Budimex begins work with the winners of the European Space Agency competition.
Poland's largest construction company focuses on innovation and increases its potential in the use of modern technologies. By working with young scientists and startups, Budimex supports the development of the most innovative projects. Last May, the company signed a contract with OSATeam (OSA - Falling Atmospheric Satellite) - students of a high school in Kraków, who designed and constructed a minisatellite that won the first prize at the European Space Agency. Talented 18-year-olds beat more than 1,000 teams from across Europe in the European CanSat 2021/2022 Competition.
A career in construction starts at university
Budimex has always actively supported young people. The company has been providing paid internships for about 250 students from all over Poland for nearly 20 years. One of latest proposals from Budimex is the “Study and Build Practice” programme aimed at final year students. The company encourages people who study full-time to switch to extramural studies and at the same time to take up employment in Budimex SA – if someone decides to make such a change, then the company will pay their tuition fees until they graduate. The programme is intended to encourage young people to build their career path during their studies and to expand their academic knowledge with knowledge based on work experience.
The Budimex Startup Challenge Competition was also a great success, addressed to innovative enterprises and young technology companies offering products, services and solutions in the scope of energy, renewable energy sources and green technologies in construction. The winners have, in addition to the financial prizes, established capital links with the leader of the Polish construction industry. Now Budimex has decided to join forces with this group of high school students from Kraków, who can already be proud of an exceptional achievement.
“We believe that we will discover the potential among young and talented high school and technical high school students. We are therefore pleased to announce that we have started working with the winners of the European Space Agency's most important competition. The winners were students from a high school in Kraków who formed the OSATeam (OSA - Falling Atmospheric Satellite). The young scientists were asked to design and build a fully working prototype of a minisatellite that can help gather information on concentrations of gases and pollutants at different altitudes, monitor climate change, as well as warning about dangerous weather phenomena. The partnership will include support for ongoing research and development projects through a dedicated internship programme at the Budimex Innovation Office, as well as the implementation of our own projects and prototypes, which we will support financially,” says Przemysław Kuśmierczyk, Innovation Office Director at Budimex S.A.
Atmospheric Minisatellite
OSATeam is formed by Aleksy Grymek, Stanisław Michalik, Miłosz Słowiński and Piotr Wyżliński, students of Private Academic High School No. 8 in Kraków. The team, with the support of the research supervisor, Antoni Żywczak, designed and built a prototype minisatellite and then carried out scientific research using it. The Falling Atmospheric Satellite uses a proprietary technique to collect atmospheric samples autonomously using an air pump, a rotating needle and a self-sealing carousel of containers. This solution significantly improves and reduces the cost of atmospheric sampling, eliminating the need for heavy probes equipped with expensive research equipment. Over a year of work by the team resulted in winning the largest and most important competition organised by the European Space Agency. Participants in the European CanSat 2021/2022 Competition were asked to design and build a satellite that takes temperature and pressure measurements during a rocket drop. The Polish team additionally equipped its CanSat with air sampling functions at different altitudes of the atmosphere, which gives a broad opportunity to apply OSA in practice.
According to the project's authors, the device has the potential to eventually be used to study every layer of the Earth's atmosphere and thus help counteract harmful climate change by providing relevant research data for analysis. It is worth noting that the winners of the competition are not resting on their laurels, and the project is still being developed so that in the future it could be used to study the atmospheres of other planets as well, replacing heavy and expensive research satellites. The team's progress can be followed on OSATeam's social media. The achievements of the young scientists were also covered by the national media.
Why Budimex
“I learned about the achievements of the creators of the Falling Atmospheric Satellite by accident from the radio while driving in my car. At Budimex we want to support Polish science, especially active and ambitious people who have passion and talent. This encouraged me to come up with the initiative to work with OSATeam, a team in which I see huge potential,” says Artur Popko, President of Budimex.
Budimex, the largest general contractor in Poland, present in all segments of the construction industry and recently increasing its involvement in the renewable energy or waste management industry, offered OSATeam a 2-month internship and a one-year sponsorship contract.
“We had been looking for a holiday internship to gain work experience for quite some time. It was great that the president of Budimex took an interest in our project. We received an offer to work together. At first, we were not entirely convinced, as the construction company is not associated with innovative solutions at first glance. We have learned since that the Innovation Office, part of Budimex, deals with the implementation of modern technologies. Having familiarised ourselves with its activities, it seems to us that it is a place where you can learn not only to work conceptually on technical projects and to come up with solutions, but also to work in a larger team. We can't wait to come up with a solution, which we will develop together with Budimex over the coming weeks,” say OSATeam members.
Concepts and prototypes for Budimex
Supported by the Budimex Innovation Office, team members will create concepts and prototypes of innovative solutions, as well as explore the market for new technologies. As a part of the internship, a business case and solution concepts will be developed that will receive financial support from the company. In this way the young scientists will gain a powerful partner for their innovative projects, and Budimex will be able to use their knowledge and experience, such as in searching for solutions to monitor and reduce CO2, which is part of the company's ESG strategy, assuming sustainable development in modern construction.
“Apart from financial support, it is important to have an active cooperation formula to help OSATeam fulfil its potential. This model is in line with our values of working close to people rather than in closed offices. We are open to unconventional approaches and believe in the knowledge and talent of young people. Therefore, as president of Budimex, I will create space for creative activities that can support the development of our company. And so, I invite you to apply in the upcoming second edition of the Budimex Startup Challenge, but I also encourage you to work together in creating any innovative solutions," concluded Artur Popko.