My first encounter with Chinese culture and customs was when I worked at UK Leuven, where I met Chinese students doing their doctoral theses. Working in one team allowed me to observe their hard work and determination in overcoming barriers, especially linguistic ones. I saw the same dedication and commitment to work in the team of Professor Tang Wenjun. Thanks to the invitation of Professor Tang to his “institute family”, I had the pleasure to meet and cooperate with many young people who approach their work with great passion and commitment.

Speaking of the team of Professor Tang as a family, I meant the atmosphere in this group, that is, mutual help, support and respect for both colleagues and Professor Tang. In the ten years led by Professor Tang, the laboratory has carried out numerous projects in the field of transition-metal catalysis in close cooperation with the industry. And that was the reason why I was so interested in the work of this group.

I was impressed with the achievements of Professor Tang and his experience in combining academic and managerial work. During my nine-month stay at the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), I participated in a project to develop a series of uncrosslinked polymer monophosphorus ligands based on a rigid benzo-oxaphosphane backbone, which will be reusable and used at low loads in palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions.

On this project, I collaborated with PhD student Dong Wenfeng, with whom we also prepared a lecture titled “Immobilized catalysts as a response to the challenges of the Green Chemistry”, which I gave at the institute’s forum. Due to the close contacts of Professor Tang’s group with industry in the field of enantioselective catalysis, a project was created to prepare a review article on enantioselective transformations on an industrial scale. Together with Yu Hanxiao and Professor Tang, we prepared a proposal for an article that was approved by Chemical Reviews.

Moreover, I had the pleasure of participating in Science Days. Together with the students, we met with the youth of Shanghai High School. I must admit that the knowledge of both younger and older children about the physicochemical phenomena occurring in the environment was impressive.

Due to the fact that in Poland the cooperation of universities of technology with the industry is negligible, and this is mainly due to a lack of adequate preparation for such cooperation, I hope that working at SIOC for the next nine months will allow me to gain experience that will result in establishing such cooperation. Working with my Chinese colleagues as well as meetings outside of work, for example the great 10th anniversary of the group of Professor Tang, has taught me a lot about science and also Chinese culture. I trust that my knowledge and experience in working in different countries, which I have tried to pass on to them, will result in the broadening of their horizons and knowledge about other cultures. I am very happy that I received the CAS-PIFI scholarship and I am very grateful for the opportunity to continue my scientific “adventure” on the team of Professor Tang.

During my stay in Shanghai, I was able to visit various parts of China, both the southern part (Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Hainan and Yunnan provinces) and Northeast China’s Jilin Province. This experience has convinced me of how beautiful and diverse China is, in terms of culture, history and geography. Of course, Shanghai made an unforgettable impression on me as a very modern city and very green at the same time. From the perspective of these nine months, I must admit that the social and scientific development is impressive. I am grateful to the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Professor Tang for being able to observe this development directly.

Source: Izabela Agnieszka Stolarzewicz

Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC),

Chinese Academy of Sciences