Match IT – the first startup marathon at the University of Warsaw!

The meeting was opened by Prof. Anna Giza, Vice-Rector of the University of Warsaw for development, pointing to interdisciplinary research and education, which constitute the key foundations of a modern university. The coordinator of DELab UW, Dr. Agnieszka Pugacewicz, talked about the idea of ​​combining various competences and the effectiveness of intensive work on one topic (during the Match IT weekend, students also complete semester classes). In turn, the head of the UW Incubator, Jacek Sztolcman, presented new opportunities for cooperation and development of practical skills of students and graduates within three convenient IUW locations: a co-working space in the Biological and Chemical Sciences Center, a workshop at the Faculty of Physics on the Ochota Campus, and a place for joint work on the UW Central Campus in the building of the Faculty of Modern Languages. Prof. Aleksy Schubert, deputy director of the Institute of Computer Science at the Faculty of Mathematics, Computer Science and Mechanics of the UW, encouraged students to experiment with non-linear thinking during Match IT, despite the fact that, as he himself admitted, he is a ... logician. Then Prof. Krzysztof Turzyński, Vice-Dean for students of the Faculty of Physics, University of Warsaw, invited all workshop participants to use PWNs, i.e. the Common Thought Space in the FUW building, free of charge, also after the Match IT weekend cooperation ended. He assured that reserving these seats is as easy as borrowing books from a library. Thanks to Match IT's Honorary Partners, we learned about experiences and inspirations from the most developed innovation ecosystems. Israel’s Deputy Ambassador to Poland, Ruth Cohen-Dar, spoke about the idea of ​​a “startup nation” in her country. Alison Behling, Environment, Science, Technology, and Health Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Poland, encouraged people to boldly develop startup ideas, although not necessarily to the tune of Silicon Valley. To conclude this part of the evening, an inspiring story about the ability to survive (persistence), trust (trust) and effective communication in a presentation titled: “The Three Things You Need in a Startup” was told by Ralph Talmont, CEO of TEDxWarsaw. In the second part of Friday evening, students from various fields presented their ideas – business and social, using technology – during short, three-minute pitches. Of the 32 projects presented, participants voted with bitcoins and the Jury assigned "wild cards" to select 17 projects to be developed on Saturday and Sunday. 45 students of computer science and 38 of their colleagues from other fields of study (including: The participants from various disciplines (e.g. economics, management, law, linguistics, cognitive science, and even fields that were not so obvious for this weekend, such as Finno-Ugric studies, Mongolian studies, Tibetology, and pedagogy) “got involved” in 17 multidisciplinary teams. Saturday was the longest day of intense work. The classes started very early – after a shared breakfast, Piotr Boulangé, director of The Founder Institute Warsaw, presented the basics of defining a market need and an appropriate product. Then, under the supervision of mentor-practitioners (including: Campus Warsaw residents) students developed their projects in teams. That afternoon, the participants listened to further practical presentations. The issue of using technology in a startup was presented by Łukasz Czerwiński, CTO Enegive. Aleksandra Dudek from TEDxWarsaw talked about the need for clear communication of the new value proposed by the startup. On Sunday morning, Ali Łada-Gola from GE Healthcare and ESCP Europe inspired students to create the right project development strategy and global thinking. After each presentation, students were supported for several hours by appropriate mentors, both technological and business. As it turned out in the final opinions of students, it was the mentoring of practitioners and the opportunity to contact people studying in other areas of knowledge (exact sciences vs. social and humanities) that were the most appreciated advantages of the startup weekend. The result of two days of cooperation was a presentation given by each group to the audience and the Jury composed of: Alison Behling (US Embassy in Warsaw), Agnieszka Pugacewicz, Aleksy Schubert and Jacek Sztolcman. The teams had only 4 minutes to present their project, and during the next 2 minutes they answered the Jurors' questions. The questions usually included business issues (identifying the first customers, market niche or distinguishing oneself from the competition), but also ethics and security of technological solutions (e.g. will health data be properly stored in the systems?). Of the 17 implemented projects, four received distinctions because, according to the Jurors, they were at the most advanced stage: LAMB – Revenue Model of Web 3.0, prepared by the team of: Piotr Ciołkosz, Jan Kopański, Rafał Sadziak, Karolina Szczepaniak. The solution offers to replace viewing advertisements on the Internet with cryptocurrency mining on the user's computer. The jury indicated the innovative nature of the project as its added value; mMD, developed by the team: Marcin Zarzycki, Aleksander Jess, Jakub Kalinowski, Mateusz Kiebała, Rafał Michaluk, Sebastian Petryna, Kinga Pilch, who proposed including smartphone usage monitoring to identify mental problems and link them to obtaining immediate medical help and support groups. In this case, the Jury appreciated the undertaking of an important health issue; Public transport without barriers – a project developed by: Ida Matysek, Jakub Mroczek, Anna Prochowska, Ewa Socała, Marek Sokołowski. The app shows disabled people a safe route to reach their destination "without obstacles". The jury appreciated the team’s take on an important social problem; Frytasy, a startup prepared by a group consisting of: Marcin Grabowski, Jacek Maksymowicz, Jerzy Mańczak, Tomek Radzikowski, Przemysław Sadownik, Mateusz Walkiewicz. The solution combines hardware (a vending machine for fries) with software (a mobile application for ordering and micropayments).