Leading Trends in Innovative Development
– Identification using Marketing Research
BOŻENA KACZMARSKA, WACŁAW GIERULSKI
Department of Management and Computer Modelling
Kielce University of Technology
Al. Tysiąclecia Państwa Polskiego 7, Kielce 25 – 314
POLAND
Abstract: Access to information has become extremely easy these days. Hence the common belief that we have
established an information society in which knowledge is treated as the greatest wealth and which at the same
time constitutes the basis for innovative development of enterprises, countries, regions. The paper presents
identification of the leading areas of innovative technological development using marketing research. This allows
the main objective to be fulfilled, which is to help choose the directions of research. . The source of data was the
international exhibition of inventions held annually in Geneva, treated here as a case study. The research covered
exhibitions held in 2017 and 2019, for which over 500 presented new solutions were classified each time. The
results were confronted with a national event gathering inventors – the Polish National Student-Inventor
Competition. Every year, approximately 100 solutions are submitted to the competition and then evaluated.
Key-Words: development, innovation, inventions, creators, ranking, areas of technology, marketing research
Received: May 21, 2021. Revised: November 28, 2021. Accepted: January 2, 2022. Published: January 3, 2022.
1 Introduction
The measure of prosperity is economic
development. It results to a large extent from the
development of technology, in close connection
with the development of science. The development
processes are continuous and their pace can be
assessed to a large extent on the basis of agreed
criteria. The amount of current and diverse
information makes it difficult to reliably asses their
current state of development. This depends to a
large extent on the purpose of the assessment as
well as the sensitivity and views of the person
performing the analysis. What happened before lies
in the domain of history, what will happen in the
future is determined based on forecasts (Fig.1).
Fig.1: Assessment of development processes
Source: Own elaboration
The easiest way to assess history is to use facts
filtered out over time. In this assessment there are
industrial revolutions that radically change the
directions of development of science and
technology. The turn of the 18th and 19th century
was when the first industrial revolution took place,
which started the period of mechanization by using
steam engines in practice, which were extremely
innovative at that time. The utilization of a steam
engine for driving production machines dramatically
increased productivity. As an example we can point
out the spinning mills in England, where one steam
engine was driving the machines in the production
hall with the use of a large number of transmission
belts. Transmission belts seen in old photographs
were elements straight from the domain of
modernity, but also the cause of many accidents.
The steam engine contributed to the rapid
development of transport. Steam engines and marine
propulsion systems allowed to transport large
quantities of goods in a much shorter time, which
was another element of rapid development. This
resulted in a sharp increase in demand for coal,
which in turn led to the development of mining and
the creation of large industrial districts.
The second industrial revolution dating back to
the turn of the 19th and 20th century is related to the
use of electricity. The dominant place was taken by
the electric motor dedicated to individual machines,
eliminating complex and dangerous transmission
belt systems. It was the beginning of mass
manufacture of products intended for large groups
of consumers. Electricity, initially in the form of
electrical engineering, developed into electronic
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engineering, which now also includes digital
technologies, i.e. IT equipment and
telecommunications. The electric motor, which used
to be an innovative, expensive and thus selectively
used type of drive, has become a component of
many commonly used devices. Looking at a typical
household, one can find many devices that use an
electric motor, e.g.: a vacuum cleaner, a washing
machine (drum drive and pump), a dishwasher
(rotor drive and pump), a blender, a spit and the air
circulation system in a gas-electric stove, a kitchen
hood, a drill in a home workshop, a central heating
furnace (fuel feeder, fan, water pump), the drive in
garage and entrance gates. Additionally, small
motors are used in analog clocks, in some
programmable timers and in many children's toys
previously equipped with spring drives and a wind-
up mechanism.
The subsequent, third industrial revolution,
associated with automation, took place in the 1970s.
Various types of automatic systems for controlling
temperature, pressure, flow rate, speed of
movement, etc. were developed and became
widespread. Industrial companies started to use
numerically controlled machine tools and robots
performing properly programmed sequences of
activities. Autopilots became a standard in airplanes,
just like cruise control in cars, and systems adjusting
the amount of light falling on the photosensitive
element in a camera. Automatic washing machines
and dishwashers, or automatic vacuum cleaners,
became common in households.
