A 15-year-old Jakub Dobosiewicz from Poland stands out as one of the top 100 students globally, surpassing almost 400,000 of his peers in the Rise Global Winners competition. 

Jakub Dobosiewicz, a Polish 15-year-old student, securing a spot among the top 100 students worldwide. The 100 Rise Global Winners represent the most inspiring young individuals who, through their initiatives, positively impact the world. Each of the scholarship recipients receives backing for their altruistic endeavours, joining a worldwide network, embarking on an educational journey, and having the opportunity to pursue their dream education at any global university. This recognition also brings significant prestige and valuable connections.

„I feel extremely honoured to be among the final group of 100 brave, inspiring and committed young people from 43 countries. Being a Rise Global Winner is a significant privilege for me and an even greater motivation to continue learning, developing and changing the world for the better.” – says Jakub Dobosiewicz.

Rise is a program designed for young individuals aged 15 to 17, aimed at fostering the educational growth of gifted youths. Through the annual Rise Challenge scholarship, participants are encouraged to conceive unique projects, enabling them to showcase their abilities and undiscovered talents to the world.

Jakub Dobosiewicz impressed the judges with his concept for a platform connecting tailors capable of transforming old clothing into new pieces, contributing to the global effort to reduce consumerism. Jakub’s project also received a recent mention in American Vogue magazine.

The 15-year-old is a student at secondary school in Poznań, with a keen interest in climate change and an active role in addressing the migration crisis.

„I am a student, a reader, a son, a brother, a friend, an activist. This last role is very important to me because I want to speak out about what we need to change in our world and act. I don’t have to have just one role. I’m still looking for my way. Today, I know that it is crucial for me to focus on activities for the benefit of others and look for solutions to important social problems. I’m not interested in making a lot of money in the future. My goal and dream is to work in international organisations dealing with human rights and to have an impact.” – says Jakub.

As he emphasises, the competition takes into account the whole aspect, not just academic results. „As part of Rise, a very important part of the application is the creation of the Rise Project, which in some way either solves a global problem or acts for the benefit of local communities. My project was a startup internet platform that was supposed to connect people who repair and alter clothes with their customers. The idea for it came from my belief that we don’t have to buy more because we have enough clothes to clothe the next 8 generations.” – he explained.

He also added that fashion is one of the sectors that has the greatest negative impact on the climate – „It pollutes huge amounts of water, and the transport itself releases huge amounts of greenhouse gases. The best thing we can do for our planet in terms of clothes is to take care of the ones we already have. And when something happens to them – repair them instead of buying new ones. And that is why, in my opinion, a tailor or a shoemaker are professions needed now more than ever.”

The 15-year-old champion has already laid out distinct plans for their future. „I would like to deal with issues such as the climate crisis and human rights, so I have been learning about it for a long time, preparing to work in these areas in the future. I feel that I have to act now, because it is not that we young people do not have strength and that our age limits us. That is why I am an activist of the East Initiative, a brave group of young people who ask difficult questions to politicians, we confront them, but we also talk about issues that are important to us, such as women’s rights, human rights, education.” – he revealed.

He dreams of gaining admission to the University of Oxford after finishing high school. Although the costs of education are high, his placement among the top 100 students worldwide makes this dream achievable.

Author: Patrycja Bodzek-Kurzyńska

Photo: @kubadobosiewicz/Instagram