We have completed an exceptionally ambitious undertaking,' says CWM director and project manager dr inż. Dorota Piotrowska, TUL professor. 'What we primarily sought to accomplish was to strengthen doctoral candidates' participation in exchange schemes. We also wanted to provide TUL young scientists with new paths of training to include research visits to respected foreign research institutions. Also of key importance was the involvement of top doctoral candidates from abroad in activities and projects carried out by our research groups. PROM fully matched our needs, eliminating what had been a major constraint on this type of activity - limited funding. We were able to award grants to as many as 78 doctoral candidates.
All incoming and outgoing visits were closely aligned with the topics of the doctoral theses in progress. The grants were mainly for stays aimed at acquiring research material, learning the skills to operate highly-specialized experimental apparatus, and attending international conferences.
Among the most prominent visits were those of 38 young researchers from abroad to our university. We hosted fellows not only from the regions of strategic importance for the internationalization policy of our university, i.e. the EU and our eastern neighbors, but also from India, Japan, and Argentina.
Feedback from foreign doctoral candidates
Camila Binda Galindez, PhD candidate from the National University of Salta, Argentine, thus describes her stay at TUL:
I work at the Institute for Non-Conventional Energy Research (INENCO) where I pursue a PhD in renewable energy. During my time at Lodz University of Technology, I had the opportunity to collaborate with researchers from the Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering at the Laboratory of Building Physics. The experience allowed me to appreciate new ways of knowledge generation, establish academic networks, and to bring my interdisciplinary knowledge to the group's research work. I made AV records and conducted interviews that complemented the research I do in Argentina. I am immensely grateful for this opportunity and would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn and collaborate with international research teams.
Camila Gea Salim, Camila Binda Galindez, and Fabio Hernan Lopez from the National University of Salta (Argentina), accompanied by dr hab. inż. Dariusz Heim, TUL professor, the doctoral candidates' research supervisor, during their month-long stay at TUL.
Other program grant holders had equally positive experience.
Marco Tulio Daza Ramirez, a PhD candidate at the Spanish Universidad de Navarra, said:
My week-long stay in Lodz was very productive. I took a course on the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) to strategic management. At a seminar organized by Professor Karol Klimczak of the Institute of Management, I presented my paper on the ethics of AI in business and received from him and from fellow PhD candidates valuable comments and suggestions. Last but not least, I attended a session on strategic thinking in business, where I learned new knowledge and skills on how to analyze and design effective and sustainable economic strategies. It was a great and rewarding experience and one that I will never forget. I made many new friends. I was even invited to co-author with Professor Klimczak a chapter in a scientific publication. I firmly believe that this is the beginning of a promising and lasting collaboration with Lodz University of Technology.
Marco Tulio Daza Ramirez and Professor Alejo José G. Sison of the Universidad de Navarra, accompanied by dr hab. Karol Klimczak, TUL professor, of the Faculty of Organization and Management.
Ahmed Farhod of the University of Glasgow emphasized:
My visit to Lodz University of Technology is one of my most worthwhile academic experiences I have ever had. I have immensely benefited from my stay at TUL. Professor Karol Klimczak's feedback and insights into the direction of my research helped me improve my doctoral thesis. The skills, knowledge, and experience I gained will certainly be useful in my future academic career.
Ahmed Farhod during a trip to Warsaw.
Fatih Atalar of the Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa (Turkey) told us:
Participation in the PROM program gave me the opportunity to conduct experiments for my doctoral thesis. I worked at the High Voltage Laboratory with the invaluable support of Professor Paweł Rózga of the Institute of Electrical Power Engineering at the EEIA Faculty. The project took my PhD thesis to a higher level of research. The visit was very successful for me from an academic as well as cultural point of view.
Pictured in the photo is Fatih Atalar at the Manufaktura in Łódź.
Feedback from TUL doctoral candidates
TUL Ph.D. candidates also visited prestigious academic centers, where they collaborated with outstanding scientists, which should certainly contribute to the grant holders' scientific track record and further career development.
Mgr inż. Filip Stuchała, of the Institute of Electrical Power Engineering at the Faculty of EEIA, one of the program's TUL's 40 grant recipients, visited Italy, and stayed at one of the best research centers in the world. This is what he had to say about his experience:
Sapienza Università di Roma is ranked among the 101-150 best universities in the Shanghai rankings. During my stay, I delivered a lecture drawing on the results of my doctoral research, assisted in the review process of research papers submitted to a special issue of a JCR-listed journal, and drafted the scope of a collaborative article that I will collaborate on with my thesis supervisor and two other researchers from Italy. I find the PROM program very worthwhile. It facilitates the formation or continuation of collaboration with other academic centers, which is very important for scientific development.
Filip Stuchała of the Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering
Mgr inż. Agnieszka Hejduk of the Institute of Food Technology and Analysis at the Faculty of BiNoŻ completed a research visit to France. Describing the experience, she emphasized:
The host institution was the renowned INRA center in Le Rheu. The primary objective of my visit was to get to know the techniques used to determine the activity of oxidative enzymes isolated from apples, as well as research on this topic as it related to my doctoral thesis. I also learned the ins and outs of working in a French food analysis laboratory. Moreover, the trip really helped me improve my language skills and build interpersonal skills - a mandatory part of the working day was a group coffee break :) And once the work was done for the day, I was able to explore Rennes, which is truly charming, and take a cruise on the Seine River during a weekend trip to the City of Lights.
Agnieszka Hejduk in Paris, in front of the sculpture L'Écoute (Listening), a work by the French artist Henri de Miller.
This has been the second edition of the PROM program that TUL participated in. It was coordinated by the Center for International Cooperation, in close cooperation with the faculties, the Interdisciplinary Doctoral School, and heads of scientific disciplines at TUL, who provided reviewed applications to participate. Overarching oversight of the project was exercised by the Vice-Rector for Science.
Support for Ukraine
Last year, in response to the Russian aggression against our neighbors, the project was expanded to include a module to support TUL's Ukrainian students who arrived to Poland after February 24, 2022. The university awarded scholarships to 12 individuals and exempted them from the tuition fees for a period of 6 months. They were also provided with psychological counseling and legal assistance.
The PROM program is implemented under the Operational Program Knowledge Education Development co-funded by the European Social Fund.
*PROM – (Polish) ferry
