Practical English Workshops – a combined chemistry and language lab
Students and their instructors: Ewa Iwanek, PhD, Piotr Winiarek, PhD, Prof. Marek Gliński, Piotr Wieciński, PhD
Students of the Faculty of Chemistry at the Warsaw University of Technology who want to expand their knowledge beyond the standard curriculum can take part in the Practical English Workshops. These classes are designed for those who wish to combine learning laboratory techniques with practicing professional English. The workshops take place in May and are led by passionate instructors. With no entry tests, exit tests, or reports required, participants enjoy a high degree of freedom in their work.
Research techniques and specialized vocabulary
Working in teams of four, participants gain hands-on experience with research techniques not available in regular coursework, such as gas chromatography or scanning microscopy.
While working in the lab, students simultaneously practice specialized English vocabulary, enabling them to use industry-specific terminology more confidently in real-life situations.
Piotr Wieciński, PhD, with students
What’s included in the program?
Each session lasts four hours and includes a series of measurements enriched with interesting facts and practical examples from the instructors’ professional experience.
- Under the supervision of Piotr Winiarek, PhD, students explore catalyst selectivity. The same reaction mixture is introduced into several reactors, producing different products. Using gas chromatography, participants determine their composition.
- With Prof. Marek Gliński, participants carry out an environmentally friendly liquid-phase hydrogen transfer reaction using an inert standard, which allows for quantitative analysis of the post-reaction mixture.
- Ewa Iwanek, PhD, introduces an element of competition. Students first prepare calibration mixtures and then measure all their samples. Two pairs compete to determine the composition of a mysterious mixture X as accurately as possible – with a prize awaiting the winners.
- Students who enroll in the scanning microscopy module led by Piotr Wieciński, PhD, benefit from his extensive experience in sample imaging using this technique and learn about the possibilities such equipment offers researchers. Observing details invisible to the naked eye reveals the structure of materials from a completely new perspective. Once you see samples at such high magnification, you’ll never look at the world the same way again!
“As part of the workshops, we guarantee a lot of learning and positive emotions,” say the instructors in unison.
Practical English Workshops instructors: Piotr Winiarek, PhD, Piotr Wieciński, PhD, Ewa Iwanek, PhD, prof. Marek Gliński
Due to the limited number of places, interested students need to act quickly and decisively. Participation is determined on a first-come, first-served basis.