Long-term tutoring
During the implementation of the ‘Masters of Didactics - implementation of a model of tutoring’ project, in 2021-2022 nearly 50 students of our university received long-term support. All of the young and promising project participants over the course of three semesters studied under the guidance of certified Lodz University of Technology tutors who put together a personalized learning path for each of the students. The program was possible thanks to the funding provided to Lodz University of Technology under Measure 4.3 Transnational cooperation of the Operational Program Knowledge Education Development.
Inż. Kamila Kwiatkowska did not miss her opportunity for growth
Participation in the program of long-term tutoring allowed the students to tap into their hidden potential. One good example of how beneficial the program was for the development of transversal (universal) competences is provided by inż. Kamila Kwiatkowska. She holds an undergraduate degree in chemical and biochemical engineering. With the academic support from the Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering tutoring team, she was able to take part in an international conference organized under the umbrella of the Baltic University Programme (BUP) by Uppsala University from Sweden. The conference was to promote internationalization in relation to sustainability, democracy, and interdisciplinary cooperation of young researchers affiliated with HEIs in the Baltic states.
Collaboration between the student whose driving force is continuous self-improvement and learning with dr inż. Anna Klepacz-Smółka brought about innovation in the realm of environmental protection.
Kamila Kwiatkowska explained
‘Tutoring really helped me to embrace the challenge and take on interesting tasks that were not always easy to complete. When I started in the program, the support I received from the tutor unlocked my own potential and motivated me to develop my language skills, which helped me prepare for the exam and get a certificate in English’.
Next she started on her research.
‘The research followed from the search for innovative solutions to the problems of pollution and its environmentally-friendly removal’, Kamila Kwiatkowska said. ‘One of the environmental threats are related to pharmaceuticals which are commonly used and constantly released into the environment. They can penetrate living organisms, accumulate in their tissues and, even in very low concentrations, lead to irreversible changes in homeostasis. During the literature review, I came across an interesting remedy. Residues of pharmaceutical compounds can be removed from wastewater by microscopic algae through phytoremediation, by biodegrading the pollutants in an efficient and environmentally safe way. The guidance from my tutor, dr inż. Anna Klepacz-Smółka, helped me to dive deeper into the topic and design a study that allowed me to explore the potential of microalgae in the removal of pharmaceuticals’.
Kamila represented Lodz University of Technology in the 1st National Scientific Tuteech Conference organized by Wrocław University of Technology with the theme 'Tutoring in the eyes of students". She presented a research poster on 'What do tutoring, microalgae and pharmaceuticals have in common?' for which was awarded the first prize in the research poster competition. This is how she commented on her achievement
‘The win convinced me of two things. First that the issue of pharmaceutical removal by microalgae was not only interesting but also extremely important from an environmental point of view, and second that I had the ability to develop as a researcher and work on my own scientific contribution even during my studies. To conduct the study with selected strains of microalgae and selected pharmaceuticals enabled me to draw conclusions about the potential of microalgae in removing pharmaceutical contaminants from wastewater. The research was done in cooperation with the Łukasiewicz Research Network - Łódź Institute of Technology – institution known for its expertise in the analysis of pharmaceutical contaminants’.
Kamila Kwiatkowska is currently pursuing a second-cycle degree in environmental engineering specializing in green energy sources, but has already made some further plans.
‘Tutoring and the support of my tutor allowed me to get to know myself and what interests me better, revealing to me the fascinating world of science, so I intend to conduct further research. Based on the results, I will seek to determine the best parameters for the process to increase the efficiency of pharmaceutical contaminant removal and next I will try to prepare research publication, the contented tutee stated.