The year 2018 was mainly marked by the entry into force of the Constitution for Science, which will be implemented over a period of 5 years, and the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Poland regaining independence (the Independence Survey; guided walks celebrating the Warsaw University of Technology Day; the commemorative bench project called “Ławka z historią” (Bench with a History); the “Listy do Niepodległej” (Letters to Independent Poland) concert; the official unveiling ceremony of a monument to President Ignacy Mościcki in front of the WUT’s Chemical Technology Building; the officially unveiled commemorative plaque in honor of Jan Rodowicz “Anoda” and many more). But it does not stop here. Have a look back at the highlights from last year’s events at the Warsaw University of Technology.

Cosmic achievements

A satellite built by members of the Astronautic Student Research Group operating at the Warsaw University of Technology Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering was launched on December 3, 2018 at 7.32 p.m. The satellite was carried aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base, the USA. A few days before the end of 2018, the students managed to open the satellite sail.

Research, science and competition

Our students and faculty contribute to scientific developments actively and with a lot of success. For instance, the year 2018 saw the “Herbion” Biotechnologist Student Research Group operating at the WUT Faculty of Chemistry busy working on a millet-based yoghurt substitute. The product is intended as a local and cheaper alternative to non-dairy yoghurts made of coconut, rice or soy milk that you can buy in stores. The project attracted great attention from the media and vegetarian communities in Poland.

Internationally, what may have been an instant hit was Comixify or an algorithm which automatically selects frames with the most interesting and essential content of an uploaded video and then arranges, fits into picture frames and converts such still images into graphics. This is how comic pictures are made. The project is a joint effort of Maciej Pęśko, Eng., Adam Svystun and Paweł Andruszkiewicz, Eng., students of the Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology supervised by the faculty of the Institute of Computer Science, Department of Computer Graphics: Prof. Przemysław Rokita, DSc, Eng. and Tomasz Trzciński, PhD, Eng.

A team of students from our University and the Jagiellonian University won the main prize in the 24-hour hackathon Campus App Challenge hosted by the Warsaw University of Technology. Their app, Indoor Available, automatically loads data from USOS, the university student management information system, so that it will know the individual timetables of all users and will alert them of any changes of rooms or cancelled classes in real time. With Indoorway microlocalization, the best route to the destination can be found, and this, combined with the easy-to-use voice navigation, allows the visually impaired to get round corners with confidence and easier navigate the campus.

But this is by no means the only success of our students in nationwide and international hackathons. A team made up of students from the Warsaw University of Technology Faculty of Mathematics and Information Science (Bartosz Barwikowski, Łukasz Skarzyński, Łukasz Berwid and Konrad Daroch) grabbed second place at Malta Blockchain Summit held from late October to early November 2018.

The students of the KNR Robotics Student Research Group operating at the Warsaw University of Technology Faculty of Power and Aeronautical Engineering came out on top in last year’s International Autonomous Robot Racing Challenge running July 13 to 14, 2018 in Toronto, Canada.

And another international student competition at Van Nuys in California, this time one that was open to aircraft builders, had the team from the Warsaw University of Technology finished in the 3rd place overall in the Advanced Class, in 1st place for technical presentation in the same Class and in the 3rd place for airdrop accuracy.

Poland’s No. 1!

WUT had been ranked the best technical university in Poland for the 13th time in a row in the Higher Education University Ranking put together by the “Perspektywy” monthly and, simultaneously, moved up to the third place of all universities in Poland (after the University of Warsaw and the Jagiellonian University).

And another significant table, i.e. PRODOK or the Most Pro-Doctoral University in Poland, had WUT at the top. The Warsaw University of Technology and the University of Warsaw were ex aequo winners.

WUT students after hours

A student does not live the academic life alone. In spring 2018, Poland’s first University Golf Team was formed at the Warsaw University of Technology. Our Team trains 3 times a week at the Syrenka Stadium. Moreover, our students participated in an international curling event. They also actively competed in inter-university competitions. For instance, Krzysztof Łukasik, a student of the Warsaw University of Technology Faculty of Physics, was the runner-up in the World University Cycling Championships. He won his medal in the mountain bike racing event. And Wojciech Bógdał, a student of the WUT’s Płock Branch finished as the World Champion after six days of competition at the World Powered Paragliding Championships in Thailand.

Among the para-athletes competing in the 2018 Berlin World Para Athletics European Championships was Aleksander Kossakowski accompanied by his guide runner Krzysztof Wasilewski, a student in his final year at WUT Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology. The strong duo won the 1500 m race.

Besides, in July, the Warsaw University of Technology Academic Choir won two golds in the Sacred Music Category and in the Contemporary Music Category, respectively, at Grand Prix Thailand.

Promotion

Our students actively promote the University at educational events and festivals, including the International Festival of Warsaw. The event was an opportunity for residents of Warsaw to experience the diversity of nationalities and cultures represented by people living in Poland. The Festival’s agenda included Active Learning Zone where Student Research Groups of the Warsaw University of Technology presented what they do.

As in previous years, the Polish Radio partnered with the Copernicus Science Centre to hold the Science Picnic. Students Research Groups and representatives of the Warsaw University of Technology faculties were obviously part of the 22nd instalment of that event, joining almost 200 other exhibitors.

The year 2018 saw the launch of the first WUT Participatory Budget Scheme.

Our promotional efforts, including our social media presence, were recognized and rewarded. Our activity in social media channels was appreciated by the judging panel of the 2018 Genius Universitatis, a competition for creative admission campaigns. We entered our comprehensive campaign promoting our Online Store.

Moreover, the promotion of the student racing car e-MaksPower won the main prize 2018 PROMyk for promoting the key directions of the University activity. In addition, we were awarded the Bronze Sword in the 2018 KTR Competition (Polish Creativity Festival) for our Candidate Profile and the Warsaw University of Technology logo received a nomination in the 9th HOW Logo Design Awards competition.