Kaja Kantorska - a European Commission expert. Graduate of Biotechnology at TUL.
Kaja Kantorska studied Biotechnology in the years 2002-2007 at the International Faculty of Engineering. After graduation she completed an internship in the European Commission, where she works until today. For the first 7 years she was dealing with genetically modified organisms. Since 2016 she has been responsible for orphan drugs, i.e. drugs used to treat rare diseases, such as pancreatic cancer.
Which of the skills gained during your studies helped you on your way to professional success?
Studying at Lodz University of Technology taught me how to predict, plan and organize time and work effectively. An important skill I gained is good cooperation within a group, including international and intercultural teams.
The obligatory 5-month exchange abroad not only allowed me to practice another foreign language but also turned out to be a great school of life and integration in a different culture. Every subject in the field of biochemistry, molecular biology and genetics was very useful in my work, although it is not scientific work in a laboratory. My entire education at Lodz University of Technology created a solid foundation, which I developed with additional classes and internships and thanks to that I could easily get an internship to the European Commission and then start a very interesting career there.
Could you share a unique memory from your student days?
Thanks to my involvement in a biotechnology club Ferment, then run by Prof. Maria Koziołkiewicz, I went to the summer school of biotechnology in Sobieszewo. I was only in my second year, and there I had a chance to spend time with senior year students from various Polish universities who presented their scientific papers. I remember this experience with joy, especially since Professor Stanislaw Bielecki, whose stories I will remember forever, was also present there.
In my current professional work I liaise with the European Medicines Agency and when I was there for the first time, it turned out that I will collaborate with a Polish colleague, a graduate of biotechnology, whom I met many years ago at this very Summer School of Biotechnology in Sobieszewo.
It is worth choosing Lodz University of Technology, because…
It teaches practical thinking, opens your eyes and spreads your wings. This university is a springboard for all young people who are smart and ambitious.