From among the winners of the 15th edition of the Rector’s Distinctions, the academic community selected individuals who were awarded the title of Student of the Year, as well as Doctoral Student of the Year 2023. Voting took place via the USOS system – each person could cast one vote.
The Student of the Year were ex aequo Daria Socha and Tomasz Janocha, while the title of Doctoral Student of the Year 2023 went to Bartosz Baran.
This year’s honourees included 6 students of the Open University at the University of Silesia (Children’s University of Silesia and the University of the Third Age), as well as 23 students and 9 doctoral students. The award ceremony took place on 19 June 2023 at the Rectorate of the University of Silesia in Katowice.
Daria Socha and Tomasz Janocha – Students of the Year 2023. Gala of the 15th edition of Rector’s Distinctions. Photo by Julia Agnieszka Szymala
Daria Socha – Student of the Year 2023
Law student at the College of Individual Interdisciplinary Studies of the University of Silesia. She received Rector’s Distinction in the 15th edition of the competition for initiating and developing student life, scientific achievements and social activity. As she herself wrote – “The university is a community. A community that needs to be developed, nurtured and sustained”. She started her studies during the time of remote classes – the COVID-19 pandemic. She knew that returning to normality would not be easy, especially since some of the students who were active at the University managed to finish their studies without passing the torch to new people. This probably turned out to be a driving force for her actions for the benefit of students. She joined the ranks of the Independent Students’ Association, led the organisation of the Student Nobel Prize, and then was elected Vice-President of the Independent Students’ Association at the University of Silesia. Together with a team of students from the College of Individual Interdisciplinary Studies, she took up the challenge by creating her own social micro-project as part of the Civic Initiatives Fund ‘Trail of Young Diplomats’. One of her goals was to support students in setting their professional path and encouraging them to pursue a career in international organisations, including the European Union. Currently, she continues this mission, acting as the career ambassador of the European Union at the University of Silesia. In addition to activities for the benefit of student life, she pursues her scientific interests through writing scientific articles, participation in research projects and scientific conferences. Her main areas of interest are the Silesian uprisings and regionalism.
Tomasz Janocha – Student of the Year 2023
He received Rector’s Distinction in the 15th edition of the competition for initiating and developing student life as a law student at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Silesia. He is a member of the student authorities and collegial bodies of the University, a member of the Student Council of the Students’ Parliament of the Republic of Poland and the Chair of the Polish Universities Forum, where he represents the interests of students. Chair of the Student Government of the University of Silesia, one of the main organisers of “Juwenalia Śląskie 2022” and “Juwenalia Śląskie 2023” student festivals. During his years of activity in the Student Government – initially as the Chair of the Faculty Council of the Student Government at the Faculty of Law and Administration, and then as the Chair of the Student Government of the University of Silesia – he organised many initiatives for students of the University, e.g. Adaptation Week 2022, during which newly admitted students could take part in an outdoor game, an evening of board games, training on student rights and obligations, and an outdoor event on the promenade of the University of Silesia; Student’s Ball 2022; first aid training for students; Student Laurel Award 2021 – an annual competition during which students of the University of Silesia thank people and institutions by awarding prizes in the ‘Students’ Friend’ or ‘Friendly Dean’s Office’ categories; Silesian Legal Games 2021 – a competition for students of the Faculty of Law and Administration, in which they solve cases in various fields of law and compete for internships in prestigious law firms; Day with the District Chamber of Legal Advisers in Katowice 2021.
Bartosz Baran – Doctoral Student of the Year 2023. Gala of the 15th edition of Rector’s Distinctions. Photo by Julia Agnieszka Szymala
Bartosz Baran – Doctoral Student of the Year 2023
He received Rector’s Distinction in the 15th edition of the competition for scientific achievements and popular science activities as a doctoral student in the discipline of biological sciences at the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Silesia. His scientific achievements include authorship and co-authorship of numerous, frequently cited publications in recognised scientific journals, in particular co-authorship of the article ‘Motivational trade-offs and modulation of nociception in bumblebees’ published in the prestigious periodical ‘Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences’. He is distinguished by obtaining the prestigious Diamond Grant, thanks to which he carried out in the years 2016-2022 his own, individual project ‘Behavioral and neurohistological characteristics of mutants of two lines of the house cricket (Acheta domesticus) with deficits in visual pigments’. He is also a co-author of a patent application. In addition, he was actively involved in activities communicating science, being a long-term co-organiser and organiser of the annual celebration of the World Brain Week in Katowice. In 2016, he received the Rector’s Distinction as a student.
The profiles of all those awarded in the 15th edition are available on the website: us.edu.pl/student.
Students and doctoral student of the year 2023. Gala of the 15th edition of Rector’s Distinctions. Photo by Julia Agnieszka Szymala