Karolina

Karolina

Senior Research Engineer - Cell System,
Ola Battery Innovation Centre

“India isn’t my home—I moved here just 6 months ago when my fiancé got a job at Ola. But since the day we came here, not a day has gone by that I haven’t missed Poland — the land where I grew up falling in love with literature, history, and art. I’ve read over 2,000 books in my life!

As a child, I wanted to be an artist, just like my parents. But art only brought them so far. When I realised that it wouldn’t guarantee me a financially stable future, I decided to apply to university instead. Initially, I was excited to pursue Chemical Technology, but in the first year itself, I was served with a harsh reality check.

It wasn’t an easy course—more than half the kids in my class dropped out because most thought the syllabus was tough. I wasn’t a fan of Mathematics either, which was needed for almost every subject, but I wasn’t raised to be a quitter.

"After 5 years of sleepless nights, early mornings, and endless assignments, I got to toss the graduation cap alongside my classmates."

That day, I looked forward to the unfolding of how my life would turn out… blissfully unaware of how many surprises lay ahead.

I went on to work at 5 different laboratories, met my fiancé, fell in love, and started a business together.

We had no idea that all of it was leading us to our biggest adventure ever… India. When my fiancé got the opportunity at Ola, we put our business on hold and left our life in Poland behind to start something new together. As luck would have it, not long after him, I too secured a job at Ola, in the Battery Innovation Centre. Here, I’ve been working as a researcher. After having dedicated a decade to different laboratories, this is a whole new world for me.

A new world in a new country, which hasn’t been a cakewalk.

"Coming from a country where the population is barely 40 million, and moving to a country where 1 billion people find their shelter..."

I’m just trying to take it one step at a time. Every experience is so new here—for instance, I’ve never seen the New Year being celebrated with such fervour in my entire life!

It was for the first time in those 4 months that I felt like I was no longer an outsider, but a part of this country, its people, and its culture.

"So, as much as I miss Poland, I’m finally finding a home here, too!”"