Karolina Ossuch and Oliwia Borkowska from our Faculty succeeded in the ABi Business Academy 2024 competition organized by the Faculty of Management. Our students won with their „HerbDoktor" project. Congratulations!

As part of the ABi, groups of several students from all faculties can submit their ideas for developing business initiatives. Then, under the watchful eye of the leaders, they improve their start-up idea. The last step is to present the project during the final gala.

The projects are assessed by a jury composed of the representatives of the Advisory Board of the Management Faculty, i.e. practitioners from companies such as Capgemini, Credit Suisse, Volvo, Santander, EY, QAD, the Polish-American School of Business, the Academic Business Incubator and the faculty authorities.

Presentations in the competition last only 10 minutes, and then each team is caught in the crossfire of questions from entrepreneurs who are trying to assess the success chances of the project on the market.

This year's edition of the competition was won by our students – Karolina Ossuch and Oliwia Borkowska. They presented the „HerbDoktor" project, i.e. a device for the independent preparation of home medicines, ointments and health infusions.

– Taking part in the competition was a spontaneous idea. I have experience in project management and I work in a clinic, and Oliwka is interested in sports and health. We both study Systems Engineering and decided to try something interesting together. It took us some time to come up with the right idea. After all, it had to be a plan for an innovative tech business! Creating an outline of our idea was not difficult – the real fun began only later – says Karolina Ossuch.

According to their assumptions, HerbDoktor would be provided with a library of ingredients and recipes, which would help manufacture various products depending on the user's needs. It would measure, mix and heat the ingredients. It would also be connected to an application in which each registered user would be assigned a doctor who would verify the ingredients and approve more advanced medicines, etc.

The application would also include information on dosage, interactions with other drugs and potential side effects. According to the authors of the project, such an option would ensure safety and effectiveness.

The students also see potential for developing an application that could include a calendar reminding the user to take the medication regularly, monitoring progress and generating reports to which an assigned doctor would have access.

The authors of the project also point out that more advanced ingredients (needed for complex products) would be available in pharmacies, but the device would also allow mixing natural ingredients such as ginger, lemon, peppermint, lavender, e.g. a home-made tea for colds.

According to the winners, there is no such device on the market yet – most similar solutions are not automated and do not offer all the above-mentioned functions at once. Additionally, HerbDoktor would also be adapted to the needs of people with disabilities – e.g. by offering a voice option for visually impaired people.

– When we started delving into the secrets of setting up our business and producing the device, it turned out that we faced many requirements and it was a very complex process. At one point, we would sit day and night to perfect our design. We believed in our idea, but the competition was really high. When we received information about the first place, we were very surprised. We are extremely proud that we managed to complete our project and were honoured in such a great competition. We know that the road to actually commercialise our product is still long, but we hope that we will learn a lot at the Tech Camp which is part of the prize! – adds the student.

In the competition, a distinction was also awarded to the innovative confectionery shop „CookieLand" – an idea by Karina Skowrońska, Natalia Sienkiewicz and Agata Rzętała, students from the Faculty of Management, and the two remaining places were taken by: Karol Bryła and Hanna Yarmak for the Boost&Go project and Michał Pawłowski for the Fizyczni project.

The prizes in the competition included tickets to Deep Tech Camp, as well as gadgets and hours of consultation with business mentors.

Projects at ABi were assessed by: Łukasz Jaworski (LTB), Mariusz Koczwara (ADP Polska) and Alina Musiał (Volvo).