Konrad Trapkowski, a graduate of full-time undergraduate studies in Economics, specialising in Business Theory, received the First Degree Award in the Competition of the National Co-operative Council for his bachelor's thesis entitled 'Rola bankowości spółdzielczej w polskim systemie bankowym' ('The Role of Cooperative Banking in the Polish Banking System'), written under the supervision of dr hab. Beata Majecka, prof. UG.

The National Co-operative Council recognised Konrad Trapkowski's dissertation as the best research paper in the field of co-operatives. It was the result of a graduation seminar conducted by dr hab. Beata Majecka, prof. UG.

The awarded thesis touches upon the characteristics and history of the development of cooperative banking - both in Poland and in selected European countries. Showing examples of cooperative development processes in other countries allows the idea of cooperative banking to be understood. It is also interesting to show the place of cooperative banks in the overall banking system, taking into account a comparative analysis of the risks occurring in cooperative and commercial banks and referring to the unique role of cooperative banking for the SME sector.

In the empirical part of the work, the author presented the characteristics of the cooperative banking sector in Poland, with particular reference to the structure of this sector, and also assessed the importance of cooperative banks in the Polish banking system. Several important conclusions emerge from the work, including the belief that the role of cooperative banks cannot be perceived only through the share of these banks in the entire banking sector. The author presented the conclusion, supported by source research, that cooperative banks perform important functions in local communities and are often the foundation of their development.