A record 15 entries from 8 faculties and a new category for social sciences and humanities - this is what the fifth edition of the Young Fahrenheit competition organised by the UG Univentum Labs special purpose vehicle in cooperation with the Technology Transfer Office looked like. The final took place on 9 February 2026 at the Rector's Office of the University of Gdańsk, and the main prize was won by dr Estera Rintz from the Faculty of Biology at the University of Gdańsk.
The aim of the competition is to promote innovative and interesting research conducted at the University of Gdańsk, as well as to identify individuals and teams carrying out research and development work with real market potential. Young Fahrenheit is aimed at young researchers, doctoral students and final-year master's students, regardless of their field of science. In the fifth edition, a special prize was also awarded for the first time to a project in the field of social sciences or humanities.
‘We wanted to clearly show that innovation does not only begin and end in the laboratory. Social and humanities solutions can also have enormous implementation potential,’ says the President of Univentum Labs, dr hab. Sylwia Mrozowska, prof. at the University of Gdańsk.
The first stage of the competition lasted until 20 December 2025. Participants filled out an application form, briefly described their research and indicated its commercialisation potential. Fifteen applications from eight faculties were submitted to the competition, which is a record in the history of Young Fahrenheit.
‘This year's final was exceptionally close. We saw mature, well-thought-out projects that respond to real market needs. This is a sign that the culture of academic entrepreneurship at the University of Gdańsk is growing dynamically,’ says Vice-President of Univentum Labs, dr Andrzej Poszewiecki.
Five projects qualified for the second stage. The finalists presented their projects on 9 February during a meeting with the competition jury. The jury consisted of:
- dr hab. Sylwia Mrozowska, prof. UG - President of Univentum Labs,
- Katarzyna Gronowska, Director of the Technology Transfer Centre at the University of Gdańsk,
- dr hab. Paweł Antonowicz, prof. UG, Vice-Rector for Development and Finance at the University of Gdańsk,
- dr Andrzej Poszewiecki, Vice-President of Univentum Labs,
- dr Łukasz Guzik, President of the Management Board of Spark-Lab,
- Dorota Sobieniecka-Kańska – Director of the Gdańsk Business Club,
- Marta Porzuczek – Director of the Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development Department at Polenergia.
The jury evaluated the projects in terms of innovation and originality, quality of achievement, scientific and commercial potential, and thoroughness of preparation. In the second stage, the presentation style and ability to answer questions were also evaluated.
Results of the Young Fahrenheit 2025/2026 Competition
Dr Estera Rintz
1st place - prize: PLN 10,000
Dr Estera Rintz, assistant professor at the Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Biology, University of Gdańsk, for the project ‘Personalised therapy using RNA in myofibrillar myopathy type 6 (MFM6)’.
2nd place - prize: PLN 2,500 twice (ex aequo):
Mgr Michał Prusiński, PhD student, Laboratory of Plant Protection and Biotechnology, Intercollegiate Faculty of Biotechnology UG and MUG, for the project: ‘An environmentally friendly method of combating microorganisms responsible for skin diseases in animals and humans through the direct application of cold atmospheric plasma’.
Mgr Agata Kowalska, PhD student, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, University of Gdańsk, for the project: ‘Au@SiO2 nanostructured carriers as an innovative drug delivery system to increase the effectiveness of currently used therapies’.
Third place - prize: PLN 1,500
Dr Natalia Majewska, assistant professor, Institute of Experimental Physics, Faculty of Mathematics, Physics and Informatics, University of Gdańsk, for the project: ‘New generation LED-driven NIR Illuminator for anti-counterfeiting applications’.
Special prize in the field of social sciences and humanities - prize: PLN 2,000
Mgr Alicja Pomian, mgr Olga Saktura-Żukowicz, Faculty of Social Sciences, for the project ‘OPEN NEST - Psychosocial audit of residential and housing estate spaces supporting the ageing of people with intellectual disabilities’.
The prizes in the Young Fahrenheit Competition are funded by Polenergia S.A. - the largest Polish private energy group, which consists of vertically integrated companies operating in the field of energy generation from renewable and low-emission sources, as well as electricity distribution and trading. Polenergia's strategic project is the construction of wind farms in the Baltic Sea with a total capacity of up to 3,000 MW in cooperation with the Norwegian company Equinor.
The total value of the prizes funded by Polenergia is PLN 15,000.
#GoodEnergyFromPolenergia
Considering the very high level of the projects presented by the finalists, the Gdańsk Business Club funded an additional prize of PLN 1,500.
The organisers would like to thank everyone who took part in the Young Fahrenheit Competition: ‘Congratulations to the finalists and good luck in your future scientific work. We also hope that the solutions you are working on will be successfully implemented and prove to be a market success!’
About the organisers
Univentum Labs, a special purpose vehicle of the University of Gdańsk, has been successfully supporting the transfer of knowledge from the university to the economy since 2014. Thanks to close cooperation with the University of Gdańsk Technology Transfer Office, the company offers scientists comprehensive support in the commercialisation of research and the creation of innovative spin-off companies. With its extensive network of scientists, modern laboratory infrastructure and convenient location in the largest business centre in Pomerania - the Olivia Centre, in the vicinity of the University of Gdańsk - Univentum Labs provides the ideal environment for the development of innovative projects.
The Technology Transfer Office of the University of Gdańsk (CTT UG) is a university-wide unit that supports scientists in commercialising their research results - from market potential analysis and intellectual property protection to bringing innovations to market. TTO UG builds relationships between the worlds of science and business, facilitating technology transfer, cooperation with entrepreneurs and access to modern research solutions.
