Meet the team
Video games are not just entertainment. They can be full-fledged works of art, carriers of culture, and powerful tools for education. They also have social significance - capable of driving change, raising awareness, and prompting reflection on important issues.
Our mission is to support young creators, bring them together with the industry and career opportunities, connect educational institutions, while uniting the global game development community.
The Student Games Festival is organized by Kultura Interaktywna Foundation - a non-profit initiative founded by Ewa Maria Szczepanowska and Paweł Miechowski - experienced professionals from the film and video game industries who share a passion for cultural education, interactive media, creative sectors, and international collaboration.
Our team is made up of friends committed to a shared mission, we all bring together decades of experience, creative energy, and a commitment to supporting young talents and building bridges between education, culture, and the game industry.
Chairman of the Jury
Jakub Bukała, PhD
CEO, project leader, producer, programmer and game designer at Serious Sim. PhD in computational mechanics, but left academia to make video games and teach academic students in that field. Wrote his first game in a Polish programming language, Zdzich, in 2004. Has been developing games in Unity since 2015. Lead developer of Radio Commander and Heading Out, as well as a dozen smaller projects. Lecturer in game development at the Warsaw Film School.
Qualification Jury
Ewa Maria Szczepanowska
Co- founder and Board Member of the Kultura Interaktywna Foundation. Cultural manager and expert in audiovisual education.
Active in the audiovisual industry since 2000, and affiliated with the Warsaw Film School since 2015. As Vice-Rector for Communication and New Media, she managed the Video Game Development Department and the Video Game Creation High School. Producer of the game Best Month Ever. In 2022, she received a special award at PIXEL AWARDS EUROPE for her contribution to the development of the Polish game industry.
Ambassador of the Women in Games, member of the New Narratives Section at the Polish Chamber of Audiovisual Producers, and member and spokesperson of the FILMFORUM Association. Speaker and panelist at numerous film and game industry events and conferences. Originator and organizer of the Warsaw Film School Game Jam, Warsaw Game Jam PRO, and many other cultural and educational initiatives in film and video games industry.
Paweł Miechowski
Co-founder and Board Member of the Kultura Interaktywna Foundation, Communications and Brand Partnerships Expert in 11 bit studios. Game developer, writer, dialogue author, and expert in communication, PR, and marketing. Active in the industry since 1997, with experience at Metropolis Software, CD Projekt, and since 2010 at 11 bit studios. Nominated for the Polityka Passport award for the game This War of Mine, and recipient of the prestigious Special Recognition Award at Digital Dragons 2019. He has worked on numerous bestselling titles, including Gorky 17, the Anomaly series, This War of Mine, Frostpunk, Moonlighter, Children of Morta, and Frostpunk 2. Speaker and panelist at many international industry conferences and festivals. Actively involved in cultural initiatives, education, and serves on the Program Council of the Indie Games Polska Foundation and Game Developers Session in Prague.
Maciej Miąsik
One of the pioneers of the Polish video game industry. Game designer, programmer, producer, sound designer. Co-creator of Electro Body (aka Electro Man), the first Polish commercial game for PCs. He worked on the first Polish game - Fire Fight - for the entertainment giant Electronic Arts. At the turn of the century, he created a popular series of adventure games featuring live actors, which gained popularity across multiple continents. He was Head of Production for the first game in The Witcher series. Currently, he creates smaller-scale projects. Actively involved in industry education, he has been teaching at the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology and Warsaw Film School since 2012, co-creating the Video Game Development course. Member of the program committees of the most important national industry conferences - GIC and Digital Dragons. A longtime independent expert for the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency in Brussels. Active in the Indie Games Poland Foundation.
Tatiana Skliarenko
Director of International Programs at Games for Change, where she leads global game design programs that empower young people and educators to build skills, engage with real-world issues, and drive positive change. With a background in learning experience design and 15 years in digital education, she has designed and led programs across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. At the heart of her work is the G4C Student Challenge - the world’s largest international game design competition for social impact, where young people create games that address global challenges and imagine new futures through a medium they love: games.
