The meeting took a slightly sentimental tone when Sławosz Uznański reminisced about the time he had spent at that very same auditorium, but above all, the meeting was inspiring. 'Keep your eyes open for opportunities', he appealed to the students. 'Follow your dreams, pursue your interest and the world will stand open for you.' He talked about what it took to get to the finals when the 17 astronauts candidates were selected to carry out missions related to the International Space Station ISS, and maybe even NASA's lunar missions.
The researcher from Łódź successfully competed against more than 22,000 applicants from across Europe in what he described as a challenging and lengthy recruitment process. 'Don't lose heart when you don't hear back from them right away,' he advised the audience. While his friends were off to climb in the Alps - even though mountain climbing is one of his favorite leisurely pursuits - Sławosz Uznański sat in a chalet filling out hundreds of pages of paperwork to complete the application. Once he dealt with that, he then had to take a series of tests assessing his visual and auditory memory, information processing speed as well as engineering, psychological, and communication competencies. He actually had to take up computer games, something he had never done before but had to now, to train his coordination using a joystick. He also had to go through interviews that put his ‘stellar’ knowledge and analytical thinking to the test. Finally, he was interviewed by the ESA's leadership.
Sławosz also discussed the importance of having professional experience as an engineer at CERN, designing electronic systems for its accelerators. He called attention to the fact that his character was in part shaped by his physical activity: trekking in the Himalayas and the Alps, and sailing.
The audience was mesmerized by Sławosz Uznański's story. They listened in concentration and with great interest.
Once the talk was over, professor Łukasz Kaczmarek, who moderated the meeting, invited the audience to ask questions. Students asked a ton of them, wishing to get the most out of the opportunity to meet such an exceptional individual.
As a keepsake, professor Krzysztof Jóźwik, TUL Rector, presented Astro Sławosz - the name Sławiński goes by when giving out autographs – with a personalized award made of a glass base and an engraved plaque mounted on it, displaying an image of a satellite and the inscription that reads ‘Stellar alumnus of Lodz University of Technology dr inż. Sławosz Uznański’.
The meeting was also attended by professor Grzegorz Wrochna, president of the Polish Space Agency. Professor Wrochna pointed out that there are more than 400 companies in Poland that operate in the space sector and employ not just engineers but also representatives of many other professions. There is only one prerequisite if you'd like the job – you need to be the best.