Young people from Poland taking part in the creativity contest of the Odyssey of the Mind 2016 showed that they are almost unequalled on a global scale. During the 37th World Finals in the USA, Polish teams won as many as 11 highest places (altogether 9 medals), including four 1st places (two of them were achieved by Wroclaw teams), three 2nd places, two 3rd places and two special awards for outstanding creativity. This year’s result is a record achievement in the 25-year-long history of the Odyssey project in Poland..
Thousands of young people from many countries...
...arrived to participate in the creative problem solving contest ‘The Odyssey of the Mind’ in the campus of Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. As many as 830 groups of young people came from China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Canada, Korea, Mexico, Moldova, Germany, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, Togo, Great Britain, USA and, obviously, Poland. Our country was represented by 28 teams consisting of school pupils and students (around 300 persons) who took part in 17 different categories. For three days, participants presented their ideas to the jury and the audience, integrated and enjoyed additional attractions prepared by the organisers.
The young people had to demonstrate unconventional thinking, joint co-operation, effective use of resources, including knowledge of various fields, and complex problem solving skills. The Odysseuses from Poland showed that they are almost beyond competition in this area, achieving a record result in the entire history of the program in Poland.
The world championship titles were won by the following teams in their respective categories:
- Pr1/Gr1: OMEGA Schools from Katowice
- Pr1/Gr2: Creative Psychoeducation Centre DAMB from Gdańsk
- Pr5/Gr1: Primary School no. 8 in Wroclaw
- Pr5/Gr4: Graduates of the General Secondary School no. 10 from Wroclaw
Silver medals were won by Odysseuses representing:
- Pr3/Gr2: Creative Laboratory PRYZMAT from Gdańsk
- Pr3/Gr2: STO Charter Schools from Łódź
- Pr4/Gr4: Social Initiative Foundation ŁAJBA from Gdynia
The bronze medal and the 3rd place were won by teams from:
- Pr2/Gr2: Creative Laboratory PRYZMAT from Gdańsk
- Pr3/Gr3: General Secondary School no. 3 from Gdynia
The Ranatra Fusca Award for outstanding creativity (being the equivalent of the championship and the highest distinction in the contest) was granted to the team of the Creative Psychoeducation Centre DAMB from Gdańsk for its innovative vehicle and individually to Anna Pawlicha from the Middle School no. 4 from Gdynia for having created a unique balsa wood structure.
Apart from that, nine other groups made it to the Top 10 in their respective categories. Detailed results are available here (when you enter PD in the Assoc field, the results of all Polish teams will be displayed).
‘Further achievements of Polish teams are the best proof that a Pole can think creatively, make effective use of resources, co-operate, utilise team energy and continuously look for innovations and improvements. The level of our teams is higher every year, and huge progress can be seen in the field of technical and engineering tasks,’ comments Wojtek Radziwiłłowicz, the honorary President of Odyssey of the Mind Polska, upon results of the Polish teams in the USA. ’Words of appreciation should go to persons without whom such fantastic development of the kids would not be possible. Thanks to teachers with passion and dedicated team supervisors, young participants can develop their wings,’ adds Radziwiłowicz.
The Polish edition of the contest is held under the patronage of the Minister of National Education, and one of the partners of the World Finals of Odysseys of the Mind is NASA.
