CREATES InnoVATION

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Since its establishment in 1991, the company LSI. Software S.A. has become an important and well-. -known provider of IT
lODZ CREATES InnoVATION news magazine of the city of lodz

NO. 4 (12)/2016

The quality of living is our priority ICT promotes innovation Pioneers of Future Solutions Do Your Homework First Accept CHALLENGES

editorial

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he land in the New Centre of Lodz was sold for more than PLN 85 million – a record price in the city’s history. The deal had been reached by the end of October and the starting price was 60 million. What does it mean? It means that Lodz becomes attractive to serious new investors. Investor Service and International Cooperation Bureau at the City of Lodz Office serves as a guide to foreign companies interested in investing in Lodz as well as to domestic entrepreneurs and start-ups. Since Lodz is the city which cares about its inhabitants, it invests large sums of money in revitalisation efforts. Moreover, nearly each month you can participate in some cultural events here. October saw Light Move Festival as well as the 10th anniversary of Lódź Design Festival, an event known both in Poland and abroad. The month was not even over when UNIT9 VR Challenge took place. It’s the first event in Poland entirely devoted to virtual reality. It comes as no surprise that it takes place here because Lodz is the hatching place of creative businesses. “We are consistent in offering creative businesses the best conditions for development in Poland. Lodz gives original ideas and exceptional projects a boost,” says Hanna Zdanowska, the President of Lodz in the lead interview.

LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

Every student in Lodz knows “Młodzi w Łodzi” (“Youth in Lodz”) – a programme unlike any other in Poland. Promoting innovation is also at the heart of the ICT sector, which is developing staggeringly fast. "We owe this to highly skilled staff and the potential of Lodz schools. The IT sector and telecommunications are counted among key areas of development in Regional Innovation Strategy for the Lodz Region," says Professor Sławomir Wiak, the Rector of Lodz University of Technology. ICT Central Poland Cluster set up a special unit responsible for education. Lodz University of Technology and ICT companies collaborated to create 29 profiles of jobs that are sought by cluster members. It turned out that the most popular profiles are software architect and tester. As a result university programmes have been revised to suit the needs of the ICT sector. The city has also noticed the potential hidden in the computer games industry and it established the Gamedev cluster. This business abounds in start-ups that can pride themselves in their truly incredible ideas. How they are supported and what they’ve learned in the Silicon Valley are discussed in this edition with Piotr Przewrocki, an angel investor. Enjoy reading! ●

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Photo: Paweł Ławreszuk

ANNA KRAWCZYK EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

contents

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6 INTERVIEW

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The quality of living is our priority

Chances of organizing EXPO 2022, development of creative industries, incentives to develop entrepreneurship, and the offer for the residents are the themes of our conversation with the President of Lodz, Hanna Zdanowska

28 ECONOMY

18 The joy of programming 20

Pioneers of Future Solutions

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A top manufacturer

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Hoping for Hat Trick

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Healthy medication management

SCIENCE

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ICT promotes innovation

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Strong and agile

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Digital Bankers

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“An important stage of cooperation are joint research and development projects, technology transfers, as well as studies and expertizes, delegated to our scientists by business partners,” says Sławomir Wiak, the rector of Lodz University of Technology Students of the Raptors group, representing the Lodz University of Technology, won the European Rover Challenge 2016 The Digital Banking and Finance field of study is a response to the employers’ signals regarding a demand for finance specialists, who also possess competences in the IT environment

Best in Gamedev

Thanks to the consistent work of enthusiasts, Lodz is becoming the Polish gaming centre. This is testified by the successes of the students from the Lodz University of Technology and the rank of the competition organised by the Institute of Information Technology at the Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics

COLUMN

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A movie therapy

When intimacy and emotionality are not the latest fashion, your film preferences and your reactions might reveal your personality

CERI International is a stable and intensely developing employer. The company’s community includes almost 600 employees Cybercom Poland specialises in IT counselling, software development and IT projects in the area of research and development Since its establishment in 1991, the company LSI Software S.A. has become an important and well-known provider of IT solutions, serving thousands of customers throughout Poland Blue Brick took part in the “Młodzi w Łodzi – Mam pomysł na biznes” (“Youth in Lodz – I Have an Idea for Business”) competition where the company got a distinction. In this year’s edition of the competition they funded the prizes The Quizit company has set itself the goal of creating a situation in which automated systems dispensing drugs for hospital patients will become standard in health care units, and not just a curiosity

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

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Do Your Homework First

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Worldwide Range

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Beyond the Limits of Imagination

Piotr Przewrocki, a business angel managing the QBN Fund, talks about opportunities for start-ups, their financing and experiences from Silicon Valley STX Next programmers from Lodz cooperate with partners from Western Europe and the United States The gamedev industry, which has established its permanent presence in Lodz, currently offers thousands of applications for its products created by outstanding artists and even more sophisticated programmers NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

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36 34 36 38

Become a chef

Apart from the original commercial products, Quantum Games wants to make board games to order of various entities Le Polish Bureau is the first Polish branch of UNIT9, currently the second production company in the world in the prestigious FWA ranking

There is chemistry between us

More than five years ago, Makimo was founded by three friends from the high school in Lodz. The name was derived from their names and surnames Tap to Speak is a tool which allows the listeners to communicate in real time with the person giving a lecture or conducting a workshop

TOURISM

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REALIZATION INFRAMEDIA Anna Krawczyk

Accept Challenges

40 Good Communication

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PUBLISHER Investor Service and International Cooperation Bureau Mayor's Department City of Łódź al. Politechniki 32, 93-590 Łódź tel.: 42 638 59 39 fax: 42 638 59 40 e-mail: [email protected]

City of entertainment

This year’s 27th edition of the International Festival of Comics and Games, which took place in early October, attracted 20-thousand audience. The month was closed by VR Challenge – an event for fans of virtual reality

CALENDAR

ul. Balonowa 21/3, 02-635 Warszawa tel.: + 48 22 844 18 27 e-mail: [email protected] www.inframedia.pl EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Anna Krawczyk [email protected] EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Anna Lisiecka REDACTOR Jarosław Zaradkiewicz [email protected] EDITING AND PROOF-READING Anna Lisiecka Ewa Parol TRANSLATION Biuro Tłumaczeń ‘PAROLA’ Marta Kaczyńska PHOTOGRAPHER Paweł Ławreszuk LAYOUT & DESIGN Krzysztof Konarski – inventivo.pl COVER PHOTO Promotional materials, UNIT9 Circulation 2000 copies This publication may not be transmitted in any form in whole or in part without the prior permission of Inframedia Publishing. While every care has been taken in the publications of this magazine, Inframedia Publishing can not be held responsible for the accuracy of the information herein or for any consequence arising from it.

LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

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INTERVIEW

The quality of living is our priority Chances of organizing EXPO 2022, development of creative industries, incentives to develop entrepreneurship, and the offer for the residents are the themes of Anna Krawczyk’s conversation with the President of Lodz, Hanna Zdanowska. For years Lodz was a city of chimneys. Now they are only a tourist attraction. What are currently the most briskly developing industries in Lodz? Lodz consistently offers the best conditions for the development of creative industries in Poland. We appreciate original ideas and unique projects. We not only have the wonderful traditions and the history of the Lodz Film School and of the artistic avant-garde, but also, and above all, a fantastic contemporary offer for young, bold authors who want to combine art with business. Whoever is willing may take

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advantage of the extremely attractive spaces waiting for them in the very city centre, including Piotrkowska Street, at surprisingly low prices. We shall gladly hand them over for such business operations. If you have a creative idea, take the premises and act! Of course, I am also aware that creative industries will not replace the traditional branches of industry, and that is why we support the development of modern technologies, among others thanks to the activity of the BioNanoPark, NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

We not only have the wonderful traditions and the history of the Lodz Film School and of the artistic avant-garde, but also, and above all, a fantastic contemporary offer for young, bold authors who want to combine art with business IT companies, as well as shared services centres. Because of its unique location, Lodz is very attractive for almost all kinds of industries and services. It is the home of many logistic companies and manufacturing plants, among others producing household equipment. What incentives does the city offer to investors in order to attract them? To begin with, I would like to boast of our most recent success. At the end of October, the city sold a plot having the area of 20 thousand square metres for a record-breaking amount of 85.2 million PLN. In the New Centre of Lodz, in accordance with the local development plan, as many as nine residential or service buildings may be built. Undoubtedly, this is the merit of our Investor Service Centre which, I dare say, belongs to the best ones in Poland. We offer comprehensive service and an individual approach. We lead an investor “by the hand” from the very moment he turns up in our city. This is true both about the large foreign investors and about the smaller ones from Poland, or from Lodz. Everyone will receive the same assistance and support. Our greatest investment incentive certainly consists in the people. We have many talented students and graduates of all kinds of university-level schools. In the first place, they come from Lodz and the want to stay here after they graduate. 20 thousand of these young people enter the labour market every year. In Lodz, the living and investments costs are certainly lower than in other cities, while the closeness of Warsaw and the superb road and train connections make our city, and in particular its New Centre, the most attractive investment area in Poland. And how do you want to attract new residents or to encourage young people not to leave? After all, employers need them. It is true there is a demand for them. Even now we already have almost 3500 jobs available in Lodz LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

“right away”. The quality of living is our priority. Thanks to the implemented changes Lodz is becoming a pleasant place to live and work at. We want to become a city which promotes a healthy balance between career and private life. The pace of life in Lodz is certainly slower than in Warsaw. We invest in the city centre, city greens, education, public transport and sports. Lodz constantly expands its cultural, entertainment and sports offer. We propose attractive ways of spending free time. What is more, when young people commence their career and buy an apartment in Lodz, their start in life may involve a much smaller credit burden. Once the train journey to the centre of Warsaw takes 60 minutes, Lodz will also become an attractive alternative for those who work in the capital, but decide to settle down here. Let us focus for a moment longer on the mobilization of the young population of Lodz. For eight years the Municipal Office has been organising a business plan competition “Młodzi w Łodzi – Mam pomysł na biznes” (“Youth in Lodz – I Have an Idea for Business”). This is a programme unique on a national scale, and as many as 120 employers have already become involved in it. It is significant that the young businessmen who were the winners of the former editions of the competition are currently members of the jury. We encourage students and university graduates to set up their own enterprises by offering them different kinds of support. Every year the number of the people interested in the competition is larger. They are trying to outdistance each other in coming up with ideas.

Light Move Festival 2016

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INTERVIEW

Visual presentation of the Lodz Fabryczna railway station – view from the South-East

an increasing target group of potential customers to entrepreneurs. They will find it much easier to offer them new services and products. Such a friendly, great and pretty city attracts new residents who are potential new employees. It will also be easier to persuade eminent foreign specialists and managerial staff to come or even to move to Lodz. On the other hand, investments in the infrastructure and transport constitute strong arguments for bringing manufacturing plants and offices to Lodz.

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Lodz faces a chance to host the World EXPO. What actions does the city undertake in order to become the organiser of this exhibition? At the moment we are the only candidate to be the organizer of this exhibition. In December, we will learn who the possible rivals are, and only then will the decisive part of the application procedure for EXPO 2022 take place. At present, we are building extensive support for our initiative in the country. We closely cooperate with the government in the preparations for the intensive next year promotion of our candidacy. However, already now we can expect support from all our diplomatic missions, which through their international contacts circulate the information that Poland and Lodz are a candidate to hold an exhibition dedicated to revitalization. How may the city benefit from holding the EXPO? Organising this exhibition would become a great economic, social and cultural impulse for Lodz. Let us not forget that this would be a national event, so we could expect very large subsidies from the government budget, even up to 5 billion PLN. Most of the investments implemented as part of the exhibition would remain in the city for good. At that time Lodz would be visited by hundreds of thousands of guests and tourists, and we would achieve a substantial promotional effect. For a while, however, we should refrain from such calculations. Of course, we shall do everything in order to be awarded the right to organize the exhibition, but if a rival appears, we shall certainly not be the favourite of this race. And please remember that even without the EXPO most of these projects will be implemented. It will just take us more time. The New Centre of Lodz along with EC1 is the pride of the city. What stage is its revitalization at? What openings of new facilities may the residents and tourists expect in the nearest future? The ongoing works focus on the opening of the Science Centre dedicated to energy processing. It will be Lodz’s “Copernicus” centre, only even larger and more interesting. It will be a place of which the inhabitants of Lodz will be boasting to their friends, and to which they will be inviting families and friends from all over Poland. The already completed first part of the complex among others houses the most modern planetarium in Poland, which the “National Geographic” has just considered one of the new wonders of Poland. Thank you for the conversation. ● NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

Ilustration: Urząd Miast Łodzi

How do you perceive the development of Lodz from the new EU perspective? What can the entrepreneurs gain? What will the city gain? For Lodz the new EU perspective means, above all, the record-breaking expenditure on revitalization, which is the highest in the history of the city, and one of the largest in Poland. We are at the threshold of the greatest overhaul of Lodz since the times of “The Promised Land” (“Ziemia obiecana”). The entire quarters of the city will change. We shall restore dozens of tenement houses, reconstruct streets, create new squares and parks, and plant thousands of trees. We shall also have a lot of money, which we shall use to help the people who struggle with social exclusion. Thanks to this they will be able to resume active life, including work. The funds from the European Union shall allow us to connect Lodz to the motorways network. Even now drivers may already use five motorway interchanges, and after the completion of all investments the access to them will be even easier, quicker and safer. The nearest years shall also bring about many investments in cultural institutions and in education. Such a city, which changes, becomes more beautiful, and has a growing number of satisfied residents who enjoy higher income, offers also

SCIENCE

ICT promotes innovations Jaroslaw Zaradkiewicz talks with his magnificence prof. SŁawomir Wiak, who is the rector of the Lodz Univeristy of Technology, about the participation in the ICT Cluster of Central Poland and the benefits derived by his students, employers and the University. What are the benefits that participation in clusters brings to the University? Clusters provide opportunities for the cooperation between the science and industry, in particular with regard to contacts with the industry or research institutes and socio-economic organizations. Goals include not only the expansion of the network of cooperation, but also the development of the education and training for the staff. Clusters also take steps to develop common projects or organizations of various scientifically-economic undertakings.

