As part of the competition, students from around the world are designing a DC converter that must meet specific requirements: 1.5 kW power, 400 V input voltage, and a programmable 20–150 V output with low ripple. The semi-final round took place on 16 March 2025 in Atlanta (USA) during the international APEC 2025 (Applied Power Electronics Conference). The original solution developed in the Institute’s laboratory under the supervision of Prof. Jacek Rąbkowski—a galvanically isolated DC-DC converter characterised by fast load response, low noise, and high efficiency—was recognized by the jury. As a result, students from the DREN and PEPA RG groups advanced to the final as one of only eight teams worldwide.

The team includes: Adrian Ośka, Adrianna Machulak, Błażej Skrzypkowski, Jakub Pykacz, Krzysztof Kalinowski, Michał Ptak, Paweł Wodzyński, Przemysław Kinasz, and Tomasz Zakrzewski. The academic supervisor is Prof. Jacek Rąbkowski, Director of the Institute of Control and Industrial Electronics.

– It is a great honour and an extra boost of motivation for us to represent Poland and Warsaw University of Technology in the IFEC 2025 final – says Błażej Skrzypkowski, a team member. – We owe our success to the hard work and dedication of the entire team. The support from our supervisors was invaluable—they were a wealth of knowledge and guided us based on their experience. Equally important was our desire to learn through practice, further strengthened by the spirit of healthy competition with teams from around the globe. Thanks to the competition, in addition to gaining expert technical knowledge in power electronics, we also enhanced our teamwork skills.

The final will take place in July 2025 at the National Taipei University of Technology in Taiwan. The students will compete with teams from Belgium, Taiwan, Germany, the United States, Serbia, and India. During the event, the developed device will undergo examination and rigorous testing.

The full list of finalists is available on the competition website.