First One to Teach Dodo Flying

How did it happen that you constructed a plane piloted by a neural network?

It all started accidentally – I just met some cool people from the AGH Solar Plane science club and I decided to join them. I enjoyed what we were doing there, as aerospace engineering is a very demanding and difficult specialisation, but when you reach a success, when you see your plane fly, there is great satisfaction. So: it is the kind of engineering where after a great effort you get a huge reward.

In your case the reward only arrived four years later…

That is true. I started working on the neural flight controller to present it at one of the international competitions in Turkey, but the project was not completed in time. However, I liked that idea so much that I had no intention of letting it go, so kept working on the system as an individual project now, I wrote my BSc theses for mechatronics engineering, and now the thesis for my MSc that I just passed.

Are science clubs at universities a god place for development?

The best! Science clubs, at least at the AGH, gather those who are really passionate, who want to learn in a much more practical way than it happens in regular classes. They also provide possibility of travelling to various competitions, conferences, and similar events. The contacts you make there also play a significant role.

Have you considered studying abroad?

Yes, both for BSc and MSc studies. But finally, also because of the project I was doing, I remained at the AGH. I believe that although the Polish higher education system does have its problems, because every system does, the power and special quality of the AGH is its incredible community, full of mutual support. I mostly mean the academic science clubs environment, which is incredibly powerful, also because the university supports those organisations and enables the best possible development for science clubs members, e.g., with the grant system, providing space for their activities, etc.

Who would you recommend studying at the AGH University to and why?

I think this university is best for the kind of person who wants to be active, to engage. So, in order to develop best here, you should not focus on theoretical knowledge, but on practical activities within various projects, on co-creating the science clubs.

Is the AGH a university of innovators?

I met plenty of people I would call innovators at the university, so the answer is obvious to me.

And what does the word "innovator" mean to you?

Someone who is creating something new, or creating something in a different way than was used before. Someone acting with patience and determined in pursuing their goal. An innovator must have inherent stubbornness, because without it, it is tough to work on projects which may appear crazy to everyone around and which involve daily failures, problems to be overcome, and they must be able to draw lessons, conclusions from these mistakes to use in further developing their idea.

How did studying at the AGH change your life?

I can definitely say that studying was the best period of my life so far. I gained huge amounts of knowledge, loads of practical skills, I could create my own innovations, and I met incredible people. What else could I possibly want? Maybe just being remembered as the first person who managed to teach a dodo to fly (which is why I gave my plane this name). And… I managed to achieve that too!

Ed. Magda Tytuła