Budimex has established cooperation with the winners of the European Space Agency competition

The largest Polish construction company focuses on innovation and increases its potential in the use of modern technologies. By cooperating with young scientists and start-ups, Budimex supports the development of the most innovative projects. In May, the company signed a cooperation agreement with OSATeam  (OSA – Falling Atmospheric Satellite) – students of a Krakow high school, who designed and constructed a mini-satellite receiving the first prize of the European Space Agency. In the European CanSat 2021/2022 Competition, talented 18-year-olds beat over 1,000 teams from all over Europe.

A career in construction begins at university

Budimex has always actively supported young people. For nearly 20 years, it has been providing places on paid internships for approx. 250 students from all over Polish. One of Budimex’s latest proposals is the “Study and Build Practice” programme addressed to students in their final years of studies. The company encourages full-time students to switch to part-time and at the same time take up employment at Budimex SA – if someone decides to make such a change, the company will pay their tuition fees until the student completes their diploma. The programme is intended to encourage young people to build their career path already at the stage of their studies, as well as to supplement their academic knowledge with that based on the experience gained in their professional work.

The Budimex Startup Challenge competition, addressed to innovative enterprises and young technology companies offering products, services and solutions in the field of energy, renewable energy sources and green technologies in construction, also turned out to be a great success. In addition to the financial prizes, the winners established capital cooperation with the leader of the Polish construction industry. This time, Budimex decided to join forces with a group of Krakow high school students who can already boast of an exceptional achievement.

“We believe that we will discover potential among young and talented high school and technical school students. Therefore, we are pleased to announce that we have established cooperation with the winners of the most important competition of the European Space Agency. The winners were students of a Krakow high school, who formed the OSATeam (OSA – Falling Atmospheric Satellite) team. The young scientists were tasked with designing and building a fully operational prototype of a mini-satellite that could help collect information on gas and pollutant concentrations at different altitudes and control climate change, as well as warn of dangerous weather events. The cooperation will include support for ongoing research and development projects as part of a dedicated internship programme at the Budimex Innovation Office and the implementation of our own projects and prototypes, which we will support financially,” says Przemysław Kuśmierczyk, Director of the Innovation Office at Budimex S.A.

Atmospheric microsatellite

OSATeam is made up of Aleksy Grymek, Stanisław Michalik, Miłosz Słowiński and Piotr Wyżliński, students of the VIII Private Academic High School in Krakow. The team, with the support of scientific supervisor Antoni Żywczak, designed and built a prototype of a mini-satellite, and then carried out scientific research with it. The Falling Atmospheric Satellite uses a proprietary technique of autonomous atmospheric sampling using an air pump, a rotating needle and a self-sealing container carousel. This solution significantly improves and reduces the cost of atmospheric sampling, eliminating the need for heavy probes equipped with expensive testing equipment.  Over a year of the team’s work resulted in winning the largest and most important competition organized by the European Space Agency. The participants of the European CanSat 2021/2022 Competition were tasked with designing and building a satellite that would measure temperature and pressure during a rocket drop. The Polish team has additionally equipped its CanSat with air sampling functions at different atmospheric altitudes, which gives a wide field for the application of OSY in practice.

According to the authors of the project, the device can ultimately be used for research in every layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, and thus help counteract harmful climate change by providing relevant research for analysis. It is worth noting that the winners of the competition are not resting on their laurels, and the project is constantly being developed and in the future it can be used to study the atmosphere of other planets as well, replacing heavy and expensive research satellites. The team’s progress can be followed on OSATeam’s social media. The achievements of the young scientists were also reported by the national media.

Why Budimex

“I learned about the achievements of the creators of the Falling Atmospheric Satellite by accident from the radio while driving a car. At Budimex, we want to support Polish science, especially active and ambitious people who have passion and talent. This prompted me to come up with the initiative to cooperate with OSATeam, in which I see great potential,” said Artur Popko, President of Budimex.

Budimex, the largest general contractor in Poland, present in all segments of the construction industry, and recently increasing its involvement also in the renewable energy sources and waste management industries, offered OSATeam a 2-month internship and a one-year sponsorship agreement.

“We have been looking for a summer internship for a long time to gain professional experience. It was great that the President of Budimex became interested in our project. We received an offer of cooperation. At first, we were not entirely convinced, because a construction company is not associated with innovative solutions at first glance. However, we found out that Budimex’s Innovation Office deals with the implementation of modern technologies. After getting acquainted with its activities, it seems to us that it is a place where you can learn not only conceptual work on technical projects and coming up with solutions, but also work in a larger team. We cannot wait to develop a solution that we will develop together with Budimex over the coming weeks,” say OSATeam members.

Concepts and prototypes for Budimex

With the support of Budimex’s Innovation Office, team members will create concepts and prototypes of innovative solutions, as well as identify the market for new technologies. As part of the internship, a business case and concepts of solutions that will receive financial support from the company will be developed. Thus, young scientists will gain a powerful partner for their innovative projects, and Budimex will be able to use their knowledge and experience, for example, when looking for solutions to monitor and reduce CO2, which is in line with the company’s ESG strategy, assuming sustainable development in modern construction.

“In addition to financial support, it is important to have an active formula of cooperation that will help OSATeam use its potential. Such a model is in line with our values, i.e. working close to people, not in the privacy of offices. We are open to an unconventional approach and believe in the knowledge and talent of young people. Therefore, as the president of Budimex, I will create space for creative activities that will support the development of our company. Therefore, I invite you to apply for the upcoming second edition of the Budimex Startup Challenge, but I also encourage you to cooperate in creating all innovative solutions,” concluded Artur Popko.