We also try to be present in the media. The project executed together with “Gazeta Wyborcza” in Lodz was very interesting. As part of the cycle entitled “Direction ICT – like, study, work” there have been published articles describing the IT environment and the opportunities to develop a career. An example of a positive message exceeding the region was the inclusion of the cluster in the organization of this year’s Polish finals of the European competition, i.e. European Best Engineering Competition [EBEC] organized in Wrocław.

How ICT Cluster of Central Poland builds awareness of opportunities for the education, work and development? For over four years, the cluster has been very active in the academic area, but also opens widely to its surroundings. We perfectly know that the ICT sector is growing in leaps and bounds and is one of the most innovative ones. We create the message about the possibilities of the comprehensive development, which is connected to information and communication technologies, among others, by cooperating with the local governments. In addition, the cluster promoted the industry by co-organizing the next edition of the European Economic Forum.

What is the potential for the development of the ICT industry in Lodz? For several years, we have observed in Lodz particularly intensive development of the sector of new technologies. One of the driving wheels is definitely the ICT sector, which is most dynamically developing in the region of Lodz. In my opinion, this is largely due to the high level of human resources and potential of the universities located in Lodz. Information technology and telecommunications have been included in the strategic areas of the development in the Regional Innovation Strategy for the Lodz province.

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SCIENCE Our city becomes more attractive to investors, who are opening another branches of companies each year. There are also formed new enterprises from scratch; sometimes they are small start-ups or companies, which are just entering into the market. Inhabitants and visitors of our city can see the newly built offices of IT companies (for example Ericpol, Comarch, TomTom) and also another logos of enterprises that are appearing on the facades of offices rented in Lodz. The development of the industry is so dynamic that computer programmers, application designers, specialists of computer networks or information systems is the group of the most sought-after employees in Lodz and the region. This dynamic development of the ICT industry would not be possible without the properly educated staff, which are mostly provided by the Lodz University of Technology. The number of those interested in studying the computer science is growing every year. This year, the computer science was the major chosen by the largest number of candidates, and here was the biggest competition for a place. In the field of ICT specializes the staff at two faculties: Electrical, Electronic, Computer Science and Automation, as well as Technical Physics, Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. And what are the benefits of cooperation with the University of Technology for commercial companies? Cooperation in the cluster includes several stages, from training of future staff, through help in the recruitment of employees, participation in the education process (classes conducted by practitioners), to the possibility to commission projects to students (PBL, diploma papers for the industrial needs) and cooperation on research and development projects. The benefits for companies are mainly related to the improvement of the quality of education at the Lodz University of Technology, so that the courses of study are better tailored to the needs of enterprises. In the ICT Cluster of Central Poland operates, among others, the Task Force for Education. As part of it, the University of Technology and ICT companies have developed 29 position profiles, that is, the requirements for employees sought by the cluster participants, and identified the two most popular profiles – software designer and software tester. A very important activity was the audit of first and second degree studies, in terms of adaptation to the needs of the ICT industry, conducted with the companies. Based on the initiative of the team and as a response to the high demand of enterprises, at

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Prof. Sławomir Wiak, the rector of the Lodz University of Technology

the University of Technology was established the elective block, entitled “Testing and assurance of the quality of software”. So companies affect the formation of majors of studies? Companies, which are cooperating with the university, affect the curriculums and effects of education, as well as improvement of the competences of future employees. I believe that the transfer of knowledge between universities, students and employers is necessary, and even essential, especially in areas where the technology is changing so fast as in the computer industry. We have to respond to changes. The permanent element of the cluster are classroom inspections. Experts, who are representatives of companies included in the cluster, conducted dozen inspections of lectures, classes, laboratories and projects. The „Confirmation of Quality” was awarded to top rated teachers, and „Recommendations of the Cluster” to subjects and postgraduate studies. I would also like to stress, that apart from the education, the ICT Cluster of Central Poland also generates the so-called returns to scale. Let us consider that 24 participants of the NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

What are the benefits for students of the participation of the University in the cluster? The cluster supports the students’ activity in the organization of thematic events in the field of ICT, conferences, workshops, hackathons, for example Geek Festival or IT Academic Day. With them in mind, there are also organized expert workshops,

Cooperation cluster ICT Cluster of Central Poland is a unit that supports the development of the IT market in Lodz. It was created in July 2012 on the initiative of the Lodz University of Technology, which is the coordinator of the project. The cluster is a cooperation platform for its participants, who are interested in the development of technology, as well as information and communication techniques. The main goals of this initiative include: integration of the environment of the IT, telecommunications and electronics sectors, support of the entrepreneurship and development of the labour market in the ICT area, creation of conditions for the implementation of new information and IT technologies, as well as development and training of the staff for the participants of the cluster. Currently the cluster consists of: the Lodz University of Technology and its Foundation, as well as the following companies and partnerships: Accenture, Asseco, Atos, Ceri, Comarch, Cybercom Group, Ericpol, Fujitsu, GTF, Harman, Hexagon, Infosys, Inovatica, LSI Software, LARR, Special Economic Zone in Lodz, Technopark Lodz, Makolab, Pixel Technology, TomTom, Toya and Transition Technologies.

LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

during which the experts from companies included in the cluster present new solutions and technologies. An important role in these activities is played by the Task Force for the Strategy of Development and Promotion of the Cluster. It is responsible for granting clusters’ scholarships for the best students, organizes grant support for scientific circles and organizations of students operating at the University of Technology. There was created a tab for students on the website www.itccluster.pl, where companies can publish the offers of internships, traineeships and jobs. And what are the benefits for the employees of the University? With close cooperation and contacts with ICT companies in operations performed by task forces of the cluster, the employees of the Lodz University of Technology obtain valuable information about the needs of the industry. They may profile their scientific activities in this regard. In the near future, we also plan to launch a permanent mechanism, system operations allowing employees of the University to serve industrial internships with companies, in order to make our university more open and connected with the industry. Did the cluster benefit to the commercialization of any research? As part of the cluster, due to the nature of the industry, the most visible are educational effects. However, an important stage of cooperation are joint research and development projects, technology transfers, as well as studies and expertizes, delegated to our scientists by business partners. Regarding scientific cooperation, so far the University of Technology performed bilateral agreements with companies affiliated in the cluster. Since last year, the cluster is operated by the Task Force for Projects. We need to identify our needs, so as to precisely determine the scope and fields of joint ventures and participation in projects financed by outer resources. We can talk here about the participation of members of the cluster and the cluster as a whole, but also about the organization of groups for joint ventures in business, technology, as well as research and implementation. We all hope that the actions taken by the team in the nearest future will translate into specific projects, especially in terms of cooperation between enterprises and units of the Lodz University of Technology. Thank you for the conversation. ●

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Photo: Jacek Szabela / Lodz University of Technology

cluster employ 11 thousand employees in Lodz. This allows us to clearly present the voice of the industry on issues important to the further development of the region. With the participation of the cluster there were formed strategic documents and policies related to the region, such as the Regional Innovation Strategy for the Lodz province LORIS 2030, Sector Policies for the province, Regional Scientific and research Agendas, or the list of occupations scarce for the province. The cluster also organizes for its participants – i.e. companies and research units from the University of Technology – interprofessional events, which aim at the establishment of cooperation on the project. They include business mixer type meetings. Until now, they were organized for the ICT industry, as well as the ICT and pharmaceutical industry.

SCIENCE

Strong and agile by Jarosław

Zaradkiewicz

Raptors team, from the left: Łukasz Kędzierski, Mateusz Kujawiński, Kacper Andrzejczak, Bartosz Werstak, Damian Wroński, Kaja Łapińska, Łukasz Chlebowicz, Bartosz Cybulski, Kuba Bikowski, Tomasz Kubiak

Construction of a Martian rover is an extraordinarily demanding task. It combines electronics, mechanics and programming with fields not related to robotics, such as geology, chemistry and even psychology. Nevertheless, the students of the Raptors group, representing Lodz University of Technology, succeeded – and they won the European Rover Challenge 2016. The first challenge that they had to face was to create a strong, committed team. “Such an advanced structure cannot be built by two or even four persons. NASA projects sometimes involve several thousand people at once. Presently, our group has seven members and several cadets, who are working hard to join us rightfully and fully,” says Mateusz Kujawiński, the team leader, adding that its members make a great crew, sharing the same passions, and – which is even more important – a friendship, in which they stand firmly behind each other. Asked how they came up with the team name, he says: “This is one of the great mysteries of our team. After a brainstorming session and many hot debates, we selected several names that we thought could fit us well. I am not really able to explain how it happened that we finally stayed with the Raptors”. Kujawiński adds that the name refers to Velociraptor, a genus of dinosaur, which was a strong, agile and fast predator.

Fascinations and dreams

The team was established at the Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering of

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the Lodz Univeristy of Technology. Its members joined the group for various reasons. Each of them had a different motivation to become interested in Martian rovers. For most, it had emerged a long time before their university studies. “I was following the global rover contest, which has been held in the USA on the Utah desert since 2007, and the great successes of the Polish constructors in these,” Kacper Andrzejczak explains. He was impressed by development of a robot, able to cope with the difficult mountainous desert terrain, and transport of the rover and the team to the contest location in the United States, which was a big logistic challenge, associated with substantial costs. The students of Lodz got their opportunity, when the European edition of the Martian rover contest was announced in 2014. They started to establish the first construction teams. Members of the Raptors group emphasize that it is much easier to attend a competition in Poland – like this year – as such participation is much easier to organize in comparison with trips abroad. This year’s edition of the ERC was held between the 10th and 13th of September NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

The Polish competition

The European Rover Challenge 2016 contest lasted three days. Each team had to complete four field tasks and a presentation, discussing their works on the rover. The field tasks included sample collection and analysis, manipulation tasks, picking up of an object and moving it to the designated location to leave it there in the proper position and orientation, and a navigation task – the so-called “blind” navigation, during which the rover is controlled with no camera input. The goal of the presentation was to discuss the project, the technical solutions implemented, problems encountered by the team during construction and how they were solved. According to Damian Wroński, the most difficult part, and, at the same time, the greatest unknown, was the navigation task. “We considered ourselves to be insufficiently prepared for this task, because of lack of time for extensive software tests. Nevertheless, our location algorithms turned out to be working very well under the contest conditions, and the score earned gave us the second place in the classification for this task,” he says. The team members are proud of their robot becoming increasingly advanced, among other things, in terms of mechanics. Unfortunately, in their research club, they do not have access to specialised processing equipment, such as CNC machining centres or milling machines. “We often lack the basic tools. As a result, we have to order most mechanical components from external companies. This is associated with very high production costs,” Piotr Zieliński says.

Prestige and money

Mobile robots, particularly the specialised units, which, apart from the working mobile platform must perform specific tasks, are one of the most interesting LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

The Raptors team was established in May 2014 at the Faculty of Electrical, Electronic, Computer and Control Engineering of the Lodz University of Technology. It consists of seven students: Mateusz Kujawiński, Kacper Andrzejczak, Tomasz Kubiak, Hubert Łuczak, Łukasz Chlebowicz, Dawid Pilarski and Karolina Nowak. Professor Grzegorz Granosik is the team mentor. The members share a passion for robotics and space exploration. More than two years of work on the rover has brought a number of successes – the most spectacular was the first place in the European Rover Challenge 2016 and the fifth place in the University Rover Challenge 2016 fields of robotics. A multitude of engineering disciplines are applied to their construction, including IT science, electronics, mechanics, robotics, physics and mathematics. “It is an extraordinarily satisfying experience to see how, thanks to the joint efforts, this entire knowledge has been combined into a single structure, turning it into something really close to a living thing,” Karolina Nowak says, and she adds that the team is honoured to be able to represent the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, and, most of all, Poland on the global stage, competing with engineers from all parts of the world. The Raptors team rover has become a brand in itself. However, its development requires sponsorship. The team offers advertising space on the robot and in promotional materials. Lately, one of the sponsors has become interested in cooperation in the field of development of the technology applied in the rover, which has also been implemented by his company. “This example shows that or project is not only a robot to be exhibited at competitions, but also a potential business opportunity. For most of our group, robotics is a very interesting career path, and they take this direction. Mobile robots have been ignored and underestimated in Poland. As a result, they have created a market niche, which could offer quite good money,” Łukasz Chlebowicz says, adding that he dreams of a company that would deal with design and production of mobile robots. “We have a sound basis for thinking of such undertaking. It is very likely that some time from now, the world will hear of a new Polish company, taking the mobile robot market by storm and promoting robotics in our country. If we are lucky, this will be us,” the team members say with a smile. ●

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Photo: Paweł Ławreszuk

at the Exhibitions & Congress Centre of Podkarpackie Province in Jasionka near Rzeszow. This gave the students from Lodz several days for preparations; they also got full support of their university, ready to back them under any circumstances. Fortunately, construction of the robot was completed with no surprises, and except for several maintenance tasks, the team could peacefully enjoy the local climate and exchange their remarks with the foreign teams. This time, they were at home – but before this year’s contest, they had competed in the previous edition and participated in the American URC 2016 in the desert of Utah, where, in the general classification, they became the fifth best team in the world – and the third best team from Poland.