Michał Mochocki, PhD
Associate Professor at the University of Gdansk, game writer at False Prophet, educator for games edu-programmes since 2013. His unhealthy passion for historical settings and cultural heritage makes him say: "In games, history has a future".
Maroš Brojo
Executive Director of the Slovak Game Developers Association. He also served as a curator of the multimedia collection at the Slovak Design Museum. In the museum sphere, he focused on research, archiving, and the preservation of digital games – he curated the exhibitions "8Bit" and "Pirates and Pioneers," dedicated to the history of Slovak game development in the 1980s. He has long collaborated with CEE Animation and contributes to initiatives such as AnimationHub and CEE Experience. In the past, he held the position of Program Director of the Fest Anča International Animation Festival.
Ričardas Jaščemskas
Partnerships Coordinator at European Games Developer Federation. Ricardas has been working in the games industry for more than 20 years. As a journalist, he was heading several games magazines and later joined the development industry as a communications manager for several gamedev studios in Lithuania. Currently, Ricardas is responsible for coordinating partnerships at the European Games Developer Federation and community-building activities at the Lithuanian Game Developers Association.
Adam Flamma, PhD
Academic lecturer, has been teaching future video game developers for many years. Narrative designer at Digital Daredevils studio. Together with his students and graduates, he creates horror games at Astrolabe Stories studio. He focuses on the psychology of female characters in games and the cultural aspects of game production.
Jakub Wójcik
Founder of better. gaming agency – a company that supports developers, publishers, and distributors with PR, marketing, consulting, and business development. Previously, responsible for business development and project selection at Star Drifters – a video game developer, publisher, and incubator for independent creators. In 2017, he was honored with the Special Recognition Award of the Year for his contributions to the growth of the gaming industry. He also created 1ndie World, the largest Polish portal focused on indie games. He’s been involved in the video game industry for many years. Back in 2013, He launched Games Rage, the first Polish “pay what you want” indie game bundle. He’s one of the founders and the Executive Chairman of the Indie Games Poland Foundation, which was established to support Polish game developers. The Foundation helps creators gain industry knowledge, build their brands, and promote and sell their games.
Andrei Istrate
Romanian video game developer and industry advocate with over two decades of experience in game development. He has contributed to global AAA franchises such as Ghost Recon and Assassin’s Creed, among other titles. Beyond his work in development, Andrei has been a driving force in shaping Romania’s game dev ecosystem—founding the Romanian Game Developers Association (RGDA), GameDev Academy, and several educational podcasts focused on gamedev and education. Through these initiatives, he champions education, innovation, and community-building in the local industry.
Bartłomiej Gronowski
Quality Assurance Analyst in gamedev industry since 2016. Worked on various projects from indie to AAA (Weedcraft Inc., Rogue Spirit, Floodland, Dying Light 2: Stay Human, Dying Light: The Beast etc.). Ex-lecturer of "Analysis and testing for video games" at Warsaw Film School. Now leading the Embedded QA Team in Techland. Passionate about games quality, psychology and spreadsheets.
Daniel Sadowski
Experienced game designer, writer, and producer. Developing games since 2006 with 15+ successfully completed and launched titles.
Co-founder of Rebel Wolves. Working as the company's Design Director on AAA Dark Fantasy RPG called Dawnwalker.
Previously, co-founder and studio head of Nitreal Games for 10 years. Producer, Creative Director and Writer of hit time-management series: Dr. Cares, Fabulous and Gardens Inc. Programmer at CD Projekt RED for The Witcher. Cutscene Writer for Destructive Creations's War Mongrels. Creative Director, Producer, and Lead Designer for Vile Monarch's Growing Up. Academic teacher and mentor of 150+ games by students of Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology. Frequent guest of game-jams (as jury and speaker), gaming conferences (as speaker) and game development courses.
