The competition was held for the fourth time. It was organized by Forbes magazine and the Warsaw office of McKinsey & Company. The candidates competed in five categories: Business, Social Activity, Science, New Technologies, Sustainable Development and Climate. They presented their achievements and justified their motivations. They then answered questions from a jury pool composed of several dozen people. The jury board consisted of representatives from the world of business, science and new technologies. This year’s jury included, among others, Paweł Borys (Polish Development Fund), Rafał Brzoska (InPost), Tomasz Czechowicz (MCI), Adam Góral (Asseco), Sebastian Kulczyk (Kulczyk Investments) or Ewa Szmidt-Belcarz (Empik).
The list of 25 finalists of the competition has just been announced.
In the final five in the Science category was Tomasz Grzywa, a 5th year student of medicine at the Medical University of Warsaw. Already in his fourth year, he began his doctoral studies. He has now completed his education at the Doctoral School, and in January this year he submitted his dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Medicine and Health Sciences. He works in the Department of Immunology headed by Prof. Jakub Gołąb and in the Laboratory of Experimental Medicine headed by Prof. Dominika Nowis. He is a chairman of the Student Scientific Society (SKN) at the Department of Immunology and the Scientific Society of Experimental Medicine at the Department of Methodology headed by Prof. Paweł Włodarski.
- My passion is immunology. In my research I look for the answers to the questions of why in some conditions the immune system does not work sufficiently and in others it is overactive - says Tomasz Grzywa.
In addition to his own research activities, he also enjoys sharing his knowledge. He teaches undergraduates and helps high school students take their first steps in their academic careers. The second medical student to make the "25 under 25" list is Michal Kuryłek. His competition category is Social Activity. He is a third year student. He received rector's scholarship, worked as a clinical research coordinator for 2 years and was active in International Federation of Medical Students Association IFMSA-Poland.
- I am the creator of @Wyciskarka Potencjału - the largest social media campaign in Poland promoting development opportunities for ambitious young people. We have a reach of 8 million people per month and over 200 ambassadors at schools and universities - says Michał Kuryłek. Wyciskarka brings the subject of scholarships, volunteering, internships and foreign exchanges closer to young people. The project has attracted the interest of many companies and public institutions (including the Ministry of Education and Science), as well as numerous foundations.