SCIENCE by Jacek

Brylski

Digital Bankers University of Lodz students may acquire IT competences combined with expertise in financial systems at the Digital Banking and Finance field of study. The study was devised in cooperation with the university’s partner companies: Accenture and mBank. The new field of study is a response to the employers’ signals regarding a demand for finance specialists, who also possess competences in the IT environment. Thanks to combining such skills, the graduates of the new field of study will understand the modern digital technology and will be aware of the potential of its business applications, in particular in banks and consulting companies. “I decided to study Digital Banking and Finance primarily because the courses are conducted in cooperation with partners from the industry, namely mBank and Accenture, which are the leading entities in the banking and consulting sector. Thanks to this, the course is the only practical field of study at the Faculty of Economics and Sociology at the University of Lodz in the area of finance,” says Magdalena Borettini, a 1st year student. She adds that as part of the course, students have to complete a three-month internship. Dominik Zygmunt, 2nd year prefect, adds: “I decided that the new course, focused on practice, may offer a lot more possibilities than general education studies. At the same time, I was convinced by close cooperation with the practitioners”.

Digital Banking and Finance students during practical classes

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Practical Curriculum

The study curriculum has been constructed in a manner to make the graduates ready to start working in companies that use digital technology in customer servicing and in functions related to company operations. After completion of studies, they can continue learning at 2nd degree master’s studies. 1st degree graduates can also participate in postgraduate programmes and professional development courses offered at the University of Lodz. The new field of study complies with the policy of Poland and the European Union in the area of digital economy development, whose priorities have been laid down in the “Digital Agenda for Europe”. In the course of the studies, students focus on the practical effects of education: acquiring skills and shaping stances desired by the labour market. Furthermore, during the studies the students get prepared for examinations for selected certificates in the area of banking and IT. “The field of study was prepared in response to the demand for specific specialists voiced by the employers. Therefore, I hope that I will have no problems with finding a job after graduation,” says Magdalena Borettini.

Market Demand

The University of Lodz, apart from traditional academic tasks, such as teaching and academic research, also pursues cooperation with the business environment, in particular the digital banking sector, which belongs to one of the most rapidly developing industries in the Polish economy and has a strong presence in Lodz. Relations with entrepreneurs have become an integral part of development of universities. Close cooperation between a university and businesses is also conducive to introduction of new study fields, which are a response to the current market needs. Graduates of the Digital Banking and Finance will understand the significance of finance for economic development, as well as posses basic knowledge in the area of formation of economic and financial phenomena in the scale of the country and the world. During the studies, they will be introduced to the range of NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

The impulse for the new field of study came from our partner companies. The representatives of both companies are members of the study consultative council. Together with the university employees and students, they decide about the curriculum and the manner of its implementation. Obviously, cooperation between individual lecturers and mBank and Accenture employees is of key importance. The majority of lecturers who conduct classes in the area of banking and finance possess practical experience. The huge advantage of the study is the fact that some classes are also conducted by the employees of mBank and Accenture. As a rule, these are several hours as part of individual courses. Obviously, this scope is going to increase during specialisation courses.

We already have applications from approx. 50 experts offering to conduct classes. Apart from it, both companies organise additional workshops, meetings with employees and the management. The students already became acquainted with the secrets of conducting a job interview and writing a CV, they participated in public speech workshops, conflict solving workshops and had individual coaching sessions. They also learnt about sample careers – from a trainee to a president. Such contact with real business life enables becoming familiar with own qualifications and also offers a better self-assessment and planning of professional future. ●

connections between the economy and the financial system and inter-dependencies among financial institutions. As part of the curriculum, the students will become acquainted with financial products and services (banking, insurance and investment) and principles of their analysis, as well as methods of making decisions related to finance. “Business2Universities programmes are a valuable element of strategy of largest companies around the world. mBank has joined this tendency being aware of the fact that today, having access to well-educated personnel is an indispensable element for further, dynamic growth of modern digital banking. Thanks to the support of practitioners, an innovative curriculum and internship programmes, young people will become acquainted with business reality and will master the skills which will help them find their bearings at the labour market,” explained Cezary Kocik, deputy president of the management board of mBank S.A., during inauguration of the new field of study.

data structures and algorithms. The greatest advantage of the study is the unique, interdisciplinary curriculum. In the second year, the students choose one out of two study majors: banking 3.0 or IT in finance. The curriculum offers the students extensive possibilities for future employment in banks and other institutions, entities cooperating with financial institutions and consulting companies. The largest of them, i.e. Accenture, participated in launching the new field of study. One of its Polish offices is located in Lodz. “We want to share the specific skills with the students that are useful in the professional work. As a leading consulting company, which hires several hundred graduates every year, we know how important it is that a candidate not only possesses thorough theoretical knowledge, but is also familiar with the practical, digital tools that are used today in business. Digital Banking and Finance is a field of study that adjusts the educational offer to the employers’ expectations. I am deeply convinced that the majority of students will be able to choose among many internship and job offers. 2nd year graduates are also invited to take part in paid internship programmes which may transform into longer cooperation,” clarifies Jarosław Kroc, president of the management board of Accenture Polska. “I hope that the very high level of this field of study – perceptible today – will also be maintained in the future. I am already thinking about the future; most probably, I will continue my master’s studies and take my first serious steps in working in the banking industry,” Dominik Zygmunt plans. ●

Necessary Competences

Digital Banking and Finance is a three-year programme. It is dominated by classes aimed at developing practical skills, conducted by persons having professional experience. The participation of mBank and Accenture employees in the teaching programme ensures the teaching of practical competences, necessary at the labour market. Students will also gather knowledge in such areas as banking, corporate finance, financial markets and products, accounting, financial analysis, forecasting and simulation, digital economy, information techniques, LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

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Photo: Paweł Ławreszuk

Statement by Professor Monika Marcinkowska, Director of the Institute of Finance at the University of Lodz

SCIENCE by Jarosław

Zaradkiewicz

Best in Gamedev Lodz student teams dominated the podium in the Games category at the largest international technological competition, Imagine Cup. The students of Jarosław Andrzejczak, Ph.D., are also successful locally. Mikołaj Druszcz, Dariusz Bartczak, Łukasz Sobczyk and Cezary Wojciechowski. The team prepared a game entitled “Komo & Nik” for PC and Xbox, where the player, like the legendary Robin Hood “takes away from the wicked and gives to the poor”. The Unicell team won the national finals and, as the national team, represented Poland in the semi-finals. TeamWithoutRepo won the third place in the national finals.

For several years, the jury of the Imagine Cup has been focusing, apart from the level of technological innovation, on the business value of projects. At the present moment, the competition is a true start-up accelerator. It is a platform where the ideas of young people meet with the evaluation of investors, who decide about actual financial and substantive support for the best of them. Imagine Cup is primarily an opportunity for gaining a competitive edge at the labour market and establishing own business.

International Successes

The competition participants design technological projects in three major categories: World Citizenship, Innovation and Games. During multi-stage eliminations and national finals, participants who take part in the world final are selected, ending the year-round competition. Six teams entered the competition. Their mentor is Jarosław Andrzejczak, Ph.D. Eng. from the Institute of Information Technology, Faculty of Technical Physics and Applied Mathematics at the Lodz University of Technology. All of them were included in TOP30, three in TOP5 and two took the positions on the podium in the Games category. The Unicell team, composed of Lodz University of Technology students Kamil Kozłowski, Mateusz Miągowski and Jakub Rogalski and Igor Derbis, a student at the University of Computer Sciences and Skills in Lodz, prepared an educational mobile game where the player controls the functioning of a single cell organism. The objective is to lead the cell through the process of evolution by managing its internal structures. On the other hand, TeamWithoutRepo is composed exclusively of the representatives of the Lodz University of Technology:

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Lodz Competition

Since 2008, the Institute of Information Technology at the Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics of Lodz University of Technology has been organising the competition entitled “Zespołowe Tworzenie Gier Komputerowych” (Team Gamedev Competition). Students and scientists from 15 Polish universities and representatives of 60 companies took part in this year’s edition; just a few years ago, the competition was an internal affair at the faculty. At the present moment, it is the largest and the most serious academic event of this type in Poland. It is a national academic and business forum that comprehensively and systematically promotes and supports cooperation among universities and companies from the computer game industry. 28 teams from 10 universities qualified for the semi-finals. However, the finals were monopolised by the teams from Lodz, which won the Development category and four out of six special prizes. The winner of the category was the Puzzles team from the Lodz University of Technology with the “ZeroG” game, composed of: Artur Wróblewski, Bartłomiej Waradziński, Hubert Marcinkowski, Maciej Filochowski and Mikołaj Druszcz. On the other hand, in the Design category, the winner was OnionMilk from the Complex of Senior High Schools No. 9 in Lodz with the “Pigeon Fight” game; the team was composed of Maciej Nabiałczyk and Rafał Romanowicz. Thanks to the consistent work of enthusiasts, Lodz is becoming the Polish gaming centre. This is testified by the successes of the students from the Lodz University of Technology and the rank of the competition organised by the Institute of Information Technology at the Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics of the Lodz University of Technology. ● NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

Photo: Paweł Ławreszuk

From the left: Mateusz Miągowski, Jakub Rogalski, Kamil Kozłowski (Unicell), Hubert Marcinkowski, Artur Wróblewski (DynamicDuo oraz Puzzles), Mikołaj Druszcz (Puzzles oraz TeamWithoutRepo), Dariusz Bartczak, Łukasz Sobczyk (TeamWithoutRepo)

COLUMN by

Ewa Klepacka-Gryz

A movie therapy Tell me what you watch and I will tell you who you are. Sounds unconvincing? Yet, there is something to it. When intimacy and emotionality are not the latest fashion, your film preferences and your reactions might reveal your personality.

LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

although your partner or a friend thinks differently than you about a given film, you both feel the same way about it. When we consciously watch and experience a movie, we start to project it on our lives – we project everything that makes us afraid on the main character and what we see on screen and thus we tame our fears. It is frequently tough to expose what you really feel to the rest of the world, especially now when narcissism and egoism are on top. How often do you swoon over a fashionable movie because it is the done thing? Even if words of criticism pass your lips, aren’t they directed more by your head than your heart? OK, you can keep your feelings to yourself, but remember that it’s crucial not to hide them from yourself. What once was the role of tales, has now been taken over by film. Films show us role models, establish touchstones of what’s good and bad and encourage us to give ourselves and our lives a thought. We more or less consciously identify ourselves with the main character and the character’s adventures become the metaphor of our present situation. If the reality you see in a film seems particularly familiar, maybe it is a part of you, a part which, perhaps, is something you hide from yourself. You can safely live it over by watching it on screen and find a solution to a problem without getting directly engaged. ●

Excercise If you feel that a particular scene in a film you’re currently watching moves you deeply, pause the film and listen to what’s going on inside you. What did you feel during the movie? What impressed you and why? What would you do if you were the main character? If you were the director, how would you alter the ending? Remember, we are moved by what resembles our lives or by what we long for. Imagine you’re the main character in the middle of the scene that moves you so much and now you are playing in it. What did you feel? Would you like to change the way it ends? This exercise will let you fantasize and feel that you create events and are able to alter them. Start to believe that in reality, you are the creator of your own life. Feel it.

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Photo: Fotolia

H

as it ever happened to you that some film you’ve watched, perhaps even by chance, touched you deep inside and became an experience not to be easily forgotten? It may have also happened that you were bored through and through by an Oscar-winning blockbuster. According to Tomasz Raczek, a Polish film critic and an author of “Kinopassana. Sztuka oglądania filmów” (“Kinopassana. The art of watching films”; Instytut Wydawniczy Latarnik, Warsaw 2014), watching movies may become a meditation. Along with watching the action on screen, you reach down to your soul more or less consciously. That’s why some films shake us to the core – our hearts will run like mad when we watch an event from the main character’s life, hear a certain song in the background or when the action moves to a place which wakes up our memories. Sometimes you’ll resort to this film for years when you’re feeling sad, you’re in trouble or there are major changes taking place in you at the time. “What you see on screen is merely 50% of the film. The second half is played in your own cinema of psyche and imagination,” says Tomasz Raczek. The film you’re watching is not only registered by your brain, but it touches your emotions as well – all the sorrows, fears, longings and anger hidden inside you, hidden even before yourself. Your heart/ soul is your personal screen shaped by your sensitivity, experience, how you’re feeling on a given day and, first and foremost, your ability to live here and now. Do you remember the film you saw with your first love or the one you watched after you had made an important decision in your life? It’s no surprise that this film is engraved in your memory forever. OK, so you’ve seen a movie which made a deep impression on you. Now, it’s likely you’d want to share this with someone. According to Raczek, the possibility to talk the film through is another important step in a film-based self-therapy. And here comes the tricky part... because it may turn out that the film has made an entirely different impression on your friend or partner. You may even wonder if you watched the same movie. When you share your feelings about a film, you speak about yourself, your personal sense of humour, your dreams and fears. It’s also a one-off chance to share your emotions. It may turn out that

ECONOMY by Justyna

Sujka

The Joy of Programming CERI International, a company well known in the financial industry, which specialises in sensitive data processing and testing banking apps, has recently extended its portfolio onto programming services. In Lodz, the company intensely develops its ITech Center, i.e. the centre of software engineering. Testers, software programmers and app management specialists (junior and senior) who are familiar with various programming languages (e.g. Java, C#) and business intelligence systems (e.g. SAS, Cognos) are constantly needed.

