Jan Andrzejewski is Engineer of the Year 2013

The seventh edition of the Engineer of the Year, organized by the Association of Polish Engineers and Technicians of Lithuania, under the patronage of St. Rafał Kalinowski, which took place in Vilnius at Polish Cultural House on Saturday, April 20, has proven that the Polish technical intelligentsia of Vilnius is known, appreciated, and has important achievements in their fields of work as well as that they are familiar with creative exploration and innovative thought .

Throughout each year, engineers and technicians who belong to the Association, most of whom have their own companies, firms and companies, submit their work, projects and innovative applications to the President of the committee, who after a thorough reading of the contents of their works, nominates the top 10. Then, he chooses the winner to become Engineer of the Year.

Chairman of the committee this year was dr hab. Tadeusz Łozowski, known Lithuanian Polish scientist, engineer, professor at the University of Vilnius.

In an interview with Kurier, he emphasized that all the nominees this year, among them a number of those with construction degree and graduates of Polish schools, have showed a high level of work and maturity in engineering.

However, the Commission has decided to grant the title of the winner to John Andrzejewski, recognizing his contributions not only as a mechanical engineer (he graduated from Warsaw University of Technology and worked for a long time in the former Vilnius Institute of Fuel), but also as an excellent organizer of the Polish community living in Vilnius after its revival.

In his company, together with the engineers – Karol Śnieżka, John Hiermanavičy and Zenon Bogdanowicz – he started out as early as in 1988, creating one of the first  branches of the Socio-Cultural Association of Poles in Lithuania, later the ZPL. Then, since 2006, Andrzejewski was for three times appointed President of Engineers’ and Technicians’ Association, which he established as a co-founder along with the aforementioned colleagues and with Henryk Falkowski (current member of the Board and the Head of International Relations), Michael Runiewicz, Zenon Bogdanowicz and other enthusiasts. Full of initiative, Mr. Jan has organized symposia under the title ‘Poles together’, international scientific conferences and meetings. Receiving many compliments, he assured that he was going to continue his activity  in the Association.

It is worth noting that among this year’s nominees there were some well-known specialists and entrepreneurs, like Ryszard Jaświn (construction) and Tadeusz Kuzborski, owner of “Armada”, specializing in the treatment of drinking water. Among them, there are also Arnold Petrowicz, specialist at the university’s architecture and construction departament, and Romuald Monkiewicz, head of the department of municipal government and the university’s lecturer, Gediminas Jonas Matijošius.

As committee members have stated, interesting and innovative works were presented by Bogumil Zawadzka, electronics engineer, now an employee of the state department of customs, and Miroslaw Tarasiewicz, a highly regarded expert in the field of passenger transport. Positive feedback was also given to the project of Wojciech Aszkiełowicz from the Sołecznicki district.

At the end, President of the Association, Jerzy Mozyro, performing the function forf two years now, said he was pleased that among the more than 60 engineers and technicians of Vilnius, who belong to the Association, there are so many talented and creative people. In turn, his deputy Joseph Wasilewski added that recently a lot of young Polish technicians have joined the circle.

The participants viewed the exhibition of Irena Lipska, who is keen on drawing, with interest  This time she present an interesting series of drawings of horses.

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The ceremony was attended by many guests: Stanislaw Cygnarowski, Head of the Consular Section of the Polish Embassy in Vilnius, Henry Szymanski, head of the Department of Trade and Investment Promotion of the Polish Embassy in Vilnius, Dr. Vincentas Stragys, vice president of the Lithuanian Republican Association of Civil Engineers, Eve Mańkiewicz-Cudny, President NOT (Federation of Engineering Associations Polish), Dr. Barbara Dwilewicz, a lecturer at the University Edukologiczny, Zbigniew Jedziński, Member of the Lithuanian Parliament, as well as managers of the performing circles.

There were also present  a poet Alexander Śnieżko, artist Viktor Dulko ballads, the band ‘consent’, who later appeared att he stage before the guests.

The event was conducted by Agnieszka Mozyro, a Girl of the Kurier from three years ago, now a graduate student at Catholic University of Lublin, and  Robert Neviadomski, owner and director of the Vilnius company ‘Inviktus’.

There came also directors and representatives of numerous technical associations from Poland and other European countries, with which the Association of Polish Engineers and Technicians of Lithuania has contacts and colaborates from the beginning, specifically since 1996 The first ‘Engineer of the Year’ competition was organized in 2006 on the proposal of the president of the company ‘Klion’, Sigmund Klonowski.

Source: http://kurierwilenski.lt/2013/04/22/jan-andrzejewski-inzynierem-2013-roku/

Tłumaczenie by Emil Iracki w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by by Emil Iracki within the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.