“Student Research Groups Innovate” - success of WUT research groups

In the current call for proposals, eight projects from our university received funding, with a total amount of support exceeding half a million Polish zlotys. This result positions the Warsaw University of Technology as a national leader both in terms of the number of funded projects and the amount of awarded funding. The awarded proposals cover a broad engineering spectrum – from space and autonomous technologies, through materials science, to advanced chemistry and biotechnology. 

Success of students of the Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering

The dominant group of award-winning initiatives comprises five projects in the aerospace sector and autonomous systems, all developed at the Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering. The leader in the field is the Student Astronautics Research Group, which carried out two research tasks, key for the group: verification of the FOK 2 rocket capability for autonomous flight using vision algorithms and the development of a qualifying model for the PW-Sat3 satellite, indispensable for confirming readiness for an orbital mission. At the same time, teams from the Robotics Student Research Group and SAE AeroDesign are exploring issues related to unmanned aerial vehicles. The former is working on the KNR Drone system, which is a VTOL tilt-rotor platform for kinetic neutralisation of foreign objects, whereas the latter focuses on the optimisation of electric lifting aircraft and autonomous vehicles, dedicated to international engineering competitions. The work of the WUT Racing Student Research Group complements mobility projects, with the team focusing on precise numeric modelling of composite interlayer structures, which are crucial for mass optimisation and safety in Formula Student bolides. 

Interdisciplinary projects

Nevertheless, the research potential of student research groups at the Warsaw University of Technology extends beyond mechanics and aeronautical engineering, and covers key issues related to civil engineering and chemical and biochemical technologies. In response to construction challenges, the Student Research Group of Metal Structures at the Faculty of Civil Engineering is carrying out implementation tasks on the post-critical load capacity of hybrid glass-metal beams, aiming to develop new project guidelines for safe transparent structures. The “Venturi” Student Research Group at the Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering, on the other hand, is working on nanostructural additives to light-activated ceramic filters, which will be applied in the neutralisation of pathogens and water pollutants. The Herbion Biotechnology Student Research Group project from the Faculty of Chemistry also adds to the interdisciplinary nature of student innovation. The team is working on the TheraChip lab-on-a-chip microflow system, which will enable research on photodynamic therapy on three-dimensional models of cancerous tumours — a major step towards personalised oncological medicine.

“Every year we see an increasingly wide scope of proposal topics, which proves that our students show remarkable creativity,” emphasises Paulina Chrobocińska, WUT Rector’s Proxy for Student Research Groups. “We see a clear demand within the student community for funding their own original projects, which often go beyond the standard study programme. We are particularly happy with growing inter-group cooperation and interdisciplinarity of teams. This shows that student research groups are not only a place to develop one’s passions but also a perfect school of teamwork and solving genuine technological problems.” 

The implementation of such complex research tasks is a key element of the system of educational quality assurance at the Warsaw University of Technology. Activity in student research groups creates a unique space for students to practically verify academic knowledge and attain the highest level of engineering competencies while still being an undergraduate.

The projects are financed from state budget funds, awarded by the Minister of Science and Higher Education as part of the programme “Student Research Groups Innovate”.