Dr. Maciej Pawłowski from the Department of ICT and Telecommunications, is our guest in the #JestemzPWr #JestemzWIT series. He has been at our university for 50 years. He is a long-time director of the University's branch in Jelenia Góra and an activist dedicated to the development of this part of Lower Silesia. He is also the president of the Bieg Piastów Association and an avid skier and sailor.

Dr. Pawłowski tells us how he has always been very good at skiing. In his first year of studies at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, he qualified for the Polish academic alpine skiing team.

– This was why I neglected my studies a little and ended up having a serious talk in the dean's office. At that time I chose to concentrate on the university. And what about skiing? I still do it, though not professionally. "I have the highest skiing Instructor-Lecturer qualification – he adds.

The scientist has spent his entire adult life actively working in the industry. His first professional assignment was designing ski lifts. That he met Julian Gozdowski – the organiser of the Bieg Piastów and a sports legend in Jelenia Góra. Dr. Pawłowski designed and built over 50 ski lifts. He also worked for 3 years in a pulp mill in Cameroon as a chief energy engineer.

Since 1990, he has been the director of the WUST branch in Jelenia Góra, which in the peak years provided tuition to about 1300 students.

– I established the first civilian electronics studies for military personnel in Eastern Europe,” says Dr. Maciej Pawłowski.Stworzyłem tam pierwsze w Europie Wschodniej cywilne studia z elektroniki dla wojskowych – mówi dr inż. Maciej Pawłowski.

For many years, I have been involved in the organisation of the Bieg Piastów – the largest winter sports event in the country.

– Only as the president of the Bieg Piastów Association did I discover that the race is a source of international prestige for Poland. We managed to make the Association member of the prestigious Euroloppet and Worldloppet federations. Their standards encouraged us to introduce a summer and a cycling edition – adds the scientist.

Dr. Pawłowski also seated in the Jelenia Góra city council and in the Lower Silesian voivodeship assembly. He is the person behind the collaboration with Danish Randers and American Taylor.

– The aim was for us to be able to learn self-governance after the regime had changed. For 3 months, we lived with the families of local officials and accompanied them at work – he explains.

– I have carried out projects that were said to be ‘impossible’.” Everything I did I owe to the principle: if you're going to do something for the benefit of the society, you can't be afraid. It was passed to me by my father, whose footsteps I followed. He was also an electrician and worked at the Lodz University of Technology – adds Dr. Pawłowski.

His greatest dream is the Winter Olympics co-hosted by Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic, with events taking place, among others, in Jakuszyce.