Danuta Kembłowska-Dupieu studied Civil Engineering at Lodz University of Technology from 1987 to 1992 and is a Project Director at Systra, one of the world's leading transport infrastructure companies. She is a laureate of the "Outstanding Pole" competition, organized by the Foundation of the Promotional Emblem Now Poland. This award honors exceptional personalities who have achieved success abroad and have built a positive perception of Poland in the world.
Which of the skills you gained during your studies did you use on your way to professional success?
When looking for a job, from among other candidates I was distinguished by my knowledge of the finite element calculation method. I gained these skills during my individual studies with Prof. Zdzislaw Więckowski.
Which memory from your studies would you like to recall?
I have to admit that I wasn't an "easy" student case, as my master's thesis proved. Prof. Jan Krysinski initiated the cooperation between ESIM (École supérieure d'ingénieurs de Marseille) and TUL. It was an exchange involving only French-speaking students of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, and I studied at the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Environmental Engineering and I did not speak this language. However, I dreamt of going to France. The interviews were conducted by Rector Jan Krysinski himself - in Molière's language of course. Even today I remember his huge office and me getting smaller and smaller when no question asked in French I could answer. Nevertheless, Rector Krysinski believed my assurances that I would learn French. After my return from Marseille I had a thesis written in French, in which I used the finite elements method to calculate the distribution of temperatures in...a refrigerating machine. Currently I live in France, I am a director of multi-million dollar projects. Unfortunately, I don't have so much time to deal with such details as calculations, but members of my design teams say that whenever I go past drawings or there is a discussion about some problem in calculations, there is a flash in my eyes. And Mr. Rector, by giving me a chance, taught me to evaluate candidates based on their motivation, not the CV itself.
Could you share a happy memory/anecdote from your student days?
It was a very rich period, each day brought new events, which I still remember today. I will remind you just a few: The first years of studies dealt with mechanics. It was an impossible thing to pass, we thought. Tests were a huge challenge. Although the lecturers were very friendly and forgiving to us, sometimes even team brainstorming didn’t help. We had to learn to think and analyze differently in order to be able to start the fight. Yet these common problems and the hours spent in the sandwich bar, fighting mechanics, brought our group very close together and started friendships that last till now.
I also remember our greatest achievement, which was the expedition to Mongolia and China in 1988. We presented the Dean with an ambitious plan to study traditional construction. Mongolian yurts did not require any calculations, such as keeping the TV antenna on this lightweight structure, and Ulan Bator was full of communist blocks. Meanwhile, China in the 1980s was full of houses built on the plan of a square. Today we would say that these are brick slums. We were not given the opportunity to discover them as the demonstrations on Tiananmen Square had just begun and our expedition ended quickly. Instead of a report on local construction, we only made an exhibition of photographs.
It is worth choosing Lodz University of Technology, because...
It is worth choosing Lodz University of Technology, because it is a university open to the world and developing technologies. Looking at today's TUL offer the number of new majors, I would like to start studies again. On my professional path I met many graduates of Lodz University of Technology, very interesting people of success, who did not always work in line with their studies.
This is what the University of Technology taught us - the ability to analyze and solve problems in various fields.