European 36Org-Chem Challenge 2024 – final
On December 2nd, 2024, in the SPINplace building – the Centre for Creativity and Co-working at the University of Silesia in Katowice, the final of the second edition of the nationwide competition in the field of organic chemistry 360RG-CHEM Challenge took place. This time in the European format as the European 360RG-CHEM Challenge.
The aim of the 360RG-CHEM Challenge competition is to popularize organic chemistry, present scientific issues in the field of organic chemistry, arouse passion among recipients. The competition is intended for students of the last year of second-cycle studies or uniform master’s studies and for participants of doctoral schools dealing with scientific organic chemistry.
The 360RG-CHEM Challenge competition is a cyclical joint initiative of the Faculty of Chemistry of the Silesian University of Technology, the Institute of Organic Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, the Faculty of Chemistry of the Lodz University of Technology and the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Silesia in Katowice. This year the event was organized by the Faculty of Chemistry of the Silesian University of Technology and the Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Silesia in Katowice.
The event was opened by Prof Michał Daszykowski – Vice-Rector for Finance at the University of Silesia in Katowice and Prof. Wojciech Simka – Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry of the Silesian University of Technology.
The final session of the competition was attended by 35 finalists, including 5 PhD students from Hungary, the Czech Republic, Romania and Germany, as well as 30 PhD students and masters from all over Poland, including the Silesian University of Technology, the Jagiellonian University, the Lodz University of Technology, Gdańsk University of Technology), the University of Silesia, the Wrocław University of Technology, the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, the Silesian Medical University and the University of Warsaw and the Rzeszów University of Technology.
Our region was represented by six doctoral students, and the Silesian University of Technology was represented by: M.Sc. Eng. Krystian Wolski (SUT), M.Sc. Eng. Julia Szreder (SUT), M.Sc. Eng. Dominik just (SUT) and M.Sc. Eng. Michał Gocki (SUT).
The jury included Prof. Dr h.c. mult. Evamarie Hey-Hawkins – Leipzig University, Prof György Keglevich – Budapest University of Technology and Economics, prof Bartłomiej Furman – Institute of Organic Chemistry PAS Warsaw, prof Sławomir Jarosz - Institute of Organic Chemistry PAS Warszawa, prof Józef Drabowicz – Centre for Molecular and Macromolecular Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Lodz/ Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa, prof Beata Kolesińska – Faculty of Chemistry, Lodz University of Technology.
Nine medals were awarded in three categories. All the winners of the competition and the winners received book awards.
Winners of the Competition:
In the English-speaking category: First place Ms. Sonam (University of applied Sciences Merseburg and Leipzig University, Germany), second place Dominik Kunák (Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic), third place Zsuzsanna Szalai (Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Hungary).
In the category of graduate student and junior doctoral student: First place and cash prize of PLN 1500 went to Tomasz Wojnowski (Gdańsk University of Technology), second place went to Kacper Górecki (Gdańsk University of Technology), third place went to Katarzyna Balon (Jagiellonian University)
In the category of PhD student: the first place and the main cash prize of PLN 3000 went to Anna Kuszczyńska (Łódz University of Technology), the second place and the Voucher 500 PLN (funded by Chemat) went to Michał Sulik ( Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań), third place was awarded to Jakub Robaszkiewicz ( Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań) .
Awards were received by: Justyna Kowalska (Lodz University of Technology), Kamil Bugaj (Jan Długosz University in Częstochowa), Paweł Kalarus (University of Silesia), Magdalena Lubowicz (West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin) and Mateusz Pawlak (University of Warsaw).
The event met with great interest. It was attended by almost one hundred participants: academic teachers, doctoral students and university students representing four important European research centres and eighteen universities from all over Poland.
The program of the meeting also included two popular science lectures delivered by Dr Hab. Paweł Kasprowski, Prof. of the Jagiellonian University, entitled “Application of cognitive load measurements to evaluation of didactic methods and tools” and by Mr. Damian Jabłeka, Director of the Silesian Planetarium entitled “Cosmic Crystals.”
The event was conducted jointly by Dr Hab. Eng. Jakub Adamek, Prof. SUT (Silesian University of Technology) and Dr Hab. Eng. Jacek Nycz, Prof. of University of Silesia
The European 360rg-CHEM Challenge was held under the honorary patronage of the President of the Polish Chemical Society Prof. Izabela Nowak, Rector of the Silesian University of Technology, Rector of the University of Silesia, and Marshal of the Silesian Voivodeship.
The event was implemented in the City-Region-Academy band as part of the celebrations of the European City of Science Katowice 2024 and supported by the “Popularization of science” grant under EMNK 2024.
Text: dr hab. inż. Jakub Adamek, prof. PŚ oraz dr hab. inż. Jacek Nycz, prof. UŚ.
