The “Golden OTIS with Diamonds 2023” Trust Award for ADAMED SmartUP Scholarship and Research Programme

On 13 June 2023, the “Golden OTIS with Diamonds 2023” gala was held at Polish Press Agency’s (PAP) headquarters, where, as a result of the vote of the 25-member jury, the award went to the ADAMED SmartUP programme. The “Golden OTIS with Diamonds 2023” Trust Awards were presented to the winners by the Speaker of the Senate, professor Tomasz Grodzki.

Category: Prevention and Education Campaigns

ADAMED SmartUP is an educational and scholarship programme aimed at secondary school students fascinated by exact and life sciences. The aim of the project is to support the most gifted young people in the development of their talents, and thus – in the long term – to spark innovation.

Each year, several thousand passionate teenagers apply to each edition of the programme, eager to deepen their knowledge. From among them, candidates with a bold outlook on science are selected to improve their skills under the guidance of outstanding practitioners and build valuable competencies for the future during the summer camp. After its completion, winners of the grand prize receive a package of educational consultations that enable them to develop intensively at their own pace. The best among them get additional financial support.

So far, 70,000 people have participated in recruitment. The group of graduates already stands at 400 people. Eighty winners of the programme were selected. They study at the most prestigious universities in Poland, such as Medical University of Warsaw or the University of Warsaw, and internationally, including the University of Oxford, the University of Cambridge, and Harvard University.  The goal of the programme is to support young people who dream of making their own contributions to progress in medicine. A group of graduates is already carrying out these plans, participating in research teams seeking innovative, effective therapies.

ADAMED SmartUP is not just a scholarship programme, however. A wide range of young science enthusiasts can take part in ADAMED SmartUP Academy workshops, organised in cooperation with departments of top universities and based on independent experiments. Currently, classes are held in the labs of Jagiellonian University, Warsaw University of Technology and the Catholic University of Lublin. To date, nearly 2,000 secondary school students have benefited from the workshop. The programme also operates overseas – so far it has reached Vietnam and Spain.

“The moment when a young person decides which way their professional or scientific career will go requires support and valuable guidance. As part of the programme, we enable contact with the real world of science and practice. In addition to scientific development, we are also building a community that supports one another. The passion that participants can develop together is the greatest value,” said Katarzyna Dubno, Director for External Relations and Health Economics at Adamed Pharma, Member of the Management Board of Adamed Foundation.

“During the classes we organise, young people work in specialised labs. They conduct experiments and develop their knowledge and skills in practical terms. The world of science becomes something more tangible, comprehensible and engaging for them. Classes are conducted in a peer-to-peer manner. Participants are encouraged to ask questions and talk not only about science, but also about opportunities for further education. Of course, there is also time for integration. It is our participants who create this programme. Later on, these young people in college, carry out joint projects, but above all they are friends,” emphasises Martyna Strupczewska, Head of the ADAMED SmartUP programme.

The finalists were judged by a jury consisting of, among others: Senator Beata Małecka-Libera, Chairman of the Senate Health Committee; MP Tomasz Latos, Chairman of the Parliamentary Health Committee; MP Elżbieta Płonka, Parliamentary Health Committee; MP Katarzyna Sójka, Chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Paediatrics; MP Violetta Porowska, Chairman of the Parliamentary Group for Patients’ Rights, and prof. Dorota Bomba-Opoń, prof. Paweł Bogdański, prof. Piotr Hoffmann, prof. Jarosław Reguła, prof. Piotr Jankowski, prof. Romuald Olszański, prof. Waldemar Priebe, and prof. Waldemar Wierzba.

The industry organisations comprising the jury were represented by: Irena Rej, President of the Polish Pharmacy Chamber of Commerce; Monika Pintal-Ślimak, President of the National Chamber of Laboratory Diagnosticians; Andrzej Stachnika, President of the Association of Employers of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers; Krzysztof Kopeć, President of the Polish Association of Employers of the Pharmaceutical Industry, and Grzegorz Rychwalski, Vice-President of the Polish Association of Employers of the Pharmaceutical Industry.

The jury also included journalists: editor Małgorzata Wiśniewska and editor Artur Wolski.

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The Golden OTIS Trust Award is given to outstanding professionals in the fields of pharmacy, medicine, dentistry, laboratory diagnostics and others. Also recognised are Polish brands involved in prevention and education campaigns and in patient-oriented associations. The jury of the Trust Award consists of authorities from the world of medicine and science, with real influence on the Polish healthcare system, as well as journalists and representatives of pharmaceutical companies. The jury has granted the awards since 2004.