Let’s Test!

The company’s experts have been testing financial apps in German and English for three years and they save the clients’ time, reputation and money. Their objective is to increase the programming quality. Testers in CERI are specialists in their area. Many of them possess the international testing certificate, ISTQB. In CERI International, apps are tested with respect to compliance with the specification provided by the client, and any irregularities are documented. “Testers never give up. If an app fails one of the tests, it is repeated for subsequent versions of the app until the error has been eliminated. The process ends when the team has accomplished the stipulated objectives,” assures Aleksandra Pirek, coordinator of the CERI Test Centre, and explains that this solution offers the clients certainty that they receive a top-quality product. Furthermore, the members of the Test Centre up-date the specification of a tested app on an ongoing basis. Apps calculating credit risk, international payment systems, web apps (banking platforms for individual and corporate clients) undergo testing, as well as marketing platforms (cloud) and financial platforms (internal payments, standing

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Discussing one of the projects

orders). As part of the projects, regression and New Scope tests are performed, i.e. tests of new functionalities. The tester’s obligations include analysis of documentation, designing test cases and performance of tests. “Our team is a well-integrated group of specialists who jointly aim for ensuring quality of delivered software. We help one another in the tasks that we perform, we often share our knowledge and assist one another in case of tight project schedules. Thanks to our hard work, we have supplied multiple versions of apps that are successfully used by our clients,” says Aleksandra Pirek.

Programmers: Herzlich Willkommen!

In CERI, an international career means the possibility of working beyond the borders and does not necessarily mean leaving Lodz. ITech Center designs software primarily for Commerzbank, the second largest bank of our Western neighbour. “Our cooperation with Commerzbank develops well. We provide software designs and maintenance services and we manage apps within a broad scope. In relation to this, we are looking for programmers, database and data warehouse designers, business intelligence system specialists and app managers,” says Marek Gajowniczek, managing director responsible for ITech Center in CERI International. The great advantage of the CERI International community is its multi-national character. People from Germany, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine work here. Jorge Seco Viana, Java developer in ITech Center, came to Poland to complete his IT studies. “I learnt about CERI and about the team NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

Talents Needed

The professional approach to business services on the international arena would not have been possible without a friendly work place. The company takes care of the employees’ development, offering an internal talent scheme as part of which the employees extend their competences in expert or managerial areas. “Other companies, including banks and financial institutions, may entrust us with their information as we specialise in sensitive processes. We hold ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 certificates which confirm the high quality of services provided by us and security of processed data. Similarly to the data entrusted to us, we also take care of development of the talents of employees working for CERI and

promote talents in local communities. For example, we offer lectures for students of IT faculties conducted in cooperation with our partners or meetings for professionals organised in CERI,” says Katarzyna Zwierzchowska, director of the development, training and recruitment department. The company’s employees receive co-financing for medical care in one of the Polish medical centres and a MultiSport package that allows them to use sports and recreational facilities. In June 2016, a canteen was opened in the CERI headquarters at Traktorowa Street in Lodz and the employees also receive co-financing for meals. The name of the canteen, CERI OFF, makes references to its industrial design. Factory lights are hanging from the ceiling and the walls are decorated by abstract paintings and such items as an old bicycle. The best place to admire the interior design is the mezzanine featuring a café corner which has become one of the favoured meeting places. CERI International is a stable and intensely developing employer. The company’s community includes almost 600 employees working in two locations in Lodz and one in Bialystok. The average age of the employees is 30 years. Employees include graduates for whom CERI International is the first permanent work place and experienced professionals who value the stability of employment in the service industry and extensive possibilities of development. ●

Control HUB CERI, modern company management area

Photo: CERI International

of developers that was created here and its strong emphasis on quality and good practice. I decided to give it a try and today, I believe it was a good move,” says the Portuguese employee. Jorge communicates with other team members in English. Earlier, he completed a Polish language course at the Lodz University of Technology, but he admits that speaking in Polish is very difficult for him. “When you are involved in work on newest technologies, it is difficult to study in your free time, but I would definitely like to go back to learning Polish in the near future in order to be able to integrate better,” says Jorge.

ECONOMY by Jacek

Brylski

Pioneers of Future Solutions

Marcin Siech, managing director, Cybercom Poland

In recent years, Cybercom Poland has been distinguished twice in the category of best employer in the IT industry. “We owe this distinction to our exceptional approach to the clients and the employees. They are partners to us, without whom we could not develop. What is more, we do not treat our people as resources; we enable them ongoing development and we constantly expand their freedom,” says Marcin Siech, managing director of Cybercom Poland.

Cybercom Group is an international technological company with headquarters in Stockholm. Its branches are located in Denmark, Finland, Poland and Dubai. In Poland, the company employs over 250 engineers in Lodz and in Warsaw. In October 2016, Cybercom Poland opened another office in Bydgoszcz, as part of its development strategy on our market. Over a thousand specialists work for the company around the world. The Polish branch of the company was established almost 20 years ago, in 1997 in Warsaw. Initially, it operated under the name Sigma Poland and in 2006 it changed the name for auSystems; a year later the company was acquired by Cybercom Group; since that moment, it has been operating as Cybercom Poland.

Agile Technologies

Cybercom is an agile technological organisation. “We change the tomorrow via innovative projects, e.g. in the industrial sector. We shape the world by providing dedicated IT solutions to our clients around the world. Our values include trust, passion and innovation,” explains Marcin Siech and adds that this is the very spirit in which his company cooperates with its business partners. Cybercom Poland continues to look for new partners whom it can assist on the path to digitisation. Cybercom Poland specialises in IT counselling, software development (both complete “turn-key” systems and individual elements) and IT projects in the area of research and development. As part of its

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activity, Cybercom generates new products, prototypes, as well as feasibility studies. The clients of Cybercom Poland mainly include companies from Poland and from Scandinavia, as well as Great Britain and Ireland. The company is looking for interesting and new markets where it can make full use of its potential. Thence, it constantly develops its competences in such industries as automotive, media & entertainment, tech and industry. One of the company’s great successes as part of the Internet of Things is the system of combined cranes for HIAB and the smart parking project implemented in cooperation with Intel. On the other hand, as part of its activity in the area of software house, Cybercom Poland implements innovative projects in the VOD area for a prestigious client from the media and communications industry, with offices in Los Angeles and London, along with projects for leaders in the ICT and automotive industries and the transport technology.

Innovation on Daily Basis

The company has implemented modern software production technologies, which greatly enhanced the quality and the speed of project implementation. Agile, because this is the methodology that we are talking about, has become one of the company’s pillars in the area of design activities, as well as external (operational) activities. Thanks to it, Cybercom develops designs efficiently and quickly, being always focused on providing the client with an operational solution on time, without wasting the client’s money. NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

“In this approach, the client is always in the very centre of our attention and the solutions are iterated prototypes whose formulas are constantly improved,” says Marcin Siech, adding that design iteration consists in the fact that in subsequent stages of work the improvement of designed solutions is made on the basis of results of tests and opinions of users, whereas the test results from the prior stage of work set out the scope and the direction of work in the next stage. “Cooperation with the client is not only a transaction for us; first of all, it is a partnership thanks to which we can learn and develop. As an agile organisation, we continually improve our internal processes and the manner of work of our teams, so that the clients can receive what is maximally possible at a given moment. We want to be aware of our strong sides and challenges that are ahead of us; this allows us for ongoing development,” explains Marcin Siech. Jacek Fischbach, one of IoT experts in Cybercom, adds: “Individual needs or problems of the client are an instruction for us what and how should be designed to improve the client’s business. We care about punctuality and smooth communication to meet the needs and expectations in the best way possible”.

Part of Business Eco-System

Cybercom Poland cooperates with a number of companies from the ICT, electronic and IT industries. The company’s partners are Intel, TUV Nord, Microsoft and Amazon. The company forms a part of the “smart society” not only via technology, but also LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

interaction. It regularly organises events, webinars and workshops and its representatives attend industry conferences. Thanks to this, the company’s specialists keep abreast of industry news and stay close to the people with whom and for whom they work. Cybercom Poland belongs to the “Rzetelna Firma” (“Reliable Company”) programme. In 2011, HBI Polska awarded the company with the “Dynamiczna Firma” (“Dynamic Company”) certificate for the growth dynamics accomplished between 2008 and 2010. In 2012, Cybercom Poland received the “Najlepszy Pracodawca” (“Best Employer”) title in the ranking organised by international consulting company, Hewitt Associates, in cooperation with “Harvard Business Review Polska”. Cybercom Poland was also distinguished with the title “Best IT Workplace in Poland” in the second edition of the ranking organised by “Computerworld” – “AudIT 2010”. Cybercom Poland is among 340 companies which are the members of Skandynawsko-Polska Izba Gospodarcza (SPCC – Scandinavian-Polish Chamber of Commerce) and has been a member of ABSL (Association of Business Service Leaders in Poland) since 2012. The company also cooperates with public institutions, which its manifested by its membership in the Business Council operating at the University of Lodz. As part of the participation in the “Młodzi w Łodzi” (“Youth in Lodz”) programme, it opens its doors to students who can visit the company and receive information about employment possibilities and the recruitment process. ●

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Photo: Cybercom Poland

Cybercom team at work

ECONOMY by Jacek

Brylski

Programmers like to work in LSI Software. Why? Because it means working on important projects, for large customers, but at the same time without the routine and repetitive tasks. New markets and products mean sustainable development, that optimally increases the skills of employees.

Grzegorz Siewiera, chairman of the supervisory board

Marcelina Fryd, HR specialist

A top manufacturer When ordering a dinner at the restaurant or visiting the water park, we use programmes that support our settlements with the company that provides the service to us. LSI Software S.A. is a leading Polish manufacturer of software for hotel and catering sector (hospitality), as well as retail sector (retail network). In addition, it is a creator of own system of ERP class (Enterprise Resource Planning) and an integrated system for services for recreation and sports facilities ESKOK, such as water parks, ice rinks, stadiums or market halls. “LSI Software is a key supplier of IT systems for cinema networks in Poland. For many years we have been a top manufacturer of software for several different sectors on the Polish market, and now we also sell our solutions abroad,” explains the chairman of the supervisory board of LSI Software Grzegorz Siewiera. “This gives us completely new perspectives, challenges and opportunities. Software development for a foreign cinema complex or a Czech restaurant are completely different, but equally interesting projects as operating on the domestic market,” adds Grzegorz Siewiera. Since its establishment in 1991, the company LSI Software S.A. has become an important and well-known provider of IT solutions, serving thousands of customers throughout Poland. It constantly and intensely invests in

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the development of own products and their quality. One of the milestones in the history of the company was joining the Stock Exchange in Warsaw in 2006.

Great ideas

The LSI Software Capital Group is formed by companies, which also deal with the provision of services on the B2B market, in terms of software, implementations and training. Innovative applications, entering new markets and strong product development are possible thanks to a great team of specialists. With professional programmers, the applications offered by the company are constantly improved and adapted to changes occurring on the market of undertakings. Consulting, implementation and maintenance services are provided by representatives of the customer service department, so that all installations and reports are solved very efficiently. Regular training on new functionalities of systems enable customers to improve their knowledge and skills and use current software versions in a more effective manner.

Cooperation and support

The company cooperates with a large group of suppliers of hardware solutions and services. LSI Software is a long-time partner of Microsoft and the manufacturer of touch terminals and NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

Prizes and awards

“We are the manufacturer of one of the most popular systems for gastronomy, the so-called Gastro. It can be implemented in any kind of premises, cafes, pizzerias, discos or the entire chain of restaurants. Such an integrated system supports the work of all employees of the premises: owner, chef, manager, waiters and even suppliers,” says the chairman of the supervisory board of the company. He adds that thanks to Gastro restaurants can quickly and intuitively sell through the touch screen. In addition, a number of functionalities, such as control of orders and bills, graphical presentation of halls, timesheets and ease of modification of orders facilitate everyday work, and most importantly, reduce operating expenses. LSI Software products receive prestigious awards granted by both customers and independent experts. The company enjoys all of these references and that its solutions are widely recommended to subsequent users. LSI Software has been repeatedly appreciated for innovative ideas and interesting solutions that improve the work. “We want to create applications that facilitate the everyday work of our customers,” Grzegorz Siewiera explains.

