The ENHANCE Girls in STEM competition is completed – a Polish student among the top three winners!

First place in the competition was won by Matilde Dugoni from Italy, who proposed the Saving drops idea related to the saving water issue. System consists of a water pressure sensor and an application providing data on water consumption during selected household activities. Maigualida Benitez Rondon from Spain took second place for her idea of STEG glasses, which can make everyday activities easier for people with the eyesight problems. The glasses with built-in sensors, a GPS system, a voice assistant application and powered by the solar energy, can be helpful in various situations. Karolina Kruss from Poland won third place for the Warsaw Roofpark project aimed at creating the green space on flat residential roofs, which could be powered by a photovoltaic panels. The idea could solve the problem of overheating of buildings.

Ideas submitted by the other finalists included i.a.: an automatic green irrigation system, an intelligent water quality control system, an ecological means of urban transport on a difficult local route, using brightness and motion sensors in the street lamps or an application providing assistance to students dropping out of schools.

The finals of the ENHANCE Girls in STEM competition organized by the Centre for International Cooperation of the Warsaw University of Technology (WUT) and the ENHANCE consortium took place on 7 June 2022 in Warsaw during the Women in Tech Summit 2022 conference - Europe's largest event for women in IT, technology and science. 13 girls took part in the finals in Warsaw: 5 students from Poland, 4 students from Italy, 2 students from Spain and 2 students from Sweden. During the week preceding the finals, the girls participated in consultations organized by WUT.

The finalists presented their solutions in Warsaw in front of the international competition jury members: Professor Robert Zalewski, PhD, DSc, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs of WUT, Ignacio Yusim, PhD, from Universitat Politècnica de València, Anmar Kamalaldin, PhD, from the Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg and Melih Oezkardes, chairman of the jury, coordinator of the Work Package Diversity and Gender Equality of the ENHANCE consortium. Each student had 4 minutes to present her chosen problem and its solution as well as to answer questions from the jury. When evaluating the ideas presented, the jury took into account the quality and innovation of the solution, the technologies used, the feasibility of the project and presentation skills of the finalist.

The results of the competition were announced during the gala ceremony on the big stage of the EXPO XXI hall during the Women in Tech Summit 2022 conference. Professor Robert Zalewski, PhD, DSc, Vice-Rector for Student Affairs of WUT, presented the winners with prizes: branded laptops sponsored by WUT and Interrail Global-Passes train tickets to be used in 33 European countries. The winners will also be invited to visit the ENHANCE university of their choice. The special prize was presented to the youngest participant of the competition, Oliwia Leszczyna from Poland, for designing and creating a complicated, interactive model illustrating her idea concerning an automatic greenery irrigation system. After the ceremony, the finalists and their companions were invited to dinner.

On the second day of their stay in Warsaw, the finalists took a walk around the city and visited the Warsaw University of Technology. During the meeting at the university, Grzegorz Robak, Director of the Centre for International Cooperation of WUT, presented the finalists with certificates of participation in the competition.

More information: www.girls.enhance.pw.edu.pl