Science and inspiration
The event was organized into 5 zones. In the Inspiration Zone, the T. Paryjczak lecture hall was filled to capacity due to Mateusz Witczak - former editor-in-chief of the Polski Gamedev.pl portal and PolskiGamedev.pl magazine, Paweł Kamiński from 11 bit studios, discussing career opportunities at gamedev. Prof. dr hab. inż. Marta Gmurek's lectures, who, part of the Girls Choose Polytechnics campaign, talked about fulfilling dreams in world science, and mgr inż. Weronika Majchrzak's, a doctoral candidate and tiktoker @werkaodpiwerka, who presented her take on the steps to becoming a true engineer, also drew a large audience.
The Science Zone featured well over 30 lectures and workshops developed by the faculty as well as students active in student research groups. Group admission required registration.
‘88% of the seats were filled on registration. Nearly 2,200 students from more than 50 schools attended the Open Day. What was most gratifying, however, was apart from the lecture halls, these young visitors also roamed the TUL's campus to get the feel of the university', said Aleksandra Pawlik, TUL Media and Communication Office.
And get the feel of the university they did and that in a wonderful atmosphere, too. At Alchemium, a lot information about studying and pursuing interesting projects could be gleaned from the exhibition area where students showed off their accomplishments and the faculty talked about degree curricula. Secondary school students were eager to control a Martian rover, look under the hood of the run-on-one-drop-of-fuel bolide, play computer games, and sample organic food. Social media buzzed with uploaded photos , reports, and reels that captured the exhilarating moments of conversations and get-togethers.
Games and discoveries
Those who wanted to try their hand at laboratory work had the Discovery Zone to visit. Close to 20 workshops were held across in the laboratories of the TUL faculties, International Faculty of Engineering, Center for Mathematics and Physics, and the Center for Papermaking and Printing. The range of topics was tremendous: from industrial robots and the fiber-optics lab shows to designing and constructing futuristic textiles, biotechnology, process engineering, mathematics, and papermaking.
This year's Open Day also featured the Games Zone that offered different activities to fans of games of all kinds: card games, board games, and computer games. Dr inż. Jakub Szczepaniak, university professor, proved why it is a good idea to take part in games we lose at. Chemistry Express, a field game combined with a tour of the Faculty of Chemistry also aroused a lot of excitement. Competing teams of secondary school students visited different stations where they had to face chemistry challenges. They had to demonstrate both speed and knowledge of chemistry as the winner was that team which reached the finish line first and provided the game's master code.
‘110 participants in 27 teams competed during the day. Competitive streak combined with a love for chemistry sent waves of positive vibes among the participants. Their enjoyment and exhilaration were evident, which confirms that Chemistry Express was a great idea’, concluded dr inż. Michał Binczarski of the TUL Faculty of Chemistry.
Equally large number of students took part in an attractive tour of the Faculty of Engineering called 'Simlish', or the art of studying in foreign languages. The participants engaged in a Witcher school practice, played Big Jenga with international students and voice-controlled chess, and performed many interesting communication tasks in international pairings.
Visitors could tour all of the TUL faculties and facilities and, indeed, they did offer captivating tours of their labs. Companies cooperating with the International Faculty of Engineering also provided attractive offerings: BSH ran a workshop where the participants played a game to gain competencies of the future; Vescom offered a VR class, whereas Wielton arranged a 360 photo booth. During the Open Day, the League of Knowledge IT competition was decided. Over 20 three-member teams took part in it.
Open Day not just for students
Notably, this year the Open Day program included, for the first time, offerings of activities for school teachers. Dr. hab. inż. Adam Wojciechowski, university professor, along with a team of colleagues from the Institute of Information Technology, conducted a seminar on Artificial intelligence in teaching and research.
The teachers who attended the Open Day on TUL campus with their students were eager to share their experience of the event. In the evaluation survey, they praised an attractive offering of workshops and walking tours of TUL facilities. A great deal of appreciative words were also expressed to the organizers by email and phone. 'TUL Open Day were superbly prepared; the new Alchemium building made a tremendous impression. The activities were very engaging, wrote Mr. Przemysław Dudek of the M. Kopernik Secondary School No. I in Łódź.’
In the video footage produced by the TUL Multimedia Center, the students also shared their impressions:
'I think this was a very interesting experience. I also visited the polytechnic in Wrocław, but I think I like it better here, to be honest,' shared secondary school student Magda.
'I, for one, am pleasantly surprised by what the building looks like inside [Alchemium - ed.]. I was not expecting everything to look so modern at Lodz University of Technology,' emphasized another student Martyna.
That the Open Day was a success resulted from the fact that all of the TUL faculties, the International Faculty of Engineering, the Center of Papermaking and Printing, the Center for Mathematics and Physics, the Language Center, the Admissions Office, the Careers Office, and the Office for People with Disabilities, all of them contributed. We wish to thank all of you!