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Barbora Vachtová, University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno,
ročník 5About the country
Location of the place
Nofer institute is situated in the north part of the city with good access to public transport (bus, tram).
City
Łódź, the third largest city in Poland, is a city of the multicultural heritage of Poles, Germans, Jews and Russians. A city of the industrial revolution, of the steam engine and the electrical era. It's housing the world-famous Modern Art Museum and the Lodz Film School.
From the 19th century Łódź has been the land for many nations: Poles, Germans, Jews and Russians. Among them were many great industrialists, merchants, bankers, architects and writers who created a modern city and its culture. The Jewish community at the turn of the 20th century was estimated at two hundred thousand. The Shoah, the darkest episode in the history of Europe, took the lives of all the members of the Jewish community in Łódź. The way of death led from the ghetto in Łódź, (called Litzmannstadt by the Germans), to the Nazi death camps in Oświęcim (Auschwitz) and Chełmno (Kulmhof). The remaining material symbols of the Jewish culture, the inherent parts of the cultural landscape of Łódź are historic buildings such as the centre of the Jewish community, the Reicher synagogue and the biggest necropolis in Europe covering an area of 4100 acres where seventy thousand Jewish headstones are preserved. The German industrial culture played a significant role in the development of the city. It has left factories and the haughty residences of the manufacturers, power and communication machinery, Evangelical churches and theatres. The powerful textile empires created by industrialists of German origin are now used as the foundations of various institutions.
From the 19th century Łódź has been the land for many nations: Poles, Germans, Jews and Russians. Among them were many great industrialists, merchants, bankers, architects and writers who created a modern city and its culture. The Jewish community at the turn of the 20th century was estimated at two hundred thousand. The Shoah, the darkest episode in the history of Europe, took the lives of all the members of the Jewish community in Łódź. The way of death led from the ghetto in Łódź, (called Litzmannstadt by the Germans), to the Nazi death camps in Oświęcim (Auschwitz) and Chełmno (Kulmhof). The remaining material symbols of the Jewish culture, the inherent parts of the cultural landscape of Łódź are historic buildings such as the centre of the Jewish community, the Reicher synagogue and the biggest necropolis in Europe covering an area of 4100 acres where seventy thousand Jewish headstones are preserved. The German industrial culture played a significant role in the development of the city. It has left factories and the haughty residences of the manufacturers, power and communication machinery, Evangelical churches and theatres. The powerful textile empires created by industrialists of German origin are now used as the foundations of various institutions.
Surroundings (possible trips, ...)
Warszawa
Kraków
Wrocław
I strongly recommend to use Tripadvisor app where you can find many useful tips for trips, restaurants, nice city parts and monuments.
Kraków
Wrocław
I strongly recommend to use Tripadvisor app where you can find many useful tips for trips, restaurants, nice city parts and monuments.
Employer
Employer
Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Department of Chemical Safety
Work description
Department of Chemical Safety is very small (8 employees). I was involved in some easy office work and simple corrections of my supervisor's articles. After my demands and initiative I was invited to take a look to labs in other departments of the institute and to take part in excursions with medical visitors of this institute.
Salary (sufficient for local conditions?)
Salary 1200 zł is sufficient for simple food, PT card and 1 - 2 weekend trips.
Language requirements
English
Accommodation (price, who provided it)
Dorms (free of charge, arranged by IAESTE Łódź) are clean and comfortable but not equipped so don't forget to take your own kitchen stuff etc.
Social life
Meeting IAESTE members (pick-up at the airport, organized events...)
IAESTE UMed Łódź didn't offer me to pick me up at the bus station. Communication was quite poor. But I'm sure it was caused by the timing of my internship.
Meeting other foreign students
I had my internship in September before start of the semester so there were no students at all. No foreign students, no polish students, no trainees.
Sport and culture
There are many nice and interesting places to see - Piotrkowska Street with beautiful monumental palaces and houses, cultural centre Manufaktura with shops, cinema and live music. You shouldn't miss to visit local relics telling the history of the Jews during the WW2. Before the World War 2 Lodz had the second largest community of Jews in Europe - one third of the city's population (230 000 people). Lodz ghetto established by the Nazis was the second largest ghetto in all of German-occupied Europe. More than 165 000 Jews were transported to Auschwitz and Chełmno extermination camps from this place.
Food, local specialties
Same like in the Czech Republic.
Other information
Possibilites to communicate with the Czech Republic
Poland is a country with great access to mobile data and MP signal so I see no problem to communicate with any other country you need to be in contact with.
Recommendations for students who will go to the same place
IAESTE UMed - contact them many times and make sure that they know about your arrival, about your accomodation, about dates when you are going to start and finish your internship. Ask for written confirmation of your accomodation.
Dorms - take your own kitchen stuff, personal stuff (towel, soap, t. paper) at least for the first day of your stay. If you'll stay in dorms Plac Hallera, you'll have induction hot plates in the kitchen. It's good to know in advance bcs you need to have a pot and a pan from special material for this type of plate.
Dorms - take your own kitchen stuff, personal stuff (towel, soap, t. paper) at least for the first day of your stay. If you'll stay in dorms Plac Hallera, you'll have induction hot plates in the kitchen. It's good to know in advance bcs you need to have a pot and a pan from special material for this type of plate.
What not to forget with you
see Recommendations for students
Benefits of the internship
+ I improved my English skills
+ excursions to well equipped labs
- many labs are closed for now (financial issues)
- no specific tasks
- my only work was to help my supervisor with some corrections of her Word documents (mostly citations)
+ excursions to well equipped labs
- many labs are closed for now (financial issues)
- no specific tasks
- my only work was to help my supervisor with some corrections of her Word documents (mostly citations)
Cooperation with IAESTE in the foreign country
IAESTE UMed Łódź didn't offer me to pick me up at the train station - so it's better to prepare for this scenario and have some mobile data or a map (offline map or the paper one). There were no organised events, I met only one girl from local IAESTE who helped me to reach the institute and manage some necessary things on the first day of my internship. To be honest I'm not very satisfied with the care I received from IAESTE UMed Łódź.
Overall experience with IAESTE
Although I had some little communication difficulties with polish IAESTE I strongly recommend to join the IAESTE Exchange program and I'd like to say thank you to IAESTE Czech Republic exchange team for their high standards.
Student's website
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Employer's webiste
http://www.imp.lodz.pl/home_en/
Other useful links
http://www.imp.lodz.pl/home_en/ - very useful link for public transport and orientation in the city
https://www.tripadvisor.cz/ - for trip planning
https://www.pyszne.pl/ - for food delivery
https://www.tripadvisor.cz/ - for trip planning
https://www.pyszne.pl/ - for food delivery
Other comments
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