I am very happy that we managed to finalise this investment in such a short time. I would like to thank Chancellor Jan Rydz for taking care of everything. I hope that the University of Lodz Doctoral Schools Centre will be a place where it will be possible not only to efficiently deal with organisational issues, but to primarily become a meeting centre for various research ideas, formation of teams, friendships for years, resulting in the scientific development of the university.
– says the Rector of the University of Lodz, Prof. Elżbieta Żądzińska
Thanks to the creation of the centre, our doctoral schools will gain their own, clearly separated identity and will become more recognisable to the entire community of the University of Lodz. All persons whose task is to support the education and scientific development of doctoral students –directors, secretaries, administrative staff – will be close to one another, which will facilitate communication and speed up solving any problems. In the case of doctoral students, the centre will not only enable them to deal with administrative matters in one place, but also give them their own space, especially designed for them: a place to work, rest, meet, exchange experiences.
– says Prof. Joanna Sowa, Director of the University of Lodz Doctoral School of Humanities
Prof. Katarzyna Dzitko, Director of the the Bio-Med-Chem Doctoral School of the University of Lodz adds:
The new seat of the doctoral schools is also a common meeting place for partners co-creating the Bio-Med-Chem Doctoral School of the University of Lodz and Lodz Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences, namely researchers from the University of Lodz, the Institute of Medical Biology of PAS in Lodz, the Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies of PAS in Lodz and the new partner of the European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Lodz under the auspices of UNESCO.
Prof. Ilona Świątek Barylska, Prof. Katarzyna Dzitko, Rector of the University of Lodz Prof. Elżbieta Żądzińska, Chancellor Jan Rydz, Prof. Joanna Sowa, Prof. Elżbieta Kuźniak-Gębarowska
Two zones and a number of amenities
The University of Lodz Doctoral Schools Centre has been divided into 2 zones. There are 4 small rooms for approx. 15-20 people and one large room (for approx. 25-30 people) for workshops, training sessions and other group meetings in the didactic zone. There is also a room for temporary work for a doctoral student (equipped with computers), a relaxation room equipped with armchairs, pouffes, sofas and footstools which make it easier to calm down and relax, designed for doctoral students to rest during the break between classes. Additionally, there is a room for nursing mothers with a place to change babies.
In the administrative zone there are office rooms for administrative work for 11 people. That is where secretaries of individual schools administratively handle the issues of doctoral students. In the zone there are also rooms for directors of doctoral schools and 2 conference rooms: a small one (for 15 people) and a large one (for 30-40 people) used to organise training, presentations and business meetings.
Thus, 300 doctoral students of the University of Lodz, on the area of 1,175 m2, have gained a place where they can study, organise joint projects and various ventures, and spend their free time. The schools have gained a place to organise meetings of Doctoral School Councils, meetings and recruitment of prospective doctoral students, and to educate doctoral students in friendly rooms equipped with multimedia sets and touch boards.
Adaptation of rooms on the first floor of the building of the UL Dormitory No. 14 ("Wieża Babel") for the needs of Doctoral Schools, along with internal and water and sewage systems constituted the subject of the investment. Its total cost is PLN 1.8 million. These are funds allocated from the university's subsidy from the part intended for construction investments and renovations.
University of Lodz Doctoral Schools now, a new partner soon
The University of Lodz Doctoral Schools Centre includes 4 doctoral schools of the University of Lodz: Doctoral School of Social Sciences, Doctoral School of Humanities, Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences and Bio-Med-Chem Doctoral School of the University of Lodz and Lodz Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Education at Doctoral Schools is conducted in a full-time mode.
The centre was created from the division of the Service Centre for Students and PhD Candidates in order to provide administrative support for doctoral schools and doctoral students, which made it possible to settle all matters related to the education of doctoral students in one place. The Center deals with the administration of doctoral schools of the University of Lodz, handling the process of educating doctoral students, recruiting candidates to doctoral schools, preparing procedural frameworks and legal regulations pertaining to the functioning of doctoral schools, as well as proceedings with the expenditure of funds at doctoral schools.
In the near future (end of March 2023) another partner will join Bio-Med-Chem Doctoral School of the University of Lodz and Lodz Institutes of the Polish Academy of Sciences – "European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology of the Polish Academy of Sciences".
Source: Agnieszka Wojnarowska, University of Lodz Doctoral Schools Centre
Redakcja: Paweł Śpiechowicz, photos: Bartosz Kałużny, Communications and PR Centre, University of Lodz
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