Advanced automation systems sometimes also
take into account the possibility of making
independent decisions. This is related to the
beginning of the fourth industrial revolution at the
turn of the 20th and 21st century, i.e. a period of
extremely intensive development of computer
science in general. An example of solutions
illustrating the fourth revolution are advanced
automation systems with the option of artificial
intelligence assistance and Internet access. At the
informational level, the elements of the
manufacturing processes are interconnected,
allowing for greater efficiency [16]. In everyday
life, the fourth revolution is present in the form of
self-driving, autonomous cars, or intelligent fridges
automatically ordering food supplies.
The considerations on the current state of
development of science and technology are
connected with predicting the future. This is
performed under conditions of uncertainty and, as
history shows, has a moderate efficacy [1, 9]. One
of the methods of obtaining information on this
subject is to observe novelties on the market, new
products presented at various fairs, exhibitions,
competitions and trends concerning patent
applications.
2 The Objective and the Methodology
of the Research
The objective of the conducted research is to
identify the leading areas of innovative
technological development. This provides assistance
in the selection of research directions.
The thematic scope and the assumed objective
defined the research approach used in the paper. In
the conceptual/theoretical layer, based on the
analysis of the literature, comparative analyses and
desk-research, conclusions of a deductive nature
have been made [6]. The observational/empirical
layer, on the other hand, required conclusions of
inductive/deductive nature with the use of various
research methods, including the commonly known
methods of structured data analysis performed on
data obtained through the analysis of application
questionnaires for solutions participating in the
Polish National Student-Inventor Competition and
the analysis of case studies – The International
Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. In selected
cases, the method of analysis and logical
construction was also used, supported by
preparation of static and dynamic models.
The source of data for this research is The
International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva
(Geneva Inventions), held annually in Geneva,
treated here as a case study. The research covers
exhibitions in 2017 and 2019, for which each time
over 500 presented new solutions were classified.
The results were confronted with a national event
gathering inventors – the Polish National Student-
Inventor Competition. Every year, more than 100
solutions are submitted to the competition and then
evaluated. [3, 4, 7, 8, 15]
The International Exhibition of Inventions of
Geneva is one of the largest and most prestigious
exhibition of inventions in Europe, bringing
together creators of new solutions from around the
world (Fig. 2). It is organized annually under the
patronage of the International Federation of
Inventors Associations (IFIA), the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the
Swiss Federal Government, and the State the City of
Geneva.
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Fig.2: The International Exhibition of Inventions
Geneva, Palexpo
Source: [14]
Among the exhibitors there are independent
creators, representatives of universities, research
institutes, government agencies and industrial
companies from all over the world. The exhibition is
a forum for exchanging ideas and experiences
between inventors, scientists, entrepreneurs and
investors. According to the organizers, more than
45% of the solutions presented at the exhibition in
2017 were licensed and the value of concluded
contracts exceeded 50 million USD. These huge
funds invested by the business world reinforce the
belief that the exhibition is an element of creating
the future, and the information collected constitute a
valuable material in the process of searching for
leading areas of technology development. [14]
The solutions presented during the exhibition are
assessed by an international jury of about 70
experts. The presented solutions are classified into
21 categories (A – V), within which medals and
distinctions are awarded (Table 1).