Interesting job

As an employer, LSI Software appreciates the cooperation both with experienced professionals, as well as people who are just starting their careers. “In the event of job applicants who have recently graduated or still study, the most important for us is commitment and desire of continuous development. Our role is to enable them to develop,” emphasizes Marcelina Fryd, the specialist for human resources. “We are always interested in the cooperation with specialists in the field of manufacture of software, implementations, IT service and experienced sales representatives,” she adds. Employees of LSI Software appreciate attractive remuneration, opportunity for professional development and good atmosphere at work. Employees have the possibility of LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

internal promotion, participation in numerous training sessions, work on interesting projects, and in the intervals – relaxation in the recreational hall equipped with appliances for games or rest. “In addition, they can enjoy sports activities every day and regularly play on social events, which allow us to better know each other,” Marcelina Fryd adds. Projects come from day to day, and the increasingly expanding product portfolio encompasses the company with the goal to acquire and further educate specialists in terms of programming, consultation and trade. “Job applications are accepted throughout the year, so we invite to contact even students who want to gain experience in the IT industry. In cooperation

System solutions at EuroGastro fair 2016

with the program entitled “Youth in Lodz,” we have interesting holiday internship offers for students, including in the field of software manufacture. They can count on the work under the supervision of experienced programmers and practically learn about software development technologies,” says Marcelina Fryd. Another advantage of working at LSI Software is to see the latest trends in the methods of the management of the undertaking with the use of specialized IT tools. As part of internships, the company cooperates also with the City Hall, taking part in the program entitled “Practice in Lodz”, as well as other enterprises and institutions, which enables a wide development of not only the organization itself, but – most importantly – its employees. ●

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Photo: LSI Software

peripherals Posiflex. It is also the exclusive distributor of wireless communications systems LRS on the Polish market. “All these cooperations result in access to latest technologies and specialized equipment used worldwide,” Grzegorz Siewiera explains.

ECONOMY by Jarosław

Zaradkiewicz

Hoping for Hat Trick When young entrepreneurs were thinking about the name for their company, the time of intense revitalisation of historical factories started in Lodz. Facades of pretty brick buildings emerged everywhere. “We included a brick in the brand to promote local patriotism and we combined it with blue colour which is universally technological, simultaneously creating a nice-sounding alliteration,” explains Tomasz Kaczmarczyk, the founder of Blue Brick. In the recent years, the company has been offering efficient implementation of various solutions. Starting from the performance of classic mobile apps, through software for corporations, up to medical electronics and super-computers. “We entertained ourselves by working on an interactive installation for Light Move Festival, but we also instilled life into a computer game, we helped launch a unique recruitment start-up and we recently won a hackathon, that is a programming marathon of the European Space Agency,” adds Kaczmarczyk and says that on the strategic level, the most important thing for the company is to maintain the original concept: to build great things for clients and on own account.

Swedish Roots

Tomasz Kaczmarczyk, together with Martyna Borkowska and Dominik Stożek, studied telecommunications at the International Faculty of Engineering at the Lodz University of Technology. As part of the Erasmus student exchange programme, they went to Sweden. “We quickly exhausted the range of attractions offered by our studies and student life. We built an igloo for fun, we travelled around the country, we partied with other students and then we got bored,” recollects the co-founder of Blue Brick. So, partly for fun, they started to look for an idea how to apply the previously acquired programming skills and combine them with their stay abroad. “We started to attend the meetings with local businesses and used the classic mantra of a Polish outsourcer: high class programmers, working at a lower rate than Swedish engineers,” Tomasz Kaczmarczyk smiles. Having returned to Poland with previously established contacts, the trio set up a company. A moment later, they were joined by Marek Bączyński, who blended so well with the company’s identity that he became the fourth founder. Eventually, he was entrusted with the role of representing Blue Brick in Sweden.

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Tomasz Kaczmarczyk

The company’s founders decided to build products for clients and to invest the profits in their own initiatives, more or less crazy.

Impressive Idea

One of such initiatives was the design for electronic guitar multi-effect. This was the project with which Blue Brick took part in the “Młodzi w Łodzi – Mam pomysł na biznes” (“Youth in Lodz – I Have an Idea for Business”) competition where the company got a distinction. In this year’s edition of the competition, Blue Brick funded the prizes. Few years ago, presentation of the results of work made the company famous among Lodz businessmen, and was sufficient to procure the very first clients – however, not really related to music. The idea was also submitted to a competition of electronic projects organised for Swedish students – the founders of Blue Brick clarify that after five months of studying in Sweden, they felt sufficiently Swedish. Having successfully completed several stages of elimination, they found themselves in Stockholm with their own stand at the largest electronic conference in Scandinavia with a pile of business cards to distribute among representatives of the industry. “We tempted NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

them by playing ‘Smoke on the Water’ on a guitar from our project with the unique multi-effect. Eventually, our adventure ended with winning the main prize in the competition and getting our first two orders for Swedish companies. We returned to Poland and started to build capitalism,” Tomasz Kaczmarczyk recollects.

Recipe for Success

Tailored Solutions

The most characteristic trait of the company is designing tailored technological products. Their

Bartek Górnicki and drops of water in zero-gravity LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

Part of the team responsible for Hypermiles project, from the left: Bartek Górnicki, Martyna Borkowska, Dawid Adamkiewicz, Dominik Stożek

recipients are companies from all over Europe and recently also companies from the United States. The clients who use their programmes often need complete servicing or an application made from scratch by a team that is not only familiar with programming, but also understands business and helps with designing and marketing the product. “From time to time, we also dive into R&D – we create medical electronics, military units and entire wearable technologies designed from scratch,” says Tomasz Kaczmarczyk. At one time, when the company was involved in a software project for a corporation, a year later it made its own investments in the start-up product of ShareHire, which is no longer just a start-up, but a reliable supplier of HR technological solutions for largest companies in Poland. When asked about greatest accomplishments of his company, Tomasz Kaczmarczyk responds: “I am most proud of all the start-up competitions and hackathons which we have won in the recent years. Lately, we are very happy with the more serious approach to the Hypermiles project which won the space technology hackathon organised by the European Space Agency. We created a concept at the meeting point of hardware, software and satellite data, which may save a lot of fuel in company vehicle fleets. As part of the prize, the team could fly in zero-gravity conditions; now, we are focused on R&D and collecting funds for further development". The co-founder of Blue Brick claims that two years ago, the company helped launch SUPERHOT gamedev studio, to which Kaczmarczyk devotes a lot of time personally. A year ago, Blue Brick invested in ShareHire, which also turned out to be a success. This year, it has a good chance to promote Hypermiles as a separate company. If everything goes according to plan, the company can count upon a start-up hat trick. ●

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Photo: Paweł Ławreszuk, Novespace

They draw their inspiration and motivation for work from any sources available: friends, older and more experienced companies, as well as by looking at success stories from the neighbourhood and the world. It seemed to them that this was the peak of how much knowledge could be obtained from nowhere, simply by talking to people or browsing the Internet. However, they recently started to appreciate the potential of more experienced environments – the start-up networks abroad, where the knowledge and cooperation skills have been accumulating for a much longer time. When asked about the definition of the company’s targets and mission, Tomasz Kaczmarczyk emphasises that the client is the most important for them. “We have never managed to build a full and nice description of Blue Brick which we would buy. Instead of a lofty mission, we have very simple and down-to-earth operational premises. We do good job in technological designs for clients,” clarifies the company’s co-founder. Blue Brick founders have personally experienced the hardships related to building own company. Therefore, they put work beyond expectations into the designs for every client, supporting and assisting them 24h a day, as well as providing counselling to offer the best possibility of development to their partners.

ECONOMY From the left: Stanisław Radomiński and Jakub Musiałek in front of the machine prototype

by Jarosław

Zaradkiewicz

Healthy medication management Implementation of UnitDoseOne, an innovative project improving processes associated with the distribution and administration of drugs to patients in hospitals has given the company Quizit recommendation of the Municipal Office of Lodz for the Economic Prize of the President of the Republic of Poland in the category of STARTUP_PL. The company has been implementing the project for over a year. It has obtained the support for it by the National Centre for Research and Development under Szybka Ścieżka (Fast Path). It defeated nearly 200 other projects and as one of several companies received support to continue this programme. Founders of the company believe that one of its successes is the casting of dedicated team of engineers and programmers, for whom nothing is impossible and who bravely creates the UnitDoseOne project.

With medical enthusiasm

The company was founded by Jakub Musiałek and Stanisław Radomiński operating at the Lodz start-up stage. The first of them is not only a computer scientist by education and vocation, but also an enthusiast of new ideas. Running his first company – Pixel Technology – he achieved the status of market leader in radiological imaging in Poland. His software available in more than 200 hospitals successfully competes not only with Polish, but also with foreign competition. Whereas, Stanisław Radomiński is a mechatronics engineer, who did not previously work in his field. However, his achievements include building a consulting company, which managed the projects for a total amount of 200 million PLN. What

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is more, he is also the co-author of the Development Strategy of Piotrkowska Street. During an ongoing project his experience in the medical industry proved useful for several years he was vice-president of the board of the Lodz company Mercant – a distributor of medical equipment and medicines. Originally Quizit company was established as a special purpose vehicle for the implementation of two projects: DrAnswer solutions for medical schools, which is used for examining the students, as well as web and mobile applications for diabetics (http://dzienniczek.lodzkie.pl) – commissioned by the Marshal Office. After completion of both projects, the company fell into complete stagnation, however, since 2013, its founders began to develop the idea of medication management system for both hospital and commercial pharmacies. The work on UnitDoseOne was in full swing in June 2015. After the first simple prototypes and tests the project was finally selected for implementation.

Awaiting recipients

Prior to that, one of the technical universities had attempted to create a similar system, but suspended its works. It is a much-needed plan because the environment of potential customers and users support product development. Many people in the industry NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

This is how UnitDoseOne is made – everything starts with a design

that they are to become not only useful, but also good for the people using them. Thus, for example, unprecedented in this industry is a design of the device or that of many systems virtually eliminating mistakes when drugs are administered to the patient,” says Stanisław Radomiński.

Best in-class system

The project developed by Quizit is based on building the first Polish system of unit dose. UnitDoseOne is a complete solution for the preparation and distribution of drug combinations tailor-made for the patient. Each medication is packed in a sachet appropriately identified, the so-called unit dose (hence the name – unit dose). The device responds to market needs in eliminating errors in dispensing drugs. The system optimizes the medication management in the hospital, strengthens supervision and control over the distribution of drugs, and also leads to more efficient LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

use of staff time. Therefore it brings measurable benefits in the form of specific financial savings. Currently, the distribution of drugs in hospitals involves manually packaging and dispensing them. UnitDoseOne minimizes the key problems of this process, which include i.e..: mistakes occurring in the preparation and administration of drugs to the patient (which may lead to complications and even death), inflated inventory and incomplete documentation of medication, as well as theft of drugs and their timeout. UnitDoseOne, which streamlines processes with the simultaneous implementation of a number of procedures related to drug logistics will not only reduce the operating costs of the establishment, but also enable favorable changes in the distribution of medicines and organization of work.

Innovative solutions

The device designed by Quizit will be significantly different from competing solutions. For example UnitDoseOne offers automatic sorting of drugs also in glass packaging (ampoules, vials). It will be equipped with an intelligent cutter for blistered medicines, which will enable the automatic cut-out of the drug even with unusual blisters. The system will also follow any dose in a hospital, at each stage of distribution. The patient will receive medications in an intelligent box that can be opened only with his participation – every patient in the hospital will have an armband appropriate for this use. The system will record the moment of delivery of the drug and ensure that suitable medicines found their way to the correct patient. There is also an innovative solution of a safe drugs transport system. Through the use of tapes that contain the already packed sachets of medicines, it will be possible to transport them to the proper storage cabinet (in the hospital you will be able to find even a dozen of such cabinets). This means that existing departmental first aid kits in hospitals can be replaced by systems of automatic dispensing of medicines. The advantage is also the use of possibly the simplest, but still proven and fault-tolerant design and technology. An example of this is the construction of a storage cabinet on the basis of two-dimensional system operated by arm moving on rails. This allows for building a narrow device, and thus, saving space and great freedom of arrangement in the room. For example, you can set the cabinets standing against the wall, still keeping the free space in the middle of the room or hall. ●

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Photo: Paweł Ławreszuk

promote the project and they are counting on its successful implementation. “They provide advice and offer their long standing experience,” appreciates Stanisław Radomiński, but he adds that due to the very late decision on the part of one of the investment funds work on the project is delayed. “Fund withdrew from the talks two weeks before the signing of the investment agreement. Not only did we lose three months, which we could spend on talks with other investors, but also it shook a company’s financial liquidity,” says Stanisław Radomiński. The Quizit company has set itself the goal of creating a situation in which automated systems dispensing drugs for hospital patients will become standard in health care units, and not just a curiosity. In their opinion, it contributes to a real improvement in the effectiveness of treatment, while increasing patient safety. The company puts the users of the system first. “Solutions are based on the assumption

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Do Your Homework First Piotr Przewrocki, a business angel managing the QBN Fund, talks about opportunities for start-ups, their financing and experiences from Silicon Valley in an interview with Jarosław Zaradkiewicz. What does your activity consist in? Business angels most often derive from entrepreneurs. These are people who re-invest their savings or earned money in the ideas and projects of others, especially in start-ups. Apart from it, I manage the QBN Investment Fund, which invests in start-ups at the initial and middle stage of development. So if I have an idea for a start-up in the gamedev industry, can I apply to you? We help start-ups, because just a business idea is not sufficient for us. We are looking for people who have already done their homework, who completed the first tests of the idea on their family or friends, who have a team or its core and it would be good if they also had a prototype at least. We are looking for projects that are beyond the level of an idea; we are looking for people who have proven that they are capable of delivering quality. So far, we have made investments in 23 start-ups, including two gaming projects. This is a very difficult market and very few people are familiar with investments related to it, this is a very competitive market. Gamedev is a specific industry. How did you choose the companies in which you invested? Last year, I met with Fun Brush start-up in Lodz which uses games to teach children to brush their teeth. This is an investment which we believe to be very promising. Fun Brush is an interesting project, even

