112 Les/Wood, Vol. 73, No. 2, December 2024 Les/Wood Novice/News Ekološka inovacija Mycosurf med najboljšimi na Rektorjevi nagradi UL Mycosurf – among the best innovations at the UL Rector’s Awards Davor Kržišnik * 22. oktobra 2024 je v okviru festivala UNI.MIN- DS potekal izbor za Rektorjeve nagrade za najboljše inovacije Univerze v Ljubljani. Rektorjeva nagrada za najboljšo inovacijo Univerze v Ljubljani, ki jo po- deljujejo že 13 let, je eden najpomembnejših do- godkov z namenom spodbujanja razvoja in komer- cializacije inovacij med študenti in zaposlenimi na Univerzi v Ljubljani. Nagrada se podeljuje v sode- lovanju z Ljubljanskim univerzitetnim inkubatorjem (LUI). V kategoriji študentov in alumnov Univerze v Ljubljani sta 3. mesto osvojila Nej Bizjak z Biotehni- ške fakultete in Hana Klincov z Akademije za likovno umetnost in oblikovanje. Njuna inovacija Mycosurf naslavlja resen ekološki problem kopičenja odpa- dne plastike v morjih in oceanih. Mycosurf je deska za surfanje, ki namesto sintetičnega polnila upo- rablja glivni biokompozit z ustreznimi lastnostmi, kar predstavlja trajnostno alternativo sintetičnim materialom in kaže na potencial tehnologije glivnih biokompozitov za širšo uporabo v proizvodnji večjih izdelkov. Nej Bizjak, študent magistrskega študijskega programa Biotehnologija, je ob prejemu nagrade povedal: “Biti tretji na Rektorjevi nagradi je izjemen občutek in velika čast. Posebej me veseli, da je bil projekt – deska za surfanje iz glivnih biokompozitov, torej fizičen produkt–v finalu z dvema študentski- ma projektoma na področju umetne inteligence. Zares inovirati je v fizičnem svetu, še posebej v sve- tu biotehnologije, težje in dražje, zato je nagrada potrditev, da smo na pravi poti.” Prvo in drugo mesto v kategoriji študentov in alumnov UL sta osvojili ideji Modern Legal in Foo- dIQ. Deska Mycosurf je bila razvita pod mentor- stvom doc. dr. Davorja Kržišnika in somentorstvom izr. prof. dr. Aleša Stražeta na Oddelku za lesarstvo kot del diplomske naloge. Avtorji so postopek iz- delave opisali tudi v znanstveni reviji Les/Wood v članku z naslovom »Izdelava velikih glivnih biokom- pozitov z nizko gostoto«, ki je objavljen v tej številki (Bizjak et al., 2024). On 22 October 2024, the Rector’s Award for the Best Innovations at the University of Ljubljana was presented as part of the UNI.MINDS festival. The Rector’s Award for the Best Innovations at the University of Ljubljana, which has been awarded * e-mail: davor.krzisnik@bf.uni-lj.si 113 Les/Wood, Vol. 73, No. 2, December 2024 Les/Wood Novice/News for 13 years, is one of the most important events promoting the development and commercializa- tion of innovations among the students and staff of the University of Ljubljana. The prize is awarded in cooperation with the Ljubljana University Incu- bator (LUI). In the category Students and Alumni of the University of Ljubljana, 3rd place went to Nej Biz- jak from the Biotechnical Faculty and Hana Klincov from the Academy of Fine Arts and Design. Their innovation, called Mycosurf, addresses the serious ecological problem of the accumulation of plastic Slika 1. Prejemniki rektorjevih nagrad za najboljše inovacije Univerze v Ljubljani v letu 2024 (Foto: Nebojša Tejić/STA). Figure 1. Recipients of the Rector’s Awards for the Best Innovations at the University of Ljubljana in 2024 (photo: Nebojša Tejić / STA). Slika 2. Mycosurf – projekt deska za surfanje, izdelana iz glivnih biokompozitov, je zasedel 3. mesto med Rektorjevimi nagradami za najboljše inovacije Univerze v Ljubljani v kategoriji študentov in alumnov UL (Foto: Nej Bizjak). Figure 2. Mycosurf – a surfboard made of fungal biocomposite won third place in the Rector’s Award for the Best Innovations at the University of Ljubljana, in the students and alumni UL category (Photo: Nej Bizjak). 114 Les/Wood, Vol. 73, No. 2, December 2024 Les/Wood Novice/News waste in the seas and oceans. Mycosurf is a surf- board that uses a fungal biocomposite with suitable properties instead of synthetic fillers. It represents a sustainable alternative to synthetic materials and demonstrates the potential of fungal biocomposite technology for wider application in the manufac- ture of larger products. Nej Bizjak, a MSc Biotechnology student, com- mented on the award: “It is a great pleasure and honour to receive 3rd place in the Rector’s Award. I am particularly pleased that the project – a surf- board made of fungal biocomposites, i.e. a physical product – reached the final with two other student projects in the field of artificial intelligence. It is more difficult and more expensive to be truly inno- vative in the physical world, especially in the world of biotechnology, so this award is a confirmation that we are on the right track.” First and second places in the UL Student and Alumni category went to Modern Legal and FoodIQ. The Mycosurf board was developed under the mentorship of Assoc. Prof. Dr Davor Kržišnik and the co-mentorship of Assoc. Prof. Dr Aleš Straže at the Department of Wood Science and Technology BF UL as part of Nej Bizjak’s master’s thesis. The au- thors have also described the production process in an article published in this issue of Les/Wood (Biz- jak et al., 2024). VIRI REFERENCES Bizjak, N., Straže, A., & Kržišnik, D. (2024). Izdelava velikih glivnih bi- okompozitov z nizko gostoto = Production of large low-density mycelium composites. Les/Wood, 73(2), 5-12. DOI: https://doi. org/10.26614/les-wood.2024.v73n02a01