General Information about the Competition
Organizing entity: Institute for Innovation and Responsible Development
Duration of the task: June 1, 2025 - October 20, 2025
Competition Finale: November 4th, 2025
Target group: Undergraduate, graduate and PhD students currently studying at the university in any country.
COMPETITION PROGRESS:
Stage 1: REGISTRATION
Dates: May 1st - July 31, 2025
Interdisciplinary teams or individual students register their interest in participating in "The Circular
Shift: Business Reinvented" competition. Individual students will be connected to form teams.
Stage 2: EDUCATION
Dates: June, 2025
Teams will have the opportunity to participate in an online lecture on the concept of the circular
economy, circular business models, and practical examples of circular transformation. The session
will also provide an opportunity to ask organizational questions.
Stage 3. PREPARATION OF COMPETITION PRESENTATION
Dates: October 10, 2025
Participating teams must submit their competition presentation by October 10, 2025, in accordance
with the requirements described in the "Competition Presentation" section.
Stage 4. SELECTION OF FINALIST TEAMS
Date: October 20, 2025
The jury will select five teams to be invited to the competition final. At this stage, only minor modifications to the competition presentation are allowed, including clarification of the presented idea and visual changes.
Stage 5: COMPETITION FINAL
Date: November 4th, 2025
The final and a hybrid conference for students will be held on November 4, 2025, with invited
international guests, including representatives from embassies, the European Commission, and the
European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, as part of Circular Week. The five previously
selected finalist teams will participate. The final will begin with introductory lectures by circular
economy experts. Each team will then present their project to the jury and audience. The jury will
select the top three teams, including the grand prize winner.
Ten teams who will win in the Jury's selection will be invited to the Finale. The Finale will begin with introductory lectures by Circular Economy experts. Each team will then present their contest task to the Jury and the audience.
The Jury, composed of representatives from collaborating universities, will select the finalists.
AWARDS
Finalists will receive cash prizes in the amount of:
First Prize: 5000 PLN
Second Place: 3000 PLN
Third Place: 2000 PLN
The final project will also have the opportunity to be presented on the main stage during the key conference of Circular Week 2025 - the European Sustainability Congress, which will take place the next day (November 5th, 2025).
The event will be broadcast online and can be watched in real time at any of the collaborating universities in one of the designated rooms/auditoriums.
COMPETITION TASK
The Circular Shift: Business Reinvented
OBJECTIVE OF THE COMPETITION TASK: Develop a Circular Transformation Strategy for a Selected Corporation
PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:
Although steps have been taken for many years to move away from the wasteful "take – make – dispose" model, these changes are occurring far too slowly to meet the challenges facing our planet. One of the main obstacles to more responsible consumption and production is the reluctance of multinational corporations to change their business practices. As a result, they help maintain the current status quo among millions of consumers worldwide.
An alternative to the current business model is the circular economy. This approach aims to maximize economic value and retain the value of goods within the limits set by our planet’s resources. The circular economy closes economic loops throughout the entire product lifecycle. Products can be reused, repaired, repurposed, manufactured from recycled materials, and produced using renewable energy, among other possibilities. All these options aim to increase resource productivity, benefiting not only the environment and society but also the competitiveness of businesses.
More efficient resource use by the world’s largest corporations can transform entire industries. Implementing a so-called circular transformation—closing economic loops within a company’s operations and its broader business ecosystem—can have far-reaching effects. The scale of action by major market players can significantly expand the market for circular products and services, encouraging others to follow suit and ultimately leading to a closed-loop model across the entire economy.
Such initiatives start with simple ideas supported by thorough analysis. This is the essence of the student competition to which you are invited. We ask you to describe an innovative change in a product, service, value chain, business model, etc., that could significantly contribute to closing economic loops in the operations of a selected multinational corporation (without naming it) or an imaginary corporation based on existing global entities. This change should promote more sustainable resource management within the chosen company and potentially its stakeholders. We are looking for innovations that will increase resource productivity, enhance the company’s competitiveness, and simultaneously reduce negative externalities.
TASK FORMAT:
The main task is to prepare a presentation of the solution according to the following outline. The subchapters are to guide the suggested content and may be used at the team's discretion.
1. Introduction
1.1. Company’s Description
1.2. General Context
1.3. Analysis of the Current Market Situation
2. Our Approach
2.1. Description of the Proposed Innovation
2.2. Differences Compared to the Company’s Current Operations
3. Results
3.1. Economic Effects
3.2. Environmental Effects
3.3. Social Effects
4. Options for Implementation
4.1. Proposed Method or Implementation Plan
4.2. Resource Flow Diagram
4.3. Financial Flow Diagram
4.4. Marketing plan
5. Barriers and Opportunities
5.1. Identification of Bottlenecks
5.2. Technologies Facilitating Implementation
5.3. Potential Legislative Challenges
6. Summary and Next Steps
The presentation should not exceed 25 slides. The expected presentation time is 15 minutes. Please send the PDF file to: g.pulawska@innowo.org by October 10, 2025.
Evaluation Criteria and Jury Composition
Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
1. Implementability – Feasibility of implementing the solution (25 points)
2. Comprehensiveness – The description should consider the characteristics of companies in
selected industries, real operating conditions, and proven technologies (25 points)
3. Innovation – Proposed solutions should not directly replicate existing symbiotic applications
but may significantly develop them (20 points)
4. Effectiveness – The solution should deliver results that can convincingly encourage
companies to implement them (30 points)
The five best teams will be selected based on the jury’s scores in these four categories. The jury, consisting of a representative from INNOWO and the co-organizing universities, will independently evaluate each presentation. After summing the scores, the finalist teams will be selected.
Final presentations will be evaluated according to the same principles. The extended jury will include, in addition to the President of INNOWO and university representatives, delegates from embassies, the European Commission, the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, and other circular economy experts.
ORGANIZER
PARTNERS
