The competition recognizes young scientists and entrepreneurs (under 35) who create innovative projects to address the challenges and problems of the contemporary society. This year, there were two graduates of the Warsaw University of Technology among the 10 winners of the Polish edition.

Marta Bojarska, Ph.D. (Eng.), was recognized for special nanoparticles she had developed together with her team that decompose noxious air and water pollutants. No one in Poland had attempted to solve the problem of contamination this way on a semi-industrial scale before.

Doctor Bojarska graduated in Industrial Biotechnology from the Warsaw University of Technology, a specialization run by the Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering, and subsequently, at the same faculty, she defended her doctoral thesis on the subject “New properties of surface modified membranes” (with professor Wojciech Piątkiewicz, Ph.D. Eng., as her supervisor). Currently, the researcher works for the Duisburg-Essen University as a post-doctoral trainee in a group headed by professor Mathias Ulbricht. Additionally, she leads the “Liquid and Gas De-Oiling Using Aerogel-Modified Filtration Materials” project in the framework of the Leader VI Program. This project is implemented by the Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering at the WUT.

Rafał Lipiński graduated from the Faculty of Mathematics and Information Science (in Computer Science). He found his way into the crème de la crème of innovators owing to the creation of the Hufsy banking platform. The solution is addressed to small- and medium-sized enterprises and it is powered by state-of-the-art technologies such as Blockchain and Machine Learning. With Hufsy, clients can open a business bank account fully digitally in 10 minutes, and after logging in, they can access basic banking functionalities, such as money transfers. Additionally, the platform provides real-time information on the finances of its users and allows to make plans for the future. Further, it can be integrated with business systems, such as accounting, factoring or lending systems. Hufsy has two head offices: in Copenhagen and in Berlin. The platform created by Rafał Lipiński is already available on the German market, and soon it will be launched in Denmark.

Complete list of Polish winners of Innovators Under 35

35 best projects of young innovators from Europe will be rewarded during the Innovators Under 35 Europe Awards Ceremony on 14 September 2017 in Paris.

The competition has a long history. It was launched in 1999 in the United States of America and has spread to other parts of the world since 2011. The first Polish winners were announced in 2015.