world could join the discussions.
Nevertheless, the traditional full-time form won in the end. As it turned out from the answers to a short questionnaire that we sent out to our potential students and their bosses, the students also prefer the full-time form.
Do you anticipate any significant changes in the regime and program of NCS College 2021?
NCS College 2021 could combine the possibilities of full-time and remote learning. Even with the full-time form of the course, we could make use of the advantages of remote training. For example, we could invite online more professionals who would not have to travel to Brno in person.
How does the current international format of NCS College lecturers and trainers suit you? And what about training on the real codification software?
Every year of NCS College is characterized by the participation of professionals in the field of codification and logistics from around the world. They are able to pass on to students not only the rules and principles of logistics and the NATO Codification System, but also irreplaceable practical experience. Even codification needs a bit of personal approach, bare rules are not always enough.
Training on the real codification software is irreplaceable and highly valued by the students. Thanks to practical exercises of codification, the students try out and consolidate the knowledge gained from previous theoretical lectures. Work with the real codification software is one of the most popular parts of the course.
What does the preparation of NCS College entail from the lecturer’s point of view?
Preparation for the next year of NCS College begins immediately after the end of the current year. We meet with other lecturers and organizers to discuss our impressions, knowledge and ideas. We evaluate if anything was missing or redundant and what we can improve. The most important are, of course, the evaluations and comments of our students.
Actual preparation of materials begins several months before the start of the course. Based on selected topics, we prepare presentations and collect lectures from external lecturers. We have to review all the materials, unify their graphical design and prepare for the students clear and handy study documentation.
In addition to theoretical lectures, we also have to prepare codification software and data for practical exercises. Each student has their own unique set of examples with which they can try out “real” codification, including international data exchange. However, all this requires a very careful and thorough preparation.
Last but not least is our cooperation with the codification workplaces at military logistics bases. The visits to codification workplaces have always been very popular among our students.
Zuzana, the NCS College TOP management as well as the students are looking forward to cooperation with you!
