Different paths, one university
#FacesOfTUL features 13 people representing 11 countries: students, doctoral candidates, researchers and staff of Lodz University of Technology. Each person arrived in Lodz with a different story and different plans. For some, it marked the beginning of a completely new chapter. Others have been developing their careers, conducting research and building their lives here for years.
The series tells their stories through two complementary forms: photography and conversation.
The #FacesOfTUL exhibition
The first part of the series is a photographic exhibition inaugurated at the TUL International Cooperation Centre. Around 20 photographs show the participants in portraits and in the surroundings of the university and the city. Each image is an invitation to discover the human story behind internationalisation: the decision to come to Poland, first experiences in Lodz, everyday challenges, achievements and plans for the future.
The exhibition will travel across the faculties of Lodz University of Technology, bringing these stories directly to students, doctoral candidates and staff across the university.
Stories that cannot be captured in a single frame
The second, equally important part of #FacesOfTUL is a podcast series. Each episode develops the story of an individual participant or a pair of guests. In their own words, they talk about their journeys to Lodz, overcoming linguistic and cultural barriers, building relationships, academic and professional development, and finding their place in a new country.
The podcasts are not a series of identical interviews. Each conversation is shaped by the participants’ experiences, bringing together turning points and achievements as well as moments of uncertainty, important encounters and everyday discoveries. The emphasis is on natural conversations rather than formal promotional statements.
Episodes will be released successively. In this way, the exhibition becomes the beginning of a longer encounter with the participants: photography allows us to see them, while the podcast lets us hear their voices and understand their individual perspectives.
Watch and listen to #FacesOfTUL
Choose your preferred platform and discover the stories of the people who help shape the international community of Lodz University of Technology:
• YouTube
• Spotify
Watch and listen to upcoming episodes, and follow the channels of Lodz University of Technology and the International Cooperation Centre so you do not miss the next stories.
Getting to know the person
#FacesOfTUL presents diversity not as an abstract concept, but as an everyday reality created by real people. The participants are not only recipients of the university’s offer. They study, conduct research, contribute to projects, work in teams and bring their knowledge, languages, skills and perspectives to the TUL community.
Through their stories, we aim to encourage mutual understanding, overcome linguistic and cultural barriers, and strengthen openness within the academic community.
Because our international community does not exist alongside our university. It helps shape who we are.
Different stories. One university.
Project information
The #FacesOfTUL series is implemented by the International Cooperation Centre of Lodz University of Technology as part of the TUL Welcomes Beyond Borders project.
The project is implemented under the Welcome to Poland programme, financed by the European Union under the European Funds for Social Development 2021–2027 (FERS) within the NAWA project “Support for higher education and research institutions in servicing foreign nationals and Poles going abroad” (project no. FERS.01.05.IP.08-0003/24).
#EUfunds #EUfunding