On 26 September 2022, a gala was held to award “Wprost” Innovators. The awardees were people and companies from various industries who decided to take risks in the time of crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and introduced modern technological solutions to the market. The Wprost Innovator Award in the Personality in Innovation category went to Prof. Henryk Skarżyński. Dr. Renata Korneluk, Spokesperson of IFPS, accepted the award on behalf of the Professor.

As the Laudation reads: Professor’s name is known worldwide: he is doctor honoris causa of four universities in Poland and an honorary professor of universities in the US, Europe, and Asia. He gained worldwide fame for being the first in the world to perform innovative surgeries on patients with various types of deafness. He has performed the largest number of such surgeries in the world. He is the author of 152 new solutions in medicine, the creator and founder of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing and the World Hearing Center, where the largest number of hearing-improving surgeries in the world have been performed for almost 20 years. The initiator and organizer of the International Music Festival for Children, Youth and Adults with Hearing Disorders “Beats of Cochlea” and author of “The Return of Beethoven” novelization, the scriptwriter for the “Silence Interrupted” musical featuring his patients alongside professional actors. Professor Skarżyński proves that the latest medical technologies, including telemedicine, which he was the first to introduce in Poland, are of service to patients. He makes state-of-the-art solutions available to Polish patients as the first in the world. Among others, he organized the first screening tests to detect hearing disorders, established the National Teleaudiology Network awarded the Prix Galien gold medal, and launched the modern diagnostic device called the “Sensory Examination Capsule.” A man of knowledge, passion, talent, and courage. His life is a mission to help other people. He is the initiator and originator of the largest proactive project, the Multi-specialist Program for Preventing Civilization Diseases and Supporting the Health of Poles “Health First.”

“Wprost” Innovators have been awarded since 2011. In 2011-2013, the awards were based on the “List of the 500 Most Innovative Businesses” compiled by a team from the Institute of Economic Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Since 2014, autonomous Innovation Research has been the basis for honoring investors in innovation.

– An innovator is, first and foremost, a dreamer and work enthusiast. I want to promote the Polish school of oto-surgery because it gives patients a chance,” Prof. H. Skarżyński said in a thank-you recorded message.

It is worth recalling that the Professor’s innovation and implementation activities have already received many awards, such as the 21st Century Achievement Award in the Computerworld Honors Program in Washington, DC (USA) in 2010, or Prix Galien Award in Monte Carlo (Monaco) in 2014 – regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for the life sciences industry.