Table 1. Assessment categories – Geneva Inventions
A
Mechanics, Engines, Machinery, Tools,
Industrial Processes, Metallurgy
B
Clocks and watches, Jewellery, Machinery, Tools
C
Computer sciences, Software, Electronics,
Electricity, Methods of communication
D
Building, Architecture, Civil Engineering,
Construction, Materials, Woodwork
E
Sanitation, Ventilation, Heating
F
Security, Rescue, Alarm
G
Ironmongery, Do-It-Yourself
H
Furnishing, Interior architecture
I
Domestic Science, Restaurant equipment
J
Commercial, Industrial and office equipment
K
Agriculture, Horticulture, Gardening
L
Clothing, Textiles, Machines and accessories
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
Source: [8]
The Polish National Student-Inventor
Competition is a cyclical undertaking that has been
organized by the Kielce University of Technology
since 2010. The competition promotes the creative
potential of Polish students-inventors at home and
abroad, stirs the academic community into research
and development activities, provides support in the
process of commercialization of the results of
research and development works protected by
exclusive rights or submitted for protection, and
increases the interest of students in finding
innovative solutions for their own business. It is
addressed to students and doctoral students who
have applied for protection or obtained protection
for their solutions. The vast majority of solutions
taking part in the competition are the result of
scientific and research activities of teams where at
least one person has a status of a student or a
doctoral student [4, 15]. In total, in ten editions of
the competition (2011-2020), 935 solutions were
submitted, which are the result of research and
development work of over two thousand creators.
The main prize winners take part in subsequent
editions of The International Exhibition of
Inventions of Geneva. [4]
Data analysis and assessment
The set of solution categories presented at The
International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva is
imposed by the organizers of the exhibition, and the
classification is largely dependent on the subjective
assessment of experts. However, by agreeing with
the rules of classification so defined, it is possible to
make an attempt to predict the directions of
technical development. For this purpose, four
groups were singled out depending on the number of
solutions assigned to subsequent categories and the
number of solutions presented by individual
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exhibitors (Fig.3). The countries of origin of the
teams presenting the solutions were used to identify
the exhibitors, which is consistent with the
interpretation of the evaluation committee.
Fig.3: Exhibition of inventiveness – classification of
solutions
Source: Own elaboration
Group 1-1
This group includes exhibitors (countries) with a
large number of proposals for innovative solutions.
In addition, these solutions belong to the categories
with a large number of solutions.
Group 1-2
This group is made up of exhibitors (countries) with
a small number of proposals, often single solutions.
In addition, these solutions belong to the categories
with a large number of solutions.
Group 2-1
This group includes exhibitors (countries) with a
large number of innovative solution proposals
mostly assigned to other more popular categories.
However, this group includes not very popular,
sometimes single solutions.
Group 2-2
This group consists of exhibitors (countries) with a
small number of solutions, assigned to not very
popular categories.
According to the presented concept of division,
the leading areas of innovative development are
defined by solutions assigned to group 1-1. It was
assumed that this group consists of 80% of solutions
assigned to the most active exhibitors and the most
numerous categories. Due to the application of the
two-parameter classification model, this group
includes 90% of the initial items from the exhibitors'
ranking list and the category ranking list. The
remaining groups of the classification model include
only 20% of the solutions that will not be taken into
account when defining the leading areas of
innovative development.
The applied 80% – 20% division results from
considerations supported by the method of analysis
and logical construction with reference to the Pareto
principle used in the description of natural
phenomena of unequal division. The indicated limits
of 80%, 20%, 90% should be treated as estimates,
especially in cases with a discrete scale of
assignment.
3 Geneva Inventions – Case Study
Geneva Inventions – 2017
In 2017 the 45th International Exhibition of
Inventions of Geneva took place. On an area of 8500
m2, over 700 exhibitors from 38 countries presented
new solutions, i.e. inventions, research results and
new innovative products. The competition
committee evaluated 569 solutions according to the
adopted categories. [7] In other cases, the exhibitors
did not agree to perform the evaluation.
Table 2 presents the ranking of exhibitors
classified to group 1-1, indicating the number of all
presented solutions (also belonging to group 2-1),
and the percentage share. This group included 16
exhibitors from the top of the ranking list
representing 91.2% of the total number of solutions.
The ranking of exhibitors classified to group 1-1 is
presented in graphic form in Fig.4, where
additionally the number of solutions belonging only
to group 1-1 is indicated.