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though it is not entirely classic. This is not a game, but an example of applying technologies known from gaming to perform an important social function. The idea consists in an attachment unit for the brush which contains sensors that make it move and a mobile phone or a tablet changes into a virtual mirror in which the children brush the teeth of virtual pets. The second project is at an earlier stage of development and refers to game technology. As of now, I cannot say anything more about it. What should people who operate start-ups pay attention to in order to make investment funds interested in them? Investors are looking for values in a project. Such value may derive, for example, from risk elimination. If somebody says that something can be patented, he is not convincing; however, it is convincing if such person checked whether similar patented solutions exist. The most interesting is how competitive a given market niche is. If somebody says that there is no competition, we do not really believe it because, for example, in games you compete for time. If you have 20 hours per week that you can devote for entertainment, then by producing a game you compete for this time with the television, the cinema and the theatre. If somebody passes the market test, i.e. if such person knows what he is saying, if he has checked it and is able to convert it into numbers, and is NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

convincing, I offer solutions that have a competitive or flexible advantage; I take a closer look at people with whom I have to work. Poles are good technically, but they are often horrible sellers and atrocious presenters. However, a good project will have no problems with procuring financing, both in Poland and abroad. It is said that a good start-up needs a technologist, a seller and an investor. This list may be freely modified. It is sufficient for a technological start-up to patent a new particle for cancer therapy and it will be sold immediately. It is difficult to do business without technology and without investors. The competitive advantage of the QBN Fund consists in the fact that we do not say: “You present your ideas badly”. Our distinguishing mark is the fact that we provide start-ups with comprehensive care. Apart from money, start-ups receive everything that they need to develop, including support in the area of personal development. If a team is incomplete, we try to persuade its members that they need a financial director or a person familiar with technology from which such start-up is going to benefit. There are few of such funds in Poland. Most often, people receive money and very few people get knowledge. Everybody says that they offer smart money, but it is difficult to find such solutions in practice. Apart from investment funds, what are other ways for financing start-ups? Start-ups are not eligible for banking loans, as the banks require the company to have existed for a period of time not shorter than 6, 12 or 18 months – this depends on the bank. Modern banking is not compatible with start-ups. I would go to the bank if a company already had revenues and profits. It is possible to make use of EU funds, which will soon be flowing in a large stream. There was a moment when start-ups had a lot of money, but such money was wasted in a major part. Clerks are not familiar with start-ups. They assume that a business plan is like a Bible. So we sign a contract with a very difficult partner such as governmental or local government institutions. Irregularities are not welcome here, whereas the reality of start-ups consists of constant changes in the business model or the product application, because a start-up is an experiment. If we combine a variable business approach with rigid bureaucratic procedures, a catastrophe is imminent. Therefore, we are not keen on subsidies because people have to be aware of the fact that they will limit them in the area of business development. LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

In Poland, there are few private investment funds, but I would like to encourage people to look for them. You need the knowledge and participation in acceleration programmes of large institutions in Poland; it is even better to join a foreign acceleration programme. The Scandinavian Startup Sauna is very good, similarly to ABC from Slovenia. A well-chosen accelerator should prepare a start-up in the area of product development, adjustment to the market, presentation, as well as establish contacts with the investors. QBN takes start-ups for acceleration to the United States. There, we work with them under the supervision of professionals, we clash them with the market and verify project assumptions. Last year, six start-ups participated in an acceleration programme supervised by Jeff Burton, the founder of Electronic Arts and one of the first Atari employees, who is my business partner and with whom we have been working in a fund taking care of the development of Polish start-ups. What do you think about the governmental plan for start-up support? This is the first programme on such scale, with full coordination, managed on a market basis and not bureaucratically. This is happening this time. One institution will be responsible for the programme, i.e. Polski Fundusz Rozwoju (PFR – Polish Development Fund). Such capital and investment approach is a very interesting proposal. We expect that it may offer good results. The people who are involved in the programme make an impression of professionals. These are people from the market, who are familiar with the complaints of start-ups and investors. Eliza Kruczkowska, the former president of Startup Poland, was invited by the PFR to work on a support system for the early development of start-ups, i.e. accelerators and the cooperation system with large State Treasury companies. They will create accelerators in order to become the first recipients of innovations – in the same way as it happens around the world. Additionally, seed-type funds will be established. PFR will invite private investors and managers. Some of the funds will come from the state and some will be provided by private sectors. Companies will apply for funds to the PFR. I hope for a significant quality improvement because managers of investment funds and not clerks will be involved in the project. There is also a question of who is going to manage such funds on the private level. If these are teams whose sole accomplishments are prior investments as part of

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the Innovative Economy Operational Programme under measure 3.1 which was conducted by Polska Agencja Rozwoju Przedsiębiorczości (PARP – Polish Agency for Enterprise Development), as well as the old acceleration programmes of PARP, it is going be a catastrophe. My evaluation of the accomplishments of Krajowy Fundusz Kapitałowy (KFK – National Capital Fund) is similar. I am not familiar with any great successes as part of the old financing perspectives with respect to Polish investments in start-ups. Offering money to young companies means wasting money. You have to offer such money with an added value. Somebody has to take care of startups, determine a strategy, motivate and check the effects. We can create something like this on the basis of Western experiences. There are funds that are already doing it in Poland, most often private ones.

What experiences have you brought? First of all: nobody is waiting for us there. This is the most competitive place in the world. All countries have their representatives there maintained from governmental funds. Within several hundred square miles, we are competing with the best in the world. For me, the most important fact was that work never ends there. I lived in an apartment with a swimming pool. During three months that I was there, I went to the pool maybe twice. Due to the time difference, the work starts at 7 a.m. and lasts until late at night. The work is very difficult both physically and emotionally and only the people who have the capacity of a full focus on the problems that have to be solved for the client can win. The level of professionalism is also impressive. Meetings last 20 minutes, there is no small talk and no coffee. People write e-mails before the meeting about what

Which of western experiences would you implement in Poland? This is not about the system because everybody knows how this should be done. It is important that people who are involved in this have foreign experiences. This is absolutely of key importance. We have already sent several hundred start-ups to Silicon Valley; it is worth using their experiences. I went there with my own start-up, because I decided that I could not assist any company in Poland if I was not in an acceleration programme and if I did not understand what this was all about.

they want to talk about and after the meeting they also summarise it via e-mail, even if it was not satisfactory. There is also an outstanding network of relations. You cannot go anywhere straight from the street – you have to know somebody who knows another person and this other person knows the person whom you want to reach; with the network of relations and guarantees, you can almost certainly meet with any person you want. Everything is based on relations. Contacts are the most important – this is the vitamin C in business.

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Thank you. ● NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

Photo: Jacek Bojarski

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

by Jarosław

Zaradkiewicz

Worldwide Range

The company was established almost 12 years ago. The Lodz branch, which has been operating since the beginning of the year, is the youngest; older branches are in Poznań, Wrocław and Piła. At the present moment, the company has 230 employees, among whom 100 are Python programmers. According to Wojciech Lichota, the head of the Lodz branch, the company wishes to recruit employees in Lodz, because the city has an immense potential. “Universities teach a lot of programmers. There are also many IT companies which offer the possibility of acquiring experience. What is more, in Lodz, there are local communities focused on the technology in which STX Next specialises,” Wojciech Lichota explains.

Open Towards Communities

In Lodz, the company has been operating since the beginning of the year and continues to develop dynamically. It currently employs 27 people, mainly Python and JavaScript programmers. The team is supported by testers, product owners and scrum masters. “We would like the employees of STX Next to feel well at their work place, so we take care of the atmosphere, providing fresh fruit on a daily basis, organising monthly integration outings and celebrating the employees’ birthdays together,” says Wojciech Lichota and adds that the atmosphere at work is casual and everybody is on first name terms. The work hours are flexible and there is no dress code. STX Next focuses on sharing knowledge and organises cyclical workshops entitled “Python Has Power”, where the participants have the opportunity to acquire basic Python programming skills. The company willingly supports organisation of social meetings in the IT industry, such as Python Lodz Programmers, meet.js and Agile Lodz, where the STX Next programmers act as lecturers. LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

Good team is a keystone of STX Next

Interesting Projects

The head of the Lodz branch emphasises that the cross-cut of the company’s clients allows for implementation of ambitious and prestigious projects, which, in turn, enables the employees’ development. The project challenges and modern technologies are often more important than money; still, the company offers quite high wages and openly boasts about it in the recruitment process. However, at the present moment, the Lodz branch is looking for experienced people. “Procuring qualified employees is the greatest challenge for us, due to the fact that the IT labour market is very demanding and many companies compete for employees,” says Wojciech Lichota and adds that several initiatives helped the company reach the candidates, including the “Młodzi w Łodzi” (“Youth in Lodz”) programme of the Lodz City Office, and career offices of the University of Lodz and the Lodz University of Technology. “Next year, we are planning to hire at least 30 new specialists,” says the boss of the Lodz branch who has been working for the company for nine years.

Slogan Instead of Objective

“Our objectives and mission do not have textbook definitions. Our guiding slogan is the company’s strategy: ‘We Believe the Future of Product Development is Product Development as a Service’. This is the result of our own observations of the IT market, where more and more IT products are outsourced, i.e. developed not by the owner of a given product, but by a service company involved in development. We believe that this trend is going to continue in the years to come,” explains Wojciech Lichota and adds that the company’s objective is not only writing the source code, but also assuming the entire liability for the technical side of the product. “This provides our teams with real impact on the product and its final shape,” he adds. ●

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Photo: Paweł Ławreszuk

STX Next programmers from Lodz cooperate with partners from Western Europe and the United States. In the course of the last decade, they provided their clients with over 200 designs. The company is one of the largest Software House type enterprises in Europe.

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES by Jarosław

Zaradkiewicz

Beyond the Limits of Imagination The creative industry is already manufacturing products which are used by children in kindergartens, students of medicine and even by army generals. Soon, lecture rooms may be filled with human holograms. This is no longer science fiction, but quite a plausible reality. Computer games, which form a part of the creative industry, have for a long time been frequently perceived as primitive shooting duels whose main mission is to kill the opponent and time. The gamedev industry, which has established its permanent presence in Lodz, currently offers thousands of applications for its products created by outstanding artists and even more sophisticated programmers. However, the world which can be found on the other side of computer games is even more fascinating than the one on the telephone or television screen.

Visionary in a Bank

“The first gamedev companies in Lodz were established with the money of their owners. Initially, the banks were not partners for us at all. It was only after a few years of operating a company, when I had financial results, that I was able to talk to a bank,” recollects Leszek Lisowski, founder and CEO of Wastelands Interactive, a leading Lodz company involved in game production. Lisowski says that when the idea of game development started to be treated seriously, the moment came when it was also necessary to come up with a name. “It struck me that Poland was a bit like a wasteland. If you combine it with the fact that I created a fallout version of the world for a certain strategy earlier, the name Wastelands was an obvious choice. Interactive was added just for principle,” adds the founder of the company which was officially established in 2009, yet its beginnings date back to 2006. At that time the founder of Wastelands Interactive was moderating Paradox games (“Fallout” in “Hearts of Iron 2”) as a hobby. At one point in time, this ceased to be enough for him. At that time, the people who were dreaming of having their own gamedev companies had to use their own savings, borrow money from the family or look for commercial loans. Today, the situation is easier. “The institutions in the sector of venture capital or business angels are slowly grasping the issue. They can see that this is good business, but they do not really know how to approach it, so they make deals with game developers,” explains the founder of Wastelands Interactive. Talented

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and active people in the network may also go for the popular crowd-funding. However, this is not so easy, as the investors have to be convinced.

Development in Straddle

“As gamedev companies, we are standing a bit in a straddle. We are a creative industry and we like to be classified as artists, together with film makers and writers. At the same time, technology is behind what we do. So we are also strongly related to the IT industry, because together with its development, our projects are also becoming more and more interesting,” Leszek Lisowski clarified. Approx. 400 people worked on the most famous Polish game, i.e. "Wiedźmin" (“The Witcher”) to which Lisowski makes frequent references. Among them there were 150 programmers and 200 graphic artists. “The number of technical employees whose work could not be seen directly is very high,” says Lisowski and adds that a game is developed in a manner similar to an accounting application. Yet in the case of the game, there is much more creativity and it happens

that the budget is exceeded. In such situation, you have to increase the budget or decrease the creativity. Computer games tell stories and become fiction-like participants of our life. “There are more and more games that you can compare to taking part in a really good series. They let us become the main character and experience a fascinating adventure, which is a story about friendship and feelings. Sometimes, we would like to go a bit further, but we are limited to what the script writers have devised. Many people experience playing more intensely than reading books,” says Leszek Lisowski. The industry is developing rapidly, and the suppliers see that games that can be played during a short tram ride between work and home are in demand. Soldiers and their commanders use battlefield simulators, whereas students of medicine can become acquainted with the secrets of the human body thanks to the development of game engines, yet they have to devote a lot more time to it. “Soldiers learn shooting to the enemy; their commanders, who have to plan the operations of tactical teams, also take part in it. On the

Unpredictable Industry

The paths followed by video games are unpredictable. Their development was planned by a script writer with boundless creativity and budget. “I have no idea what is going to happen in a year’s time. Virtual reality is developing strongly; it is possible that items that are hard to imagine today will become available soon,” speculates Leszek Lisowski. In his opinion, new

proposals for everybody will keep coming up. “Today, we can choose the programmes that interest us among 200 available channels in the offer of a cable television – soon, we will be choosing games that interest us in the same manner,” predicts Leszek Lisowski and adds that virtual reality has nowadays hit the big time. Creative agencies and head-hunting companies start to take interest in it. “Our calculation equipment is getting more and more powerful and it allows us to scan human figures in real time. Cloud-type solutions help reduce the barrier that separates the users on the two sides of the computer and I think that the vision of a conference room filled with holograms is imminent,” Lisowski continues. However, it is difficult to predict the direction in which the virtual reality and augmented reality will go, and in particular the gamedev industry. Even the expert who has been involved in gamedev for over ten years is not capable of doing it. ●

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Ilustration: Paweł Ławreszuk, Wastelands Interactive

Leszek Lisowski

other hand, students of medicine, using the virtual reality technology, can get to know the physiology of the human body,” Leszek Lisowski explains. Today, the company established by him is a well-known and distinguished brand on the international market and the connoisseurs of strategic computer games are well aware that Wastelands Interactive is the author of such games as “Fall Weiss”, “World of Magic”, “World War 2: Road to Victory”, “World War 2: Time of Wrath” and “Storm over the Pacific”.

