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The list, which was compiled by Forbes magazine and McKinsey & Company Warsaw and published in the January 2020 issue of Forbes in Poland, seeks to identify rising stars with the potential to positively "influence the development of the Polish economy and society".
25 finalists were selected from 500 nominees by a panel of executives from top companies and organisations in Poland.
HYPED career
Maks grew up in Warsaw, achieving top grades in science subjects at school before applying to study the MEng Mechanical Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. He has been involved with HYPED since the beginning of his University career, first as a chassis engineer working on the structural components of the Hyperloop pod, before becoming Treasurer in 2018/19 and recently being elected President for the 2019/20 academic year.
HYPED is dedicated to the 'hyperloop' project – a super-fast train concept, designed to transport passengers in pods travelling through near-vacuum tubes at speeds comparable to aircraft. The concept was popularised by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, whose company SpaceX invites the best student hyperloop teams from around the world to test their pod prototypes in the Hyperloop Pod Competition in California each summer.
HYPED are the only UK-based team to have reached the finals for three years running and have also received awards from Virgin Hyperloop One and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).
Under Maks' presidency, the society are currently working on the UK's first Hyperloop test track just outside Edinburgh, which is scheduled for completion in mid-2020.
"Motivational boost"
Commenting on the ranking, Maks said "Being featured on the list is a great honour and a huge motivational boost. It wouldn’t have been possible, however, if not for the amazing work of previous and current HYPED members that have helped make our project the success it is today."
One winner in each of the five categories will be announced at the Awards Gala on 29 January 2020 in Warsaw. Winners will receive a financial prize and a year-long mentorship.