Table 2. Geneva 2017 – exhibitors
Ranking
Exhibitor
Number of
solutions
Percentage
share
Cumulated
share
16
Italy
12
2.1%
91.2%
15
Saudi Arabia
12
2.1%
89.1%
14
Croatia
13
2.3%
87.0%
13
Switzerland
16
2.8%
84.7%
12
Poland
17
3.0%
81.9%
11
Egypt
17
3.0%
78.9%
10
Malaysia
18
3.2%
75.9%
9
France
20
3.5%
72.8%
8
South Korea
24
4.2%
69.2%
7
Russia
25
4.4%
65.0%
6
Iran
31
5.4%
60.6%
5
Chinese Taipei
42
7.4%
55.2%
4
Romania
47
8.3%
47.8%
3
Hong Kong
50
8.8%
39.5%
2
China
83
14.6%
30.8%
1
Thailand
92
16.2%
16.2%
Source: Own elaboration based on [7]
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Fig.4: Geneva 2017 – exhibitors (Table 2)
Source: Own elaboration
Table 3 presents the ranking of categories
classified to group 1-1 depending on the number of
all presented solutions (also belonging to group 1-
2). Subsequent rows of the table show percentage
shares and cumulative percentage shares. Group 1-1
includes 12 categories from the top of the ranking
list, which covers 90.9% of the total number of
presented solutions. A ranking of categories in
graphic form is also presented in Fig.5, where
additionally the number of solutions belonging only
to group 1-1 is indicated.
Table 3. Geneva 2017 – Categories
Categories
V
Q
M
A
C
P
D
F
K
R
E
L
Number of
solutions
80
71
70
64
59
46
41
24
18
18
13
13
Percentage
14.1%
12.5%
12.3%
11.2%
10.4%
8.1%
7.2%
4.2%
3.2%
3.2%
2.3%
2.3%
Cumulated
share
14.1%
26.5%
38.8%
50.1%
60.5%
68.5%
75.7%
80.0%
83.1%
86.3%
88.6%
90.9%
Ranking
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Source: Own elaboration based on [7]
Fig.5: Geneva 2017 – number of solutions in each
category
Source: Own elaboration
With regard to the two-parameter classification
for the 2017 data, group 1-1 includes 16 exhibitors
with solutions belonging to 12 categories. Out of the
total number of 569 presented solutions, 472
solutions were assigned to this group, which
constitutes 83.0%.
Geneva Inventions – 2019
In April 2019 the 47th International Exhibition of
Inventions of Geneva took place. Over 800
exhibitors from 44 countries presented their
solutions, i.e. inventions, research results and new
innovative products. The competition committee
evaluated 681 solutions according to the adopted
categories. [8]
Table 4 presents a ranking of exhibitors
classified to group 1-1, indicating the number of all
presented solutions (also belonging to group 2-1),
and the percentage share. This group included 14
exhibitors from the top of the ranking list
representing 89.7% of the total number of solutions.
The ranking of exhibitors classified to group 1-1 is
presented in graphic form in Fig.6, where
additionally the number of solutions belonging only
to group 1-1 is indicated.
Table 4. Geneva 2019 – Exhibitors
Ranking
Exhibitor
Number of
solutions
Percentage
share
Cumulated
share
14
Croatia
11
1.6%
89.7%
13
France
12
1.8%
88.1%
12
Poland
13
1.9%
86.3%
11
Switzerland
15
2.2%
84.4%
10
Saudi Arabia
16
2.3%
82.2%
9
Iran
22
3.2%
79.9%
8
Egypt
24
3.5%
76.7%
7
South Korea
28
4.1%
73.1%
6
Romania
34
5.0%
69.0%
5
Russia
37
5.4%
64.0%
4
Chinese Taipei
44
6.5%
58.6%
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3
Thailand
101
14.8%
52.1%
2
Hong Kong
119
17.5%
37.3%
1
China
135
19.8%
19.8%
Source: Own elaboration based on [8]
Fig.6: Geneva 2019 – exhibitors (Table 4)
Source: Own elaboration
Table 5 presents a ranking of categories
classified to group 1-1 depending on the number of
all presented solutions (also belonging to group 1-
2). Subsequent rows of the table show percentage
shares and cumulative percentage shares. Group 1-1
includes 11 categories from the top of the ranking
list, which covers 87.81% of the total number of
presented solutions. A ranking of categories in
graphic form is also presented in Fig.7, where
additionally the number of solutions belonging only
to group 1-1 is indicated.