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

Become a chef by Jarosław

Board games store Gralnia.org, Lodz, Więckowskiego 6 St.

Zaradkiewicz

Mariusz Milewski loves fine cuisine. He has combined his culinary passion with another hobby: board games. This is how his “TOP Kitchen” game was born. In the game, anyone can become a top chef. Born in Warsaw, he has chosen Lodz. Milewski is a graduate of the Secondary Art School in Koło and of Lodz Film School, with the specialisation in film editing. He loves films, books, fantasy, comics, militaria, and – in particular – games, mainly board games. He has just become the author of the first commercial board game, developed together with his wife, Paulina. He is the author, the graphic artist and the publishing house manager. She deals with formal matters and promotion of the “TOP Kitchen” project.

A business concept

“Our company, Quantum Games, was simply born out of our passion for board games. For years, we have been fans of games unplugged, animators of the Lodz community of players, actively participating in various initiatives associated with the topic. Selection of this area of activity for our company was natural; in addition, the industry is growing right before our eyes,” Mariusz Milewski explains.

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The global market of board games has been developing dynamically for a long time. For several years, they have been enjoying a renaissance in Poland as well. These are not the traditional games, known from the past, like “Ludo” or “Monopoly”. Modern board games offer intellectual entertainment, combined with a social event, and their richness and diversity make them a universal product, increasingly well known and popular. Initially, Milewski and his wife intended to sell the copyright to their game and entrust manufacturing, distribution and the further fate of their product to an established publisher. It turned out that a better idea would be to engage in the entire process, from the concept to the finished product, especially because the couple decided to pursue their future careers in the board gaming industry. They decided to confront their product with a wider audience. They joined the contest „Młodzi w Łodzi – Mam pomysł na biznes” (“Youth in Lodz NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

The publishing offer

Quantum Games is planning to focus on two spheres of activity. Milewski and his wife want to develop new products – their own board games, which will be made from scratch, through trials, up to ordering of production and distribution. The second field of business, in which the company wants to engage, will be games developed on the basis of individual orders of various entities, including NGOs, cultural and educational institutions and the movie industry. At present, however, they are busy with promoting their first game – “TOP Kitchen”. It is a culinary and economic board game, in which the players manage their cards, acquire resources, roll the dice and make many decisions that influence the final outcome. The participants become professional chefs at an elegant restaurant, they manage it and create the menus, buy the ingredients and cook the dishes. The game was inspired by popularity of culinary interests, and thus it attracts customers other than board gaming fans. ”TOP Kitchen” has been designed for two to four players, aged 11 to 111, and a single game takes 30 to 70 minutes, depending on the number of players and rounds. The game includes more than 150 cards and 90 dice, the player boards and the market board, as well as another component that draws attention – a small frying pan, which is used to roll the dice. Similarly original components and innovative mechanics can be found in the coming products of LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

Quantum Games. ”In the future, we plan to make more use of modern technologies, such as 3D print, when working on the prototypes, and to develop versions for mobile devices,” Mariusz Milewski says.

Ambitious plans

“TOP Kitchen” is the first in the line of products, categorized as “big” board games, containing many various components closed in a big box, costing around 130 to 200 PLN at a store. The publisher is planning to start work on another “big” title in 2017. “We want to explore some topics and mechanics, which have not been used on the gaming market. Our immediate plan includes launching of a card game, available in a small box, which will cost the customer around 50 to 90 PLN. Games of this type are usually fast, simple and easy to learn. Our concept is now waiting for its turn, but we will start the trials soon,” Mariusz Milewski assures. Apart from the original commercial products, Quantum Games wants to make games to order of various entities. Board games and card games, thanks to their socio-educational advantages, are enjoying growing interest of various organizations, such as public institutions, cultural and research centres, foundations and even private companies, which use games during trainings or as advertising gadgets. “On the basis of information provided by the client, we will be able to develop the game mechanics, format and style adapted to a given project and topic,” Milewski explains, adding that customized game development has not become popular so far. Treating this field of activity as a strong business component will bring positive effects and enable the publisher to engage in projects associated with such sectors as education or social services. ●

"TOP Kitchen" board game

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Photo: Paweł Ławreszuk

– I Have an Idea for Business”). An award in the competition gave them a boost of self-confidence. The next challenge was to develop a game campaign on the crowdfunding portal Wspieram.to. At the same time, they worked hard to get partners, patrons and sponsors. They also addressed gamers to make the new product and brand distinguishable on the already crowded publishing market. The effects were beyond their expectations. They collected 137 percent of the amount needed to publish the first game. Mariusz Milewski believes this to be one of his great successes. They collected more than 40 thousand PLN for production of the first edition of the game. The copies will be distributed first among more than 200 people, who supported the project, and board game stores, which have also decided to support the launching of the new publisher and became the project sponsors. “This success is mainly a great credit of trust, which we got, and yet another argument supporting the thesis that our product is capable of reaching a broad group of customers,” Mariusz Milewski says.

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES

by Jarosław

Zaradkiewicz

Accept Challenges Maciej Zasada worked in the London branch of UNIT9, an international enterprise active in the area of film production, game development, virtual reality and digital technology. When he returned to Lodz, he decided to set up the first Polish branch of the company.

Maciej Zasada, founder of Le Polish Bureau, Tech Lead UNIT9

UNIT9 accepted the challenge and offered support for his idea. “Openness, trust and the desire to accomplish something together were unique, and thanks to this, Le Polish Bureau was established quickly and without problems,” recollects the founder of the Lodz branch and adds that the company’s development was also facilitated by all enthusiasts who wanted to work for UNIT9 and for whom such dreams became real after the company opened its branch in Poland. “They put their passion and hearts into the very first projects and the credit lists of these projects are filled with names ending with ’ski’,” says Zasada. Today, approx. 200 people work for UNIT9 around the world, including 30 employees of Polish branches. Apart from Lodz, the company has its teams in Warsaw and in Poznan.

process. In 2011, he decided to return to Lodz, but he did not want to leave the company. In October of the same year, together with UNIT9, Zasada established the first Polish branch of the company. Even though he received a lot of assistance, the beginnings of operation in Poland were replete with problems. “The first office space that we rented was a co-working space. The owner went bankrupt and we had to look for a new office overnight. For several days recruitment interviews were conducted in the corridor,” Maciej Zasada smiles. Why didn’t he borrow the company’s name for the Polish branch? Because he preferred to have his own. Le Polish Bureau was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek reference to the serious institutions, such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Wordplay

UNIT9 is currently the second production company in the world in the prestigious FWA ranking. It has won such distinctions as Cannes Lions and Emmy. Maciej Zasada also won a number of prizes, including the Emmy Award for a project entitled “Just a Reflector”, the “Page of the Year” Awwward for “Slavery

Maciej Zasada from Lodz started working in the London office of UNIT9 in 2010. First, he was an interactive developer and later a technical leader. He has always stayed close to technology and he has been actively participating in the project development

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Trail of Successes

NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

Jakub Jakubowski, creative technologist, UNIT9

The Lodz division of UNIT9 was responsible for the second Star Wars project “Lightsaber Escape” whose technical leader was Maciej Zasada. The project was also implemented for the needs of the campaign promoting the new part of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” Lodz was also the place of implementation of activities for the virtual reality project “Samsung Bedtime Stories”. This innovative project enables virtual meetings of parents and children who are in separate places at a given moment. The team of Le Polish Bureau also prepared the project “Absolut deadmau5”, i.e. a virtual journey through the recording studio of the Canadian DJ and producer of progressive and electro house music. The project was implemented for the Swedish brand Absolut. Thanks to the programmers from Le Polish Bureau, players from all over the world can also play the VR version of “Headbatt”. This is the first remake of the classic “Pong” game in a version attainable in virtual reality.

Open for Projects

“The interactive industry is a new and very dynamic part of business. For 20 years, UNIT9 has LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

been consistently implementing technological and experimental projects which are at the meeting point of digital, film, interactive installations and virtual reality. Our clients are international agencies and their clients. Accepting challenges which no one before has accepted, UNIT9 consistently sets the trends in the broadly-understood digital marketing,” says Jakub Brzózka. The global company and its Polish branch have a joint objective: to set new trends. “We have

Jakub Brzózka, marketing manager, UNIT9

always been trying to do this and this is our main assumption for the future. It is not enough to follow the others. You can be the best only by creating something new,” clarifies Jakub Brzózka and adds that Le Polish Bureau also wants to show the potential clients in Poland that courage pays off and that innovative and bold digital campaigns translate to actual success. Apart from commercial projects, the Polish branch of UNIT9 complies with the CRS principles. The company is actively involved in and supports projects which are aimed at attracting people’s attention to specific problems. An example is provided by a project entitled “Everything is not awesome”. This is a campaign in the aftermath of which Lego put an end to its long-term cooperation with Shell. This was the result of the drilling in the Arctic which the company has pursued. One of the recent projects in the area of the company’s CSR is “Childhood in reverse”. It shows the war in Syria from a child’s perspective. The film makes the viewers aware of the fact that the victims of every conflict are primarily children. ●

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Photo: Paweł Ławreszuk

Footprint” and the Golden Lion during the Cannes Lions festival for the “MINI Maps” project for BMW. His Lodz co-workers say that Maciej Zasada combines skills in the area of programming, creativity, team management and optimising the technological process. He is a specialist in advanced virtual reality aspects, HTML 5 programming language and software for mobile devices. “There are no secrets for him in the area of backend, cloud computing or computer networks,” says Jakub Brzózka, the manager.

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES by Jarosław

Zaradkiewicz

There is chemistry between us The name Makimo is associated with Japan. It is an acronym for the first syllables of the names of the founders and actually refers to Japan. Two of the founders of the company have long been fascinated by Japanese culture, including manga and anime. More than five years ago, Makimo was founded by three friends from the high school in Lodz. The name was derived from their names and surnames: MAteusz Papiernik, Krzysztof Rychlicki-KIcior, Michał MOroz. In time, they were joined by Justyna Papiernik.

Wealth of experiences and interests

The president of the management board is Krzysztof Rychlicki-Kicior who already in the high school wrote programming books, published by Helion. He is regarded as one of the few people who are able to find effective solutions to the problem, regardless of whether it resides in one of the applications, or whether the problem is of interpersonal nature in contact with the customer, or within the team. The board consists of Mateusz Papiernik (CTO) who says that programming gives him pleasure. He is able to combine the work on the project with its management, as well as team management and communication with customers. In contrast, Michał Moroz is CIO and board member. He is an innovator who is looking for new solutions to implement and optimize the company’s operations. In the elementary school he read a book about digital circuits, and then build the electronic clock and so began his adventure with computers. He likes science fiction since childhood – particularly hard SF. During breaks from work in the company he is the president of the organization Independent Association of Students of the Lodz Region, as well as the member of the worldwide organization bringing together the speakers – Toastmasters. The person with the least experience from the management board, Justyna Papiernik, is a trained art historian, who serves as CFO. She deals with finances of the company and conducts IT projects, in which she perfectly uses her intuition to communicate with customers and the sense of aesthetics to improve the products. Her hobbies include playing the violin. Privately, Justyna, Krzysztof and Mateusz are connoisseurs of wine – they run a blog entitled Winne-przygody.pl.

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According to the founders of the company, common trust helped them in the struggle against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune – chemistry, which unites them and binds the board.

Student idea

Already during studies, three friends came up with the idea of joining the forces. Each of them have successfully performed IT freelance operations. And everyone was struggling with the same problems, i.e. with reaching customers, access to larger projects that physically cannot be executed alone, as well as closed doors for natural persons who are unable to issue invoices. – Instead of taking up the challenges alone, we decided to join the forces and create the joint company that will proudly represent the skills at our disposal – Michał Moroz explains and adds that they were always guided by the mission of solving real problems of customers. Today they are called the software house for specific tasks. So far, they executed projects in many different industries and fields. From children’s games, by trading applications and e-commerce, to logistics systems and mobile applications using the extended reality.

Everything for customers

Although the founders of the company emphasize that the road to own business is not a bed of roses, they enjoy their own idea. “At the beginning we were attached to single, large customers. Then there was the concept of maintaining the liquidity of the company and building the team. These problems pose fascinating challenges that arise during the creation of each organization bringing together people around a common goal. Here helps the diversity. Although we knew each other for a long time, each of us had unique experiences and character, which could be translated into the company’s operations – from the charisma to the empathy needed to resolve conflicts,” says Michał Moroz. The company’s mission consisting in solving the customers’ problems still remains close to them. Their NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

From the left: Krzysztof Rychlicki-Kicior, Mateusz Papiernik, Michał Moroz

LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

between the urban space and people, enabling the users to find interesting events taking place in the area and record short video clips to encourage friends to take part in them. In turn, for companies it is an innovative tool to manage the interests in concerts, festivals and premises – using video technologies of processing and geolocation.

