Campus life [2026-10-05]

Awards for the Best at NCU

— Editors

The opening ceremony for the new academic year provided an opportunity to honour the greatest academic, sporting and artistic achievements of students at Nicolaus Copernicus University and pupils at the Nicolaus Copernicus University Secondary School.

In keeping with tradition, the titles of Nicolaus Copernicus University 'Best Graduate', 'Best Student' and 'Best Student Athlete' were awarded during the official opening ceremony. An honour was also bestowed for bringing international renown to the University. The University Senate decided who would receive these honours. `In addition, the best pupil at the University Secondary School was also recognised.

A successful graduate

Mgr Filip Marek Garnicz-Garnicki, who graduated in law from the Faculty of Law and Administration, was named the best graduate of Nicolaus Copernicus University for the past academic year.

For his achievements, he received numerous awards and honours, including a scholarship from the Minister of Science and Higher Education for the 2025/2026 academic year, five research scholarships from the Rector of Nicolaus Copernicus University, two research scholarships from the Mayor of Toruń, and the title of best student at the Faculty of Law and Administration in the 2023/2024 academic year.

He has numerous publications, including:

• a research paper in the Journal of Students and Doctoral Students of the Faculty of Law and Administration at UKSW, *Młody Jurysta*;
• chapters in four published research monographs included in the list of publishers issuing peer-reviewed research monographs (LEVEL I – 80 points);
• a chapter and co-authorship of a chapter in scientific monographs accepted for publication and included in the list of publishers of peer-reviewed scientific monographs (LEVEL I – 80 points).

He has participated in and spoken at national and international academic conferences, at which he delivered 17 papers (including 2 in English).

He has enjoyed success in numerous competitions and moot courts, winning, among others:

• first place in the prestigious Seventh CIVILIS National Moot Court Competition on Civil Law and Procedure;
• first place in a subject-specific competition on substantive criminal law;
• second place in the Second National Criminal Law Knowledge Competition 'Na Tropie';
• second place in the First National Moot Court Competition 'Human Rights in Domestic Proceedings';
• finalist titles: in the Second National Competition on Family and Inheritance Law; in the Eighth National Knowledge Competition on Civil Procedure; in the Ninth edition of the National Arbitration Competition UW MOOT; in the Sixth National Moot Court Competition on Civil Law and Procedure CIVILIS
• winner of a subject-specific competition in Roman law.

He has excelled in his social and organisational activities. He served as the student representative on Working Group 2 within the IDUB programme's working teams. He was Vice-President for Academic Affairs at the European Law Students' Association (ELSA) Toruń, and Vice-President and President of the Criminal Law Student Research Society at Nicolaus Copernicus University. He was involved in organising conferences, academic events, symposia, competitions and educational events.

A Top Student

The title of “NCU Best Student" for the 2025/2026 academic year was awarded by the NCU Senate to Dorota Chmielniak, a second-cycle student of cosmetic chemistry at the Faculty of Chemistry. The winner stands out not only for her excellent academic results, but above all for her exceptionally mature and consistently developed body of research work. In the 2025/2026 academic year, she achieved a grade point average of 4.96. During the same period, she co-authored a paper in the *Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A* and began working as a research assistant and student grant holder on an OPUS project run by the National Science Centre concerning multifunctional materials for bone and periodontal regeneration.

In the last academic year alone, she presented the results of her research in the form of three presentations at academic conferences, took part in the international BUP Student Conference at Lund University, and is currently undertaking a long-term Erasmus+ placement at Mendel University in Brno. She was also a finalist in the nationwide 'Gold Medal in Chemistry 2025' competition, won second prize for the best flash presentation at Antoniada 2026, and was awarded a scholarship from the Rector of Nicolaus Copernicus University.

However, her achievements over the past year are not a one-off success, but a continuation of the work she has been developing since the start of her studies. Over the course of four years, Dorota Chmielniak has co-authored five academic publications. For publications with an Impact Factor, her cumulative IF stands at 21.3.

Throughout the same period, she actively participated in seven academic conferences, undertook three overseas placements or extended research stays – in Spain, Italy and the Czech Republic – led two Grants4NCUStudents projects of her own, and was a member of several research teams. In the 2024/2025 academic year, she was named the best graduate of the Faculty of Chemistry. Dorota Chmielniak is also very actively involved in the life and promotion of the Faculty. For several years, she has been taking part in the 'Studies with a Mentor' programme, presenting her research findings at faculty conferences and contributing to initiatives aimed at raising the profile of the cosmetic chemistry programme.

Record-breaking jump

The title of 'Best Student Athlete' for the 2025/2026 academic year was awarded to Anna Matuszewicz, a track and field athlete representing both her university and her country (her home club is MKL Toruń). The winner is pursuing a dual career, combining world-class competitive sport with a demanding law degree – now in her fourth year at the Faculty of Law and Administration – which requires her full commitment. One of Anna Matuszewicz's most recent achievements is setting the Polish indoor record in the long jump with a distance of 6.77 m (the previous record had stood for 46 years).

Her sporting achievements at international and national levels include, amongst other things, competing at the World Indoor Championships, where she finished 9th, as well as achieving the qualifying standard (minimum) for the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham.

Anna Matuszewicz is a multiple medallist and Polish indoor champion, as well as an athlete who regularly features among the top ranks in the World Athletics rankings. She also holds strong personal bests in sprint events, including the 60 metres (7.35 seconds, set at the Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena in Toruń), the 100 metres (11.83 seconds) and the 200 metres (24.49 seconds). Furthermore, she has achieved top placings at major international events, such as a place in the top 8 at the World Indoor Championships and the World U20 Championships.

