Innovation Camp 2026 – Meet the Winners of the 5th Edition!
Entrepreneurship Starts Before Graduation – the Innovation Camp by Starter Final
On Friday, 10 July, Starter Gdańsk hosted the final gala of the 5th edition of Innovation Camp by Starter 2026 – a youth entrepreneurship camp where secondary school students spent five days working on real-life challenges prepared by companies and institutions. The final gave participants an opportunity to present their solutions to the jury, camp partners, experts and the audience.
Teenagers Design Solutions for Businesses and the City
The winner of this year’s edition was the Flighters team, which worked on a challenge set by Boeing. The jury recognised their idea for a plug-in and platform designed to improve communication between teams working across different time zones.
In addition to the main prize, awards were presented in the following categories:
- Audience Award – the Flarecon team
- Category: “That’s Exactly What We Meant” – the Flarecon team
- Category: “A Plan Within Reach” – the Ostsee team;
- Category: “The Power of Innovation” – the Gensavers team;
- Category: “The Power of Creativity” – the Legacy team;
- Category: “Dream Team” – the Local Steps team.
In a sense, every participant was a winner, as combining creative work and fun with business knowledge can mark the beginning of a real entrepreneurial journey.
Gdańsk Supports Young Innovators
The project is co-financed by the City of Gdańsk. Each year, local companies contribute real business challenges. Experts from these companies provide practical support to participants and evaluate the solutions developed during the final.
In this year’s edition, participants worked on six challenges prepared by the camp partners:
Partner: Energa-Operator – How can the process of connecting to the power grid be simplified and accelerated? – the Flarecon team.
Alior Bank – How can young people be supported in managing their money more wisely on a day-to-day basis? – the Gen$avers team.
Boeing – How can collaboration between teams working across different time zones be improved? – the Flighters team.
Gdańsk Tourism Organisation – How can tourists be encouraged to explore Gdańsk without using a car? – the Local Steps team.
Hapag-Lloyd – How can business customers be encouraged to choose sustainable transport? – the Ostsee team.
Grupa Przemysłowa Baltic – Jak połączyć dziedzictwo Stoczni Gdańskiej z wizerunkiem nowoczesnego lidera przemysłu? – zespół Legacy.
Entrepreneurship starts with action
Innovation Camp by Starter demonstrates that entrepreneurship can be learned from a young age – through action, collaboration and solving real-world problems. Camp participants learn about the innovation design process, analyse users’ needs, test ideas, develop teamwork skills and present their solutions to experts. Over the course of five days, they learn from experts and mentors and gain first-hand insight into how companies operate during study visits.
The final gala marks the culmination of five days of intensive work and gives young people the opportunity to demonstrate how their fresh perspective can support businesses, the city and the local community.
“Innovation Camp by Starter is much more than a summer educational project for us. It is a space where young people develop a sense of agency, courage and responsibility for their ideas. They work on real challenges faced by companies and institutions, so from the outset they can see that their creativity has practical value. We want to show young people that entrepreneurship does not begin with starting a company, but with curiosity, collaboration and a willingness to look for solutions where others see problems,” says Magdalena Wójtowicz, President of the Gdańsk Entrepreneurship Foundation Starter.