Prospectively responsible

The company’s management board is aware that success is based on an integrated, lively team that can rely on each other. “In this way we started and intend to continue to do this by developing each other and forming the team of highly skilled professionals,” Michał Moroz explains, and adds that Makimo intends to incorporate further advanced technologies into its products. It includes: robotics, Internet of Things and improvement of current solutions to a level in which they will become separate products or own contribution to the world of open-source. Products based on open sources are one of the elements of the implemented corporate social responsibility policy (CSR). In addition, the company makes sure that its solutions are possible to develop in the future, based on current quality standards. “Our software can thus be called ‘environmentally friendly’, because it requires the use of fewer raw materials to develop it, in comparison with solutions that are only suitable to be written again,” Michał Moroz explains. Makimo also builds and develops the application Wampiriada for the students’ action of blood donation. ●

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Photo: Paweł Ławreszuk

goal is to build a brand that will generate a profit to each customer by highly profiled and tailored applications. The greatest achievements are considered, among others: preparation and development of the platform Morphun.education for the company Morphun. The company manufactures building blocks and educational toys for children, and the games prepared by Makimo allow children to develop language skills and abstract reasoning. The platform supports traditional sets of building blocks, adding to them, for example: the lector reading individual words, and the company has a range of new ideas, which it intends to implement. Another customer of Makimo is X-Trade Brokers Dom Maklerski, for which customers it created several applications on the Forex markets, enabling the tracking of financial transactions, trading on the basis of multiple accounts, implementation of specific financial ratios, as well as automatic alerting and execution of transactions on behalf of the customer. Makimo also helps the company Nutricia, the leader on the market of food for infants and children in Poland, in reaching out to new audiences. Makimo refines every order as if it was meant to be a showcase and monument of passion, with which they work. “We had the opportunity to cooperate on a number of projects and each of them was completed in a little different place than we planned… in a much better place,” believes Daniel Rogiński, the e-commerce head at Nutricia. The company has also prepared a mobile application IceBreaker, which aims to break the ice

CREATIVE INDUSTRIES by Jacek

Brylski

Good Communication Adam Trojańczyk and Marek Wawrzyniak, long-term business partners and frequent participants of conferences, decided that the people who attend such events often need to establish easy contact with the speaker, yet this is not always possible. This is how the idea for the start-up called Tap to Speak was born.

Adam Trojańczyk

Marek Wawrzyniak

Tap to Speak is one among many of their joint start-up ideas. However, this one has accomplished most and it has completely taken over the professional and private life of the Lodz entrepreneurs.

to push such grand project forward. Our cooperation helped a lot,” Adam Trojańczyk clarifies. The co-initiator of the project emphasises that his software house Czarny Kod (Black Code) possesses extensive experience acquired whilst producing web apps and processing orders for companies from various sectors. Since the very beginning of its existence, the company has successfully completed over 300 projects, including such companies as Aviva, Rossmann, Atlas, as well as the cities of Lodz and Wroclaw. These experiences translated into efficient work on the new project. Helpful people also contributed to the start-up’s success by recommending the new product to their friends and sharing contacts. “Without it, we would not have been able to get so far,” Adam Trojańczyk admits.

Simple Tool

“Tap to Speak is a tool which allows the listeners to communicate in real time with the person giving a lecture or conducting a workshop. It transforms the phones in the room into microphones, enabling audio or text communication, as well as performance of surveys or polls,” explains Adam Trojańczyk and adds that Tap to Speak allows for greater involvement of the audience during a lecture and makes the presentations better than ever before. The programme is very easy to use. Users of smart phones relying on the Android or Windows systems do not even have to install an app – the entire communication takes place via the browser built in the phone. The exceptions are devices using the iOS system, where it is necessary to install an app in order to use the sound transmission option. According to the start-up founders, a team of devoted and professional people greatly contributed to the work on Tap to Speak. “Thanks to this, we were able

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Transatlantic Experience

The fact that one of the start-up founders, Marek Wawrzyniak, is permanently stationed in the United States was also important. He is well acquainted with the local market and possesses an extensive network of contacts. Thanks to this, the company has been able to reach to a very large group of recipients within a very short time, verify the project and make a few changes in the approach to it. NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

Direction: Development

“Our priority is to ensure that everything that we produce is on the top level. We are aware of the importance of mastering own skills and acquiring knowledge in the area of personal and professional development. We understand the volume of sacrifice related to it and we are aware of its price,” says Adam Trojańczyk and explains that this is the very reason why the company wants to make its products help people in a friendly and elegant manner – both people who are looking for knowledge and people who share their knowledge.

Tap to Speak in use LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

Use of the Tap to Speak programme during a conference

Such approach has already brought the first prizes. In January 2016, the company took part in the start-up competition of Business Link Polska in Lodz, i.e. the largest network of business accelerators in Europe. Tap to Speak won the prize for the best start-up. The next stage of work on the project and also a key accomplishment was the release of the first limited beta version in March. The following companies signed up for using the app: Microsoft, Disney, Toshiba, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Metlife, Wholefoods, US Bank, Harvard University. “We are still impressed with the number of opinions that we have collected and that have influenced the project development,” says Adam Trojańczyk. The company is continually busy with developing Tap to Speak. The tool that was used to transmit sound from the telephone directly to the audio system in the first version was replaced by a programme that greatly increases involvement and improves communication. The specially designed screen of the event displays the text comments sent by the participants, results of questionnaires conducted on an ongoing basis and a person talking to the phone at any given moment (currently the photo of such person and, in the near future, also video transmission). Thanks to this, it is easier for people in the room to initiate a conversion; they also have an opportunity to get to know one another, e.g. during a coffee break. To facilitate the speaker’s work, there is even a function that enables management of the event via gestures. Additionally, the event moderator may collect data from the participants and export such data to a file. The moderator decides whether anonymous logging in is enabled or whether only the necessary information about the audience is to be collected. Thanks to this, dispatch of conference materials or personalised offers is no longer a problem. ●

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Photo: Marek Wawrzyniak

Marek Wawrzyniak has been active in the interactive agency industry since 2008; earlier, he worked in IT and marketing for 17 years. Such experience allowed him for efficient management of work on Tap to Speak. His hitherto contribution to the industry results in the fact that he is frequently invited to events and seminars related to Internet marketing, SEO, social media and inbound marketing by such companies as Microsoft, Northwestern Mutual and many others. Adam Trojańczyk is the second partner. He is a graduate of the Lodz University of Technology and possesses 11 years of experience in the IT industry. Adam has worked for the largest interactive agencies in our country. He was the first official partner of the MeteorJS technology in Poland, on which the Tap to Speak technology is based. He was also the first entrepreneur in Lodz to introduce bitcoin payments. Trojańczyk is responsible for the visual and programming aspects of the project; he designed the first MVP and is continually working on the application development.

TOURISM by Jacek

Brylski

City of entertainment For a quarter of a century, lovers of games and comics meet in Lodz. This year’s 27th edition of the International Festival of Comics and Games, which took place in early October, attracted 20-thousand audience. The month was closed by VR Challenge – an event for fans of virtual reality organized by the Polish branch of Le Polish Bureau UNIT9.

Presentation of Łodzkie Centrum Komiksu i Narracji Interaktywnej

The International Festival of Comics and Games is the largest event of this kind in Poland and Central-Eastern Europe. It is primarily a meeting place for artists and lovers of sequential history of pictorial and electronic interactive media. The prestige of the festival goes beyond the Polish borders, attracting more and more foreign media to Lodz.

There were also Polish artists, including Grzegorz Rosiński, Marzena Sowa, Katarzyna Niemczyk, Berenika Kołomycka, Andrzej Nowakowski, Mateusz Skutnik, Sebastian Skrobola, Filip Myszkowski, Krzysztof Ostrowski, Robert Trojanowski, Piotr Nowacki, Łukasz Kowalczuk and many others.

Bargain hunters

Every year, the festival is accompanied by many regular events. These include, among others, exhibitions, workshops and portfolio reviews. Regular visitors of the event can visit the Star Wars area, inspired by Star Wars, or see inside Manga Corner – dedicated to the Japanese comic. In the comic area, you can meet drafters and scriptwriters, publishers and experts on the subject. In the area of games are organized tournaments on PC and console games, as well as tournaments, teaching and free playing board games, and meetings with authors and publishers of games and researchers of gaming themes. In the market area, visitors can buy both the latest and older publications related to games and comics from around the world, as well as gadgets and books. There are also exhibited producers of professional equipment for graphic designers. This year there were stands of more than 130 exhibitors, and an undoubted event was the premiere of the anthology of comics from the legendary magazine “Relax”, prepared by Egmont Polska. The festival is also accompanied by exhibitions of foreign comics and expositions, which show the works of Polish classics and young drafters.

Organized by EC1 Lodz – the City of Culture and the Association of Artists “Contur”, the festival is the opportunity to meet unique authors, to talk with them and to get autographs. This year, Atlas Arena was visited by over 20 foreign guests. Among them was Milo Manara – the world-famous Italian artist, specializing in spicy stories, known for cooperation with another creator of a comic, Hugo Pratt, or the filmmaker Federico Fellini. Manara is the author of the comic “Click” and, among others, the advertising campaign “Chanel no. 5”. Participants of this year’s festival could also meet Scott McCloud – the American cartoonist and comics theorist, author of “Zrozumieć komiks” (“Understanding of a comic”) – a fundamental lecture in the form of a picture story about what is a comic. This American is known in Poland from the graphic novel “Stwórca” (“Creator”). Among other foreign guests they were also those well-known to lovers of comics: Joan Cornella, Bedu, David B., Ulises Farinas and Simon Bisley, who is the author of the poster 27 of the International Festival of Comics and Games.

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Areas and exhibitions

NO. 4/2016 • LODZ CREATES INNOVATION

Ulises Farinas

Milo Manara

graphic designers working in the industry of video games, films and special effects was prepared the Promised Land Art Festival. Its participants could meet, among others, the creators of the game “The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt”. Among the competitions played during the festival are the finals of the ESL Polish Championships – one of the most important events on the Polish map of electronic sports. In the course of the competitions took place the rivalry in “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” and “League of Legends”. Here, the prize pool amounted to PLN 90 thousand.

Virtual challenge

The end of October in Lodz belonged to lovers of virtual reality. For the second time, the event UNIT9 VR Challenge 2016 took place. This is the first festival of virtual reality in Poland. As part of this year’s edition were organized conferences, trade fairs and competitions for the best installation. The event LODZ CREATES INNOVATION • NO. 4/2016

is entirely devoted to VR and addressed primarily to employees of marketing and interactive agencies, production companies and film circles, as well as all VR lovers. Its goal is to show numerous applications of virtual reality in marketing and entertainment industry. “The conference UNIT9 VR Challenge 2016 was attended by nearly 300 people, mostly representatives of marketing and interactive agencies, media houses and production companies. Participants, who came to the event from across Poland, had the opportunity to take part in more than 30 lectures and discussion panels, which were conducted by professionals from the VR industry, in the areas of marketing, film and technology. This year, in addition to the conference, the event was accompanied by further competition for the best installation of virtual reality and trade fairs, on which exhibited companies producing VR,” says Jakub Brzózka, marketing manager of UNIT9, organizer of the event, and adds that UNIT9 VR Challenge is an unique event, combining the world of business and

Grzegorz Rosiński

technology. It is addressed to all enthusiasts of VR, both creators and potential customers. The event was held in EC1 of Lodz, as part of the Innovation Days in Lodz. Participants of VR Challenge had the opportunity to participate in presentations, discussion panels, case studies, live shows and competition for the best installation. The offer was complemented by the market area and networking. Organizers invited to cooperation the experts from around the world: producers, directors, employees of marketing agencies and developers. Presentations were conducted, among others, by Anrick Bregman and Henry Cowling from the London branch of UNIT9, the company Senfino responsible for promoting Microsoft HoloLens, Kristoffer Rus responsible for the production of the first series entitled 360 “Para nie do pary” (“Spoons”), Sebastian Umiński from the agency 3M, Rafał Broniarek from Ogilvy & Mather, Piotr Baczyński from Immersion and Maciej Zasada from Le Polish Bureau, the Polish branch of UNIT9. ●

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Photo: The International Festival of Comics and Games

Festival competitions

An integral part of the festival is the international competition for the shortest comic form. This is the biggest Polish competition for comic creators. Artists send to Lodz the works on any topic, whose volume does not exceed eight pages. Comics are shown at the exhibition, and some go to the festival directory. The best work is awarded by the jury with the Grand Prix statuette. It also grants three consecutive awards and three distinctions. This year, the jury granted the Grand Prix award to Bartosz Sztybor (screenplay) and to Bartek Glaza (graphic designer) for the work entitled “Coś pękło” (“Something cracked”). The winners received PLN 7 thousand, and the total prize pool amounted to PLN 20 thousand. The festival was accompanied by an extremely attractive project. In Atlas Arena took place Komiks Game Jam 3 (Comic Game Jam 3) – the competition to create games for only 48 hours. The best finished proposal was “Gnidaol” (or “loading” spelled backwards) by the team Insecure Shark. For professional

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