In Poland, when young people hear the word engineering, many picture complicated formulas, factories, or endless technical drawings. Others imagine only bridges and machines, assuming the field is narrow, boring, or irrelevant to their lives. Before joining Next Engineers, this was the reality for many students in Warsaw area.
The program set out to challenge these assumptions by developing students’ awareness, interest, habits of mind, employability skills, identity, and agency. The insights below, gathered from participants in the Warsaw area, show how their perceptions shifted as they moved through different stages of the program.
At the beginning, students doubted themselves. Many believed “things need to work the first time,” which limited their resilience. Others were nervous about teamwork and presentations, saying “I don’t like it, but I think it’s necessary.” Some questioned their place in engineering: “I’m not a leader” or “I’m not sure I could be an engineer.” Without confidence or agency, they struggled to see themselves as capable of solving problems or taking action.
Through Engineering Discovery, nearly all participating students grew in awareness and interest. They said things like “Being an engineer is a cool job – it’s not as boring as I thought” and “I learned there are many different types of engineering.” Around 80% improved their engineering habits of mind and employability skills, with reflections such as “Not everything has to work the first time” and “You have to communicate well in this job.” About 40% strengthened their identity and agency, saying “I can become an engineer” and “I don’t give up despite problems.”
The scale of Engineering Discovery in Warsaw area speaks for itself: activities were delivered in 14 schools with the support of 50 volunteers from GE Aerospace, who supported 71 sessions led by Perspektywy Education Foundation (community partner) – adding up to 336 hours of volunteer engagement and reaching 1,905 students.
And the impact is clear:
💡 71% of students learned something new
🔎 66% wanted to know more
🙌 93% were engaged and enjoyed taking part
🔁 88% said they would like to join future workshops
🧠 32% are now considering engineering studies after the program
Meanwhile, students from Engineering Academy started from a much stronger position, with baseline scores of 70–80% out of 100% across all measures awareness, interest, habits of mind, employability skills, and identity. Their reflections after hands-on tasks illustrate this: “After building our prototype, I saw how important testing and redesigning is,” “Working in a team showed me that my ideas can improve the final solution,” and “When our first design failed, I realized that failure is part of learning.”
It’s important to note that these Academy results come from the first six months of the program’s delivery in Warsaw area. Since the Academy runs for two full years, with about one and a half years still ahead, the growth in confidence and resilience is already visible – and there is plenty of room for even greater impact as the journey continues.
Next Engineers demonstrates that engineering in Poland is a field full of possibilities. It can spark creativity, teamwork, and resilience, while opening doors to future career paths. Thanks to the program, more and more students in Warsaw area are beginning to see themselves as future engineers – ready to take on challenges and shape a better world.
For more information, please e-mail nextengineers@perspektywy.pl
