A conversation with the Dean, Prof. Małgorzata Iwona Szynkowska-Jóźwik, about the place where she has been in office for several months.
The Faculty of Chemistry now has a new building. The first of three planned in the "Alchemium" complex. What needs does this new space satisfy?
The new Faculty of Chemistry building "Alchemium - the magic of tomorrow's chemistry" as a whole is to be a modern conference, teaching and laboratory building. The first of the complex of three, the already constructed building is to satisfy mainly the conference and didactic needs of both the Faculty and to a large extent the university. Perhaps in the long run it will be a place meeting the needs of the city and our other partners.
A place that the university has not had before is a modern, very beautiful auditorium for 500 people, equipped with a simultaneous translation system, stage lighting and modern multimedia equipment. It will serve the entire academic community of Lodz University of Technology as it is here that, apart from lectures for students, the most important events of the university will take place. The auditorium, with its appropriate facilities and surrounding spaces, can also perfectly fulfil the role of a professional and modern conference centre.
Photo: Jacek Szabela
The building also contains the Senate and Faculty Council Chambers for 100 people, several smaller conference rooms, computer laboratories, auditoriums and quiet rooms. There is also the Dean's office and the administration of the Faculty of Chemistry. We also plan to arrange an exhibition space, where there will be a "Politechnika" Gallery, which has a long tradition at our university. The entire "Alchemium" complex will have an area of 27 thousand m2, now we are managing over 6 thousand m2 in the new building.
In the underground floor of Alchemium there is a garage and technical rooms.
How do you work in such a modern environment?
Great! I am convinced that the environment in which we function plays an important role in our actions, activity and decision-making. To a large extent, it defines opportunities, creating chances for modern, better development. It is no secret that good working, learning and living conditions have a positive influence on the way we think, our behaviour and emotions. Large, well thought-out and designed spaces in "Alchemium" certainly provide high comfort of work, but also increase the prestige and convenience of studying at our Faculty. Nowadays, such an environment is crucial for the development and organisation of education and science at the highest, world-class level.
Is there anything in particular that makes you and your colleagues most happy? What are the main advantages of the new building?
In the implementation of the "Alchemium" project, I have always been guided by the idea that it is worth having dreams and the determination to make them come true. For many years, the Faculty of Chemistry had been striving for a new building complex, and it was like "chasing dreams", which are now coming true, thanks to the support and efforts of many people. I think that our greatest satisfaction is the fact that "Alchemium" will provide the Faculty's staff, doctoral students and students with modern conditions for work, research and the educational process in line with contemporary and future challenges in the development of the chemical sciences.
The building that we left was the place where the Faculty of Chemistry was located from the very beginning. It is of historical significance to us, so the move was not without sentimental feelings, accompanied, however, by joy at the new conditions to which we have moved.
This investment of Lodz University of Technology is associated with high costs. Can we already talk about the expenses incurred on the first stage? What are the perspectives for the construction of the entire complex?
The cost of construction of the modern "Alchemium" complex was planned in the project for 113.1 mln PLN, out of which 97.5 mln PLN we received from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. The first stage has already been closed and the settlement has been sent to the Ministry. The investment cost just over PLN 64.8 million. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education provided TUL with 47.5 million for its implementation. The tender for the construction of the second stage has already been announced. In the second stage, in the years 2021-2024, buildings will be erected to house teaching and scientific laboratories.
We were pleased to learn that the largest, representative hall of our university, which is located in Alchemium, was named after Professor Tadeusz Paryjczak, the long-standing Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry. What feelings does this event evoke in you? We ask this because it is a beautiful link to the Professor's biography, the fact that you are continuing your father's work - you are also an outstanding chemist and the Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry
The day when the Senate of Lodz University of Technology passed a resolution to name the hall located in the Alchemium Conference and Didactic Building of the Faculty of Chemistry after Professor Tadeusz Paryjczak in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Lodz University of Technology was a great experience. For me and my whole family it was a great joy, an extraordinary emotion and a whole bouquet of good feelings, which I will keep in my heart. Professor was a well-known and highly respected person in the Polish scientific and academic community. I admired him because he was an outstanding scientist, academic teacher and, for many years, Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry of Lodz University of Technology.
For me, he was a wonderful Dad and, above all, a good, wise man whose cheerfulness, kindness to people, love of books and passion for science taught me how to act in life, how to value academic tradition and respect people. Well, history is repeating itself…