The 16th edition of the competition of the President of the UOKiK for the best master’s thesis in the field of competition protection and the 14th edition in the field of consumer protection are now underway.

Subject matter

• competition protection – anti-competitive practices, concentration control, state aid, counteracting unfair use of contractual advantage in trade in agricultural and food products
• consumer protection – practices violating collective consumer interests, prohibited provisions of standard contracts, unfair market practices

Prizes

• The authors of the three best theses in each thematic area will receive PLN 7,000, PLN 5,000 and PLN 3,000, respectively.
• We offer the winners paid graduate internships at the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.
• The best theses are published in the UOKiK library – in printed or electronic form.

Additionally, the participants can receive an award from the Polish Competition Law Association – PLN 5,000 in each thematic area.

Criteria

You can submit a thesis written in Polish or English to the competition if it was defended between 15 October 2023 and 15 October 2024, and received a grade of at least “very good”.

The competition jury takes into account in particular the content-related quality of the thesis, its innovative and creative nature, and the editorial level.

Formalities

You must submit:

1. completed form
2. copy of the thesis 
3. one-page summary
4. certificate issued by university authorities, confirming the date of the thesis defence and its topic

Entries can be submitted via e-mail, electronic inbox, or postal operator – details in the regulations.

Date

The deadline for submitting theses is 29 November 2024 – submissions are accepted based on the date of receipt.

Partner

Patron

The 4th edition of the competition of the President of the UOKIK for the best doctoral thesis in the field of competition protection and the 4th edition in the field of consumer protection are now underway.

Subject matter

• competition protection – anti-competitive practices, concentration control, state aid, counteracting unfair use of contractual advantage in trade in agricultural and food products
• consumer protection – practices violating collective consumer interests, prohibited provisions of standard contracts, unfair market practices

Prizes

• The authors of the three best theses in each thematic area will receive PLN 10,000, PLN 7,000 and PLN 5,000, respectively.
• Additionally, the best theses are published in the UOKiK library.

Criteria

You can submit a dissertation written in Polish or English to the competition if it was defended between 15 October 2021 and 15 October 2024.

The competition jury takes into account in particular the content-related quality of the thesis, its innovative and creative nature, and the editorial level.

Formalities

You must submit:

1. completed form
2. copy of the thesis 
3. one-page summary
4. certificate issued by university authorities, confirming the date of the thesis defence and its topic
5. two reviews of the dissertation

Entries can be submitted via e-mail, electronic inbox, or postal operator – details in the regulations.

Date

The deadline for submitting theses is 29 November 2024 – submissions are accepted based on the date of receipt.

Consumer protection

• Regulations of the competition for the best master’s thesis in the field of consumer protection and the competition for the best doctoral thesis in the field of consumer protection
• Entry form for the competition for the best master’s thesis and the best doctoral dissertation in the field of consumer protection

Competition protection

• Regulations of the competition for the best master’s thesis in the field of competition protection and the competition for the best doctoral thesis in the field of competition protection
• Entry form for the competition for the best master’s thesis and the best doctoral dissertation in the field of competition protection

The Competition Jury for the best master’s and doctoral thesis devoted to competition protection:

• Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Chairman
• Mateusz Błachucki, PhD with habilitation [Polish: dr hab.], Department of Concentration Control at the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Department of Administrative Law at the Institute of Legal Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences
• Łukasz Grzybowski, PhD with habilitation [Polish: dr hab.], Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw
• Małgorzata Krasnodębska-Tomkiel, PhD, Institute of Legal Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Hansberry Tomkiel law firm
• Daniel Mańkowski, PhD, Vice-President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
• Professor Elżbieta Mączyńska, PhD with habilitation [Polish: dr hab.], Honorary President of the Polish Economic Society, Warsaw School of Economics
• Rudolf Ostrihansky, PhD, Sołtysiński Kawecki & Szlęzak law firm
• University of Silesia Professor Mirosław Pawełczyk, PhD with habilitation [Polish: dr hab.], Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Silesia
• Piotr Pełka, PhD, Director of the State Aid Monitoring Department at the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
• Anna Sekinda-Maicka, Director of the Department Competition Protection at the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
• Marta Sendrowicz, PhD, Member of the Management Board of the Polish Competition Law Association, Allen & Overy law firm
• Małgorzata Szwaj, attorney, Member of the Management Board of the Polish Competition Law Association, Linklaters law firm

The Competition Jury for the best master’s and doctoral thesis devoted to consumer protection:

• Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, Chairman
• Professor D. Robert Grzeszczak, PhD with habilitation [Polish: dr hab.], Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Warsaw
• University of Silesia Professor Monika Jagielska, PhD with habilitation [Polish: dr hab.], Faculty of Law and Administration, University of Silesia in Katowice
• Norbert Jeziolowicz, Director of the Retail Banking and Financial Markets Team at the Polish Bank Association
• Katarzyna Karasiewicz, PhD, MJH Moskwa, Jarmul, Haładyj i Partnerzy law firm
• Krzysztof Lehmann, Deputy Director of the UOKiK Branch Office in Bydgoszcz
• Daniel Mańkowski, PhD, Vice-President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
• Professor Monika Namysłowska, PhD with habilitation [Polish: dr hab.], Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Łódź, Lubasz i Wspólnicy law firm of attorneys-at-law
• Prof. Jerzy Pisuliński, Ph.D, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Administration, Jagiellonian University
• University of Wrocław Professor Edyta Rutkowska-Tomaszewska, PhD with habilitation [Polish: dr hab.], Faculty of Law, Administration and Economics of the University of Wroclaw
• Agnieszka Stefanowicz-Barańska, attorney, President of the Management Board of the Polish Competition Law Association, Dentons law firm
• Iwona Terlecka, attorney, Member of the Management Board of the Polish Competition Law Association, Clifford Chance law firm
• Łukasz Wroński, Director of the Department of Protection of Collective Consumer Interests
  at the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection
• Professor Hab Fryderyk Zoll, PhD with habilitation [Polish: dr hab.], Faculty of Law and Administration of the Jagiellonian University, University of Osnabrück
   

Year 2023 – 15th edition on competition protection and 13th edition on consumer protection

Winners of the competition for the best master’s thesis in the competition protection category:

• The 2nd Prize in the amount of PLN 5,000 gross was awarded to Nicole Deneka for her thesis entitled “State aid in research, development and innovation activities”
• The 3rd Prize in the amount of PLN 3,000 gross was awarded to Marcin Gronowski for his thesis entitled “Control of concentration of entrepreneurs in the electric power sector on the example of the acquisition of ENERGA S.A. by PKN ORLEN S.A.”

Winners of the competition for the best master’s thesis in the consumer protection category:

• The 1st Prize in the amount of PLN 7,000 gross was awarded to Aleksandra Olbryk for her thesis entitled “Recommendation systems from the perspective of EU consumer law”
• The Award of the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection was awarded to: Anna Jarecka for her thesis entitled “The will of the consumer and the effects of prohibited provisions in a CHF loan agreement” and Michał Zajda his thesis entitled “The significance of the Omnibus Directive for consumer protection in e-commerce”

Aleksandra Olbryk also received an award from the Polish Competition Law Association in the amount of PLN 5,000.

Information about the winners of previous editions can be found at 
archiwum.uokik.gov.pl

Department of Communication
+48 22 55 60 246 
dk@uokik.gov.pl

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