Long jump:

• 31 January 2026: Gorzów Jump Festival, Arena Gorzów – 6.77 m (1st place, 1,167 points);
• 1 February 2026: Grzegorz Dunecki Memorial, Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena, Toruń – 6.63 m (1st place);
• 1 March 2026: Polish Indoor Championships, Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena, Toruń – 6.59 m (1st place);
• 22 March 2026: World Indoor Championships, Kujawsko-Pomorska Arena, Toruń – 6.50 m (9th place);
• 24 May 2026: Pfingstsportfest, Rehlingen (Germany) – 6.31 m (8th place);
• 21 June 2026: FBK Games, Hengelo (Netherlands) – 6.17 m (8th place);
• 24 July 2026: Polish Championships, BOSiR Stadium, Białystok – 6.05 m (5th place).

Sprints and relays:

• 7 February 2026: MKL Toruń Meeting – 60-metre sprint in 7.35 seconds (1st place in the final);
• 1 March 2026: Polish Indoor Championships, Toruń – 4x200-metre Short Track relay with a time of 1:39.80 (3rd place);
• 16 May 2026: Ludwik Szumlewski Memorial, Łódź – 200 m race with a time of 24.49 s (1st place);
• 13 June 2026: Warsaw Open Championships – 100 m race with a time of 11.83 s (3rd place in the heats/finals).

On the international stage

The NCU Senate also decided to award a special distinction for raising the University's profile on the international stage. The award was presented to Mikołaj Tański, a first-year student of second-cycle studies in archaeology.

His academic and organisational work focuses primarily on underwater archaeology. Even while still an undergraduate, he had already built up a significant body of academic work, actively participating in research activities and the development of the University's international cooperation. He is a co-author of academic publications devoted, among other things, to the history of underwater archaeology in Poland and the archaeological monuments of Ostrów Lednicki. He has presented the results of his research at numerous international conferences, including in Croatia, Belgium and Georgia. Of particular significance for promoting the University's achievements was his presentation at the 8th IKUWA International Congress of Underwater Archaeology in Ostend, which focused on the history and development of underwater archaeology at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń over the past half-century.

An important area of Mikołaj Tański's work is international collaboration. He is a recipient of the SMART 3 IDUB programme, under which he undertook a research trip to Croatia in 2025. As part of his collaboration with the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar, he took part in several seasons of archaeological research on a Roman shipwreck in the port of Barbir in Sukošan, as well as in hydrographic surveys carried out on the University's new research vessel, the 'Copernicana'.

He is also involved in drawing up the programme of activities and in the work relating to NCU's assumption of coordination of the UNESCO UNITWIN network, which brings together universities and research institutions around the world that offer courses in underwater archaeology.

At the same time, he is actively involved in the academic community, serving as president of the Academic Underwater Research Society and initiating research, organisational and outreach projects.

Repeated Olympian

Meanwhile, the Teaching Council of the University Secondary School also selected the best pupil for the 2025/2026 school year. The award went to Patryk Sudzik, a sixth-form student specialising in mathematics, geography, business and management, who is an eight-time winner of national academic competitions: three times in the Entrepreneurship Olympiad, twice in the Economics Olympiad, twice in the Statistics Olympiad, and in the Agricultural Knowledge and Skills Olympiad in the agribusiness section. His best results include 2nd place in Poland in the Statistics Olympiad, 3rd place in the Entrepreneurship Olympiad and 4th place in the Economics Knowledge Olympiad. He has also taken part in several academic competitions. He is a three-time winner of the Professor Kazimierz Sokołowski National Competition on Economics and the Economy, organised by the NCU Faculty of Economics and Management. This year, within the space of a single month, he won three competitions organised by universities: #YoungEntrepreneur by the Social Academy of Sciences, the 7th European Competition in English, and the 16th Entrepreneurship Knowledge Competition at the University of Business and Administration.

At Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, he attended a course on Corporate Finance and achieved the highest mark in the final exam out of more than 100 students who sat it.

During the summer holidays, he represented Poland at three international Olympiads and returned with a medal from each one. He won bronze at the International Economics Olympiad in Shenzhen. He then, together with the Polish team, won a silver medal and came second in the world at the International Business and Finance Olympiad in Bucharest – a competition contested exclusively by teams. He also won silver at the Economics Olympiad International Final Round in Olympia, where he placed 13th individually out of over 160,000 participants across the entire series. In China, he was also chosen to deliver the contestants' oath at the opening ceremony on behalf of participants from 57 national teams.

As well as competing himself, he acts as a mentor at the Bridges Foundation, where he prepares younger pupils for economics and business competitions. So far, 23 of his mentees have reached the national rounds – including 5 prize-winners and 14 finalists. At USS, he runs an economics club, is class president and a member of the board of the Boarding School Youth Council. He is also working on launching the Polish Talent Initiative – a foundation aimed at developing young talent, creating educational and international projects, and helping more pupils to represent Poland abroad. After several years of competing in academic competitions, he has become increasingly interested in the other side of things – creating opportunities that others can later benefit from.

For the past few years, he has also been involved in investing and analysing companies. He runs his own blog on capital markets, reads financial reports and builds valuation models.

He was also awarded scholarships from the Minister of National Education, the National Children's Fund, the Our Future Foundation, the 'Prymus Pomorza i Kujaw II' programme, the 'Toruński Fachowiec' programme, and the Aleksandra Lewińska Scholarship.

In his spare time, he follows Formula 1, goes skiing, plays table tennis and poker, and really enjoys travelling. He is the author of the book *A Ticket to a Better World: On Invisible Boundaries in Polish Schools*, for which he was awarded the Aleksandra Lewińska Scholarship.