Among the distinguished guests invited for the meeting on 9 October were representatives of the city and voivodeship authorities, leaders of key enterprises and technology companies, as well as the management staff of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. The meeting was opened by the Dean, Professor Jacek Sawicki, who emphasized in his address that dialogue between science and business today is not just a need but a necessity.
- It is precisely within this space of cooperation that innovations are born — innovations that drive the economy and transform reality, strengthening the competitiveness of both the region and the country
- he said, highlighting the potential of the academic community in developing modern solutions for industry.
The first session of the Council was both practical and symbolic. Participants learned about the scientific and educational potential of the faculty, as well as its research achievements to date. Discussions focused on the mission of the Council of Visionaries as a platform for sharing experience, inspiring ideas, and jointly planning future directions of development. During the meeting, Council members introduced themselves and shared their professional backgrounds, laying a strong foundation for trust and cooperation based on mutual understanding.
The highlight of the event was the election of the Council’s Chair. The members unanimously entrusted this role to Przemysław Karolak, Head of the Distribution Transformers Research and Development Team at Hitachi Energy in Lodz. His deputies are Małgorzata Leszczyńska, Head of the Special Processes Department at Pratt & Whitney Kalisz Sp. z o.o., and Bartosz Kaszyński, Chief Operating Officer at WDX S.A.
The discussions accompanying the inaugural meeting emphasized that the establishment of the Council of Visionaries marks an important step toward strengthening collaboration between the university and the business community — a step that unites environments sharing a common goal: the development of an innovative and sustainable, knowledge-based economy.
In this way, the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of Lodz University of Technology reinforces its position as a strategic partner in integrating modern technologies into the teaching process and in developing lasting relationships between academia and industry in the Łódź region.