The drive train of a small scale magnetically levitated train reveals the principles of a mechatronic system and offers challenges related to design, construction and control. Therefore, it is used at the Institute of electrical Machines (IEM) of the RWTH Aachen University as a demonstrator for engineering solutions. Instead of being a part of a static predefined student laboratory, the small scale magnetically levitated train is part of dynamic individual student projects. This approach provides the advantage that the students are directly involved in the engineering process and gain motivation out of their personal ideas becoming reality.

At the beginning of the year 2024, 65 years will have passed since the establishment of the Chamber of Experts of the Association of Polish Electrical Engineers (SEP). During this period, SEP underwent significant changes. Particularly serious changes in the conditions for practicing association expertises have occurred in recent years, along with dynamic economic and political changes in Poland. Expertise is strongly based on economic conditions and the ways in which scientific, technical and industrial competences are expanded and available in the society. In the past, these highest competencies were quite strictly limited to well-organized professional communities related to scientific and technical associations such as SEP, and federal bodies such as NOT. Competencies were also generated in the best industrial centres associated with academic polytechnic centres. Today the role of expertises in electrical, electronics and ICT engineering is undergoing significant changes.

The life of Jerzy Ignacy Skowronski, Professor of High Voltages, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and the first Dean of the Electrical Faculty of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, member of the real Polish Academy of Sciences and President of the Wrocław Scientific Society, founder of the Wrocław Scientific School of Electrical Materials, was described. Documents contained in the Archives of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, works published by Jerzy I. Skowronski, previously published publications on his scientific merits written by his former Ph.D. students and information from his grandson Jan Paweł Skowronski were used. The author's intention was to show unknown facts from the life of the Professor and his works unknown until now.

Studies aimed at the economically sound increase in the capacity of existing power lines and improvements in their design are relevant today. In addition to the well-known design methods of influencing the capacity of the transmission line, there are other meanings that can affect its natural capacity, which is directly related to the capacity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to find possible methods of increasing natural power and evaluate their effectiveness in real configurations. The basis of the methodological approach applied in this study is a qualitative combination of methods of systematic analysis of ways to increase the capacity of power lines with the analytical investigation of the prospects for its impact on wave resistance to increase the natural power of the line. The conducted research determined the total influence of the analyzed factors on the increase in transmission capacity and identified the most optimal configuration from a technical and economic standpoint. Based on the results of the calculation of the natural capacity of the configurations, conclusions were made about the significance of the impact of each of the above factors, and the economic effect of their implementation in the integrated power system was established. Improvement of this methodology can, in the long run, serve as a tool for calculating configurations for economic and technical relevance, or serve as a foundation for further identification of factors affecting the transmission capacity of power lines.