During the meeting of the Academic Council of Sumy National Agrarian University on June 8, 2026, the winners and finalists of the student competition for the design of functional footwear for modern agricultural production “TALAN STUDENT DESIGN CHALLENGE”, implemented in cooperation with SNAU and Talanlegprom LLC, were awarded.
The goal of the competition was to involve student youth in the development of innovative solutions for the agricultural sector, the development of practical competencies, engineering thinking and a creative approach to solving real production problems of business. Participants were invited to create concepts of functional footwear for various conditions of agricultural production – field work, farms, production premises, winter period and innovative production solutions.
The competition became an example of effective interaction of education and business. Projects were evaluated according to the criteria of functionality, innovation, ergonomics, compliance with the conditions of agricultural production and the possibility of serial implementation in production.
The evaluation of the competition works was carried out by a joint expert commission, which included representatives of Talanlegprom LLC and Sumy National Agrarian University. On the part of the enterprise, the works were evaluated by the First Deputy General Director Serhii Danko, Deputy Chief Technologist Yurii Matsak, Shoe Designer Kateryna Reshetniak and Advisor to the General Director on Human Resources Policy Oleksandr Lavryk. From SNAU, the commission included the Vice-Rector for Scientific, Pedagogical and Educational Work Marharyta Lyshenko, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Viktoriia Zaiarna and Director of the Center for Advanced Training, Retraining, and Improvement of Managers and Specialists Iryna Toderiuk.
According to the results of the final stage of the competition, the winners were:
A special award for the innovativeness of the idea of using coffee waste in shoe production was given to Anastasiia Bushnieva, a student at the Faculty of Food Technology.
The finalists of the competition included:
The organizers noted the high level of the projects presented, the practical orientation of the students’ ideas and the interest of young people in creating innovative solutions for the agricultural industry. It was separately emphasized that some of the competition developments have the potential for further improvement and implementation in production.
The holding of the TALAN STUDENT DESIGN CHALLENGE competition was an important step in the development of the partnership between SNAU and Talanlegprom LLC, confirming the effectiveness of combining academic knowledge, students’ creative potential and the needs of modern production.
Sumy National Agrarian University sincerely congratulates the winners and finalists of the competition and wishes them new professional achievements, bold ideas and successful implementation of their own projects.
