Computer engineering graduate awarded prestigious DCU Chancellor’s Medal
Dublin City University’s prestigious Chancellor’s Medal was awarded earlier today to Bartłomiej Baran in recognition of his extraordinary academic achievements and engagement in student life during his studies at DCU.
The award was presented at a graduation ceremony earlier today, at which Bartłomiej graduated with a first-class honours degree in Electronic and Computer Engineering with a major in Systems and Devices.
Bartek distinguished himself academically during his time at DCU, receiving the top mark in his class group during each of his four years of study and his extraordinary academic performance led to a number of awards, specifically a DCU Academic Scholarship in 2018 and Intel Academic Scholarships in 2019 and 2020.
In a citation delivered at the ceremony, Jennifer Bruton, Executive Dean, DCU Faculty of Computing and Engineering, said:
“All of these achievements on their own are exceptional but when looked at in the context of the extracurricular activities undertaken by Bartek, it is hard to comprehend how he managed to maintain such an incredibly high level of academic performance.”
Bartek’s extracurricular activities generally revolved around promoting engineering and encouraging his fellow students to participate in noteworthy engineering projects, with many extending beyond DCU and into the community.
“For example, he collaborated with a Trinity College student to create an app called Parella that met a need they spotted in relation to the relaxation of COVID restrictions. Parella enables restaurants to make their food menu accessible on any mobile device, eliminating the need for handling shared menus and thus improving customer safety. This app is currently deployed in a number of restaurants in Ireland and Spain.”
Bartek’s most notable extracurricular endeavour related to his involvement in the Éirloop team. As co-founder and team lead, Bartek was heavily involved in student recruitment, helping to grow the membership to over 50 students from seven universities in the first year.
“This multidisciplinary team of Irish university students was originally created to compete in the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition in Hawthorne, California during the summer of 2018. With Bartek as team lead, the Éirloop team raised a staggering €60,000 in cash and secured another estimated €65,000 in cash equivalents and they ultimately went on to finish in a very impressive 5th place in the face of very tough competition from over 700 initial entrants. In addition to finishing 5th, they were also given one of only three special awards for innovation.”
“It is clear from his endeavours that Bartek is drawn to team projects that have some kind of societal benefit. Whether it’s improving the wellbeing of patients, helping visually impaired people safely navigate their way, making restaurants safer as we reopen from lockdown or investigating next generation transportation systems, Bartek has the skills required to work individually or through a team he has assembled, to successfully meet any challenge that is put to him, while at the same time selflessly helping those he works with to achieve their full potential.”