Table 5. Geneva 2019 – Categories
Categories
C
M
V
Q
A
F
D
P
K
L
O
Number of solutions
114
86
84
74
63
41
40
32
29
19
16
Percentage share
16.74%
12.63%
12.33%
10.87%
9.25%
6.02%
5.87%
4.70%
4.26%
2.79%
2.35%
Cumulated share
16.74%
29.37%
41.70%
52.57%
61.82%
67.84%
73.72%
78.41%
82.67%
85.46%
87.81%
Ranking
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Source: Own elaboration based on [8]
Fig.7: Geneva 2019 – number of solutions in each
category
Source: Own elaboration
With regard to the two-parameter classification
for the 2019 data, group 1-1 includes 16 exhibitors
with solutions belonging to 12 categories. Out of the
total number of 681 presented solutions, 525
solutions were assigned to this group, which
constitutes 77.1%.
Leading trends in innovative development
As a result of the analysis of data for 2017 and
2019, two sets of categories of evaluated solutions
assigned to group 1-1 were obtained. Assuming the
common part of these sets as the implementation of
the objective of the paper, 10 leading areas of
innovative development can be identified (Table 6).
Table 6. Leading trends
A
C
D
F
K
L
M
P
Q
V
Source: Own elaboration
The indicated leading trends in innovative
development are based on the categories used in the
assessment of solutions at the International
Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva. We can be
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convinced that the selection of categories, including
the assignment of different types of solutions to
them, is the result of several decades of experience
that also takes into account the changes resulting
from the development of science and technology.
One can notice the absence or insignificant
participation in the exhibition of representatives of
economic powers such as the USA, Japan and
Western European countries, which may partially
disturb the credibility of the conclusions drawn.
However, given the current widespread
globalization, also in the area of research and
development, one can assume that countries with
lesser potential are trying to deal with the same
topics as the current economic powers [17]. Thus,
the new solutions presented at the International
Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva can be regarded
as a source of knowledge with a high degree of
credibility in determining the leading trends in
development of innovations.
4 The Polish National Student-Inventor
Competition – Case Study
The qualification with the use of a map of
inventions was also carried out for a set of data
obtained and made available as part of the Polish
National Student-Inventor Competition. The
assessment scale used by experts of the International
Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva was applied
(Table 1). In this case, it is a single-parameter
assessment covering 21 categories, without
distinguishing between exhibitors. 90 solutions
submitted to the 7th edition of the Competition,
which took place in 2017, and 139 solutions
submitted to the 9th edition of the Competition, the
final of which took place in 2019, were analyzed. A
ranking of categories depending on the number of
solutions assigned to them is presented in Tables 7
and 8, while in graphic form in Fig.8 and Fig.9.
Subsequent rows of the table show percentage
shares and cumulative percentage shares. As before,
80% of inventions belonging to the most numerous
categories were included in the analyzed group.
Table 7. Student-Inventor 2017
Categories
M
A
C
Number of solutions
28
26
18
Percentage share
31.1%
28.9%
20.0%
Cumulated share
31.1%
60.0%
80.0%
Ranking
1
2
3
Source: Own elaboration
Table 8. Student-Inventor 2019
Categories
M
A
K
D
C
Number of solutions
59
21
15
11
8
Percentage share
42.4%
15.1%
10.8%
7.9%
5.8%
Cumulated share
42.4%
57.6%
68.3%
76.3%
82.0%
Ranking
1
2
3
4
5
Source: Own elaboration
Fig.8: Student-Inventor 2017 – number of solutions
in each category
Source: Own elaboration
Fig.9: Student-Inventor 2019 – number of solutions
in each category
Source: Own elaboration
In the case of the 2017 competition, these were
72 solutions, which account for 82% of the total
number of solutions submitted to the competition.