Rafał Szrajber, PhD
Associate Professor at Strzemiński Academy of Art Łódź, Ph.D., D.Sc. / Associate Professor at Lodz University of Technology, Ph.D., D.Sc. / CEO & Art Director - SteamRift World / Co-organizer ZTGK / ZTGK Evangelist
Szymon Makuch, PhD
Academic teacher, game researcher; member of the Association GameUP, Chief Financial Officer in Astrolabe Stories. Interested in economic and legal aspects of video games. Big fan of old point and click games like "Syberia" and "The Longest Journey"
Karol Zajączkowski
With 18+ years of experience in the gaming industry. From scriptwriting and copywriting to producing videos, supervising CGI trailers, and collaborating with third-party partners, He’s honed a diverse set of skills. He’s expertise extends to creating brand identities, developing comprehensive marketing plans, budgeting, and representing brands at trade shows. Involved in, among others, The Witcher, The Witcher 2, This War of Mine, Frostpunk, Moonlighter, Children of Morta, Frostpunk 2, The Alters, The Invincible, The Thaumaturge.
Wojciech Trusz
Polish Investment and Trade Agency (PAIH), The Centre for the Development of Creative Industries
Piotr Mańkowski
He first discovered video games at Warsaw Central Station, where in a glass-fronted arcade he encountered titles such as Centipede, Vastar, Vanguard, and Defender. His gaming journey began with the Atari XL and Commodore 64, later followed by many years devoted to PCs. He published his first article on video games in Świat Młodych, and soon became a regular contributor to iconic magazines such as Secret Service, Reset, and Pixel. Alongside journalism, he authored books on the history of games, including Cyfrowe Marzenia (Digital Dreams) and Wielka Księga Gier (The Great Book of Games). Beyond gaming, he spent over a decade immersed in the world of cinema, frequenting film clubs and the renowned Iluzjon cinema in Warsaw. Today, he is active in the games industry, organizing developer meetups, exhibition spaces at trade fairs, and conferences that present video games as a fully recognized art form. He also teaches the history of video games at the Warsaw Film School.
Jakub Gajda
Employer Branding Specialist at 11 bit studios, with five years of experience in the games industry - three dedicated to employer branding strategy and two in recruitment. A lifelong gaming enthusiast with over two decades of passion for games and the gaming market. Actively engaged in various initiatives supporting young creators and a recurring jury member in student game development competitions.
Joanna Przybyłowicz
Joanna is the PR & Marketing Manager at Fool's Theory, where she plays a key role in shaping the studio’s public presence and driving its strategic growth. With over a decade of experience in marketing and PR, her portfolio includes projects like Chernobylite, Gamedec, and The Thaumaturge. Today, she continues to raise recognition of Fool’s Theory’s brand and its passion for crafting games, strengthening its position as a creative force in the global industry.
Radosław Dubisz
Cultural studies expert and gamer with thirty years of experience under his belt. Fan of rich narrations with twists, original art styles and atmospheric soundtracks. Preferably on vinyl. Head of the Strategy, Analysis and Creative Industries Divison at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage of Poland.
Jędrzej Juszczak
Started his career just like one of you - a student obsessed with games. Annoying to professors, to stop bothering them, he got offer for his first job in game development while still in college. His experience in QA at Vile Monarch didn’t quite satisfy his technical and creative passion for giving players new experiences. Moving to CD Projekt RED allowed him to combine those ambitions, blending complex technical implementations with the creation of emotions, taking on the role of Technical Designer. Now, he continues in that role at Elsewhere Entertainment (Activision), where he’s an expert in the field. With this expert eye on games, he was sharing his knowledge, sparking the fire for games in new generations of game creators as a high school teacher and university professor. Now is working with his own students on biggest titles world has seen. You might know him from Cyberpunk, The Witcher 3, both Gwent games, or other smaller titles.
Program board
The members will be announced soon
Organizing Committee
Ewa Maria Szczepanowska
Paweł Miechowski
Marek Czerniak
Jakub Bukała, PhD
Jakub Wójcik
Dorota Piskor
Claudia Shmega
Aleksandra Lipska
Justyna Łapuć - Docha
Special thanks
Marcin Kosz
Adam Konowrocki
Piotr Paradowski
Mateusz Frańczuk
Sylwia Stanibuła-Urban
Magdalena Łapkiewicz