Martyna Łuszczek

Martyna’s story is one of breaking down barriers. Originally from a small village in Poland, her childhood on her family’s farm taught her the values of hard work and perseverance. Although educational and technological resources were limited, from an early age her relentless curiosity drove her to find out new things and visualize new possibilities.  

Today, Martyna is one of the creators of Aquacollector – a portable device designed to collect and utilise microplastics from bodies of water. Microplastics are very small particles of various types of synthetics, invisible to the naked eye, and created by the decomposition of trash in water – currently estimated at about 20 tons per minute. Amongst other things, they cause eutrophication (or "rotting") of waters, affecting the health of organisms that mistakenly consume them as food. They also enter the human body at a rate of about seven grams per week.  

The issue of water pollution by synthetic materials is complex, and many solutions available on the market were unprofitable, difficult to scale, and potentially polluting themselves. Martyna worked on the Aquacollector device and conducted tests with her three-person team for nearly two years. This required acquiring new skills—from welding to programming and construction. During this time, the team reached a breakthrough moment and created an efficiently functioning prototype, after which the project attracted the interest of many foreign entrepreneurs and institutions. 

At just 19 years old, Martyna already has a long list of achievements to her name. She has appeared in McKinsey & Company’s "25 under 25" list (the 25 most influential young people under the age of 25), and was also included in the “Top 100 Women in AI” list by the Perspektywy Foundation. Among her competition wins are the “Young Polish Woman” competition from the Queen Kazimiera Foundation (in the “Inventions, Innovations and New Technologies” category), and the “ProtoLab Academy” competition for technological innovations, organised by the Podkarpackie Innovation Center. Aquacollector led to her becoming the youngest speaker at the prestigious EXPO World Economic Conference in Dubai, as well as the youngest Assistant Minister of Digitization in Poland's history at the age of nineteen. 

If Martyna wins the Global Student Prize, she will invest part of the funds into her own development so that she can contribute more to the scientific/technological community and further refine her own inventions. Another portion of the award will be allocated to support a research project focusing on sustainable development and digital technologies. Additionally, she plans to support local initiatives aimed at helping young people from less privileged backgrounds to access education and fully realise their potential. Finally, some of the funds would be used to create a new technological solution to support mental health among students worldwide and build global awareness about this important aspect of academic life.