They include only three categories; M, A and C. In
the case of the 2019 competition, these were 114
solutions, which is exactly 80% of the total number
of solutions submitted to the competition. They
include five categories, the same as in the 2017
competition; M, A, C, and additionally categories K,
28 26
18
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
M A C
59
21
15
11 8
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
M A K D C
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D. No solutions corresponding to other categories
were submitted for the competition in both editions
or their numbers were small and were included in
the set of rejected ones (20%). The most represented
categories in the Student-Inventor competition (M,
A, C, K, D) indicated in the tables belong to the
group defined as the leading areas of innovative
development (Table 6). There is a high correlation
with the results from the Geneva exhibition, so it is
possible to express an opinion about the similarity
of the two datasets.
The classification categories at the exhibition in
Geneva referred to the recipients of the presented
solutions. They indicated the area in which practical
solutions can be applied in the form of products
after the commercialization process. A different
proposal for the rules of classification is a criterion
that takes into account the link between the
invention and the method of production to a greater
extent, which is determined by areas of technology.
An exemplary proposal inspired by solutions from
the Student-Inventor Competition is a set of ten
technological areas presented below.
X1 – Chemicals
X2 – Chemical technologies
X3 – Building materials (excluding new chemicals)
X4 – Mechanics: production equipment and
machines
X5 – Mechanics: utility products
X6 – Electrical Engineering
X7 – Electronics, IT
X8 – Health (mechanics, electronics, IT)
X9 – Agriculture (mechanics, electrical engineering)
X10 – Other (practical items)
Such a set of areas of technology results from the
analysis of solutions submitted for subsequent
editions of the Polish National Student-Inventor
Competition and can be extended as needed. One
can get the impression that some important areas are
missing here, for example: environmental
protection, medicine and pharmacology. In this
classification approach, it is assumed that
environmental protection utilizes products from the
areas of mechanics, chemical technology and
electricity. Modern building materials also use
recycled components to support environmental
protection. Similarly, pharmacology is based on
products related to chemistry, and medicine widely
uses the equipment operating thanks to the
achievements of electronics and computer science,
and mechanics provides implants, for example hip
joint endoprosthesis.
Tables 9 and 10 show the results of assigning the
solutions submitted to the Student-Inventor
Competition in 2017 and 2019 to the areas of
technology proposed in the classification. In both
cases, the five initial positions constitute a group
covering approximately 80% of the solutions. The
common part in these groups are the following areas
of technology: X1, X2, X4, X8.
Table 9. Student-Inventor 2017 – areas of
technology
Categories
X4
X8
X2
X1
X7
X5
X3
X6
X9
X10
Number of
solutions
22
18
17
10
9
8
3
2
1
0
Percentage
share
24.4%
20.0%
18.9%
11.1%
10.0%
8.9%
3.3%
2.2%
1.1%
0.0%
Cumulated
share
24.4%
44.4%
63.3%
74.4%
84.4%
93.3%
96.7%
98.9%
100.0%
100.0%
Ranking
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Source: Own elaboration
Table 10. Student-Inventor 2019 – areas of
technology
Categories
X2
X1
X8
X9
X4
X5
X6
X7
X10
X3
Number of
solutions
48
18
15
15
14
14
4
4
4
3
Percentage
share
34.5%
12.9%
10.8%
10.8%
10.1%
10.1%
2.9%
2.9%
2.9%
2.2%
Cumulated
share
34.5%
47.5%
58.3%
69.1%
79.1%
89.2%
92.1%
95.0%
97.8%
100.0%
Ranking
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Source: Own elaboration
The results in graphic form are presented in
Figures 10 and 11. Comparison of the results from
these two years is difficult due to the significant
difference in the number of submitted inventions
(90 inventions in 2017, 139 inventions in 2019).
WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on BUSINESS and ECONOMICS
DOI: 10.37394/23207.2022.19.4
Bożena Kaczmarska, Wacław Gierulski
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Volume 19, 2022
Fig.10: Student-Inventor 2017 – areas of technology
(number of solutions)
Source: Own elaboration
Fig.11: Student-Inventor 2019 – areas of technology
(number of solutions)
Source: Own elaboration
When comparing the classification results
according to both criteria (Fig.8 – 11), it can be
assumed that most of the solutions from the
dominant areas of technology – X1, X2, X4, X8 –
belong to categories M and A included in the set of
leading areas of innovative development (Table 6).
The domination of the areas of technology,
considered collectively, i.e. chemical compounds
and chemical technologies, seem to be largely in
line with reality. [13] Plastics can serve as an
example here, as they have had a spectacular effect
of the development of chemical technologies over
the last few decades. Plastic packaging has become
an everyday reality, which, however, we are
currently trying to change in observance of
environmental protection [2, 10, 11, 12]. Water, gas
and sewage installations on a micro (apartment) and
macro scale (infrastructure) are currently made of
plastic pipes. Paints requiring toxic solvents were
displaced by water-based acrylic paints. Another
example are adhesives with such refined properties
that they can replace other traditional types of
bonds. A further example are substances used in
medicine, many of which were presented in the
Student-Inventor Competition, and their distant
objective is to create conditions for increasing the
comfort of life and its average length.
Here, attention should be paid to the increasing
interdisciplinarity and blurring of boundaries
between individual areas. Traditional chemistry
intertwines with biology which creates a new
research area called biochemistry. Traditional
mechanics is combined with electronics and
computer science creating a research area called
mechatronics. This intertwinement of research areas
makes it difficult to assign inventions to areas in an
unambiguous way and these assessments are often
highly subjective.
5 Conclusions
The classification of new innovative solutions
according to the proposed areas of technology and
the analysis of a sample data set allow to indicate
the leading trends in research. These are research in
areas related to chemistry, concerning the creation
of new compounds and the development of new
technologies. Conclusions on the leading trends in
research are drawn on the basis of limited data sets –
the Polish National Student-Inventor Competition,
which makes generalizations difficult. Due to the
lack of detailed data, the classification according to
the proposed areas of technology cannot be applied
directly to the solutions presented at the exhibition
in Geneva. However, the similarity in the structure
of applications in the classification according to
categories indirectly justifies the assumption of
similarity also in the classification according to the
areas of technology. Moreover, the observation of
changes in the surrounding reality significantly
reinforces the conviction that the view on the
intensive development of research areas related to
chemistry is correct. [5] Such a view slightly
interferes with the concept of the fourth industrial
revolution associated with the development of
computer science. The reason for the low number of
IT-related submissions is European patent law,
which does not protect algorithms and computer
programs - they are not treated as inventions.
However, in many cases innovative algorithms
appear as components of inventions in the field of
mechatronics. However, it is possible to link these
two developmental trends by giving the example of
the Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded in 2013 to the
creators of computer modeling of complex chemical
systems, which allows to transfer experiments from
the laboratory to the virtual, digital world.
22
18 17
10 98
3210
0
10
20
30
40
50
X4 X8 X2 X1 X7 X5 X3 X6 X9 X10
48
18
15 15 14 14
4443
0
10
20
30
40
50
X2 X1 X8 X9 X4 X5 X6 X7 X10 X3
WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on BUSINESS and ECONOMICS
DOI: 10.37394/23207.2022.19.4
Bożena Kaczmarska, Wacław Gierulski
E-ISSN: 2224-2899
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Volume 19, 2022
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814
Contribution of Individual Authors to the
Creation of a Scientific Article (Ghostwriting
Policy)
Bożena Kaczmarska – Organizer of the Polish
National Student-Inventor Competition, data
acquisition and systematization, analysis, literature
review, text preparation.
Wacław Gierulski – data systematization and
analysis, statistics development, literature review,
text preparation.
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
(Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0)
This article is published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed
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WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on BUSINESS and ECONOMICS
DOI: 10.37394/23207.2022.19.4
Bożena Kaczmarska, Wacław Gierulski
E-ISSN: 2224-2899
39
Volume 19, 2022