Competition rules

I. Objectives of the competition

1. To promote the correct use of modern analytical methods across various fields of scientific research and practical applications.
2. To recognize and promote the authors of the best doctoral and master’s theses utilizing advanced statistical and data analysis tools available in the Statistica software family.

II. Organizer of the competition

The competition is organized by StatSoft Polska. The competition is held under the patronage of the Polish Statistical Association.

III. Terms of participation

1. The competition is open to doctoral and master’s theses prepared at Polish universities and research institutions that have been defended before the application deadline or have received a positive review and a defense date has been set.
2. Theses may be submitted by their authors, supervisors, or heads of the promoting departments.
3. Outstanding bachelor’s theses may also be submitted, provided that a written recommendation from the thesis supervisor is included.
4. Applications must be sent to the Secretary of the Competition Committee, Dr. Janusz Wątroba, by email at: j.watroba@statsoft.pl.
5. The application must include:

• a digital copy of the thesis (PDF format),
• contact details of the author (current mailing address, phone, email), the supervisor (current mailing address, workplace, phone, email) and, if applicable, the assistant supervisor (same data), as well as the promoting unit,
• copies of evaluations provided by the supervisor (for master’s and bachelor’s theses) and the reviewer(s),
• confirmation of thesis submission or confirmation that the thesis has been defended.

2. The thesis must be prepared using a legally obtained version of the software purchased from StatSoft Polska (license number must be provided).
3. The application deadline is October 30, 2026.

IV. Main evaluation criteria

1. Correct application of selected statistical and data analysis methods.
2. Scientific, cognitive, and practical value of the obtained results.
3. Use of a wide range of data analysis methods and data/result visualization techniques available in the Statistica software family.

V. Awards

1. Total prize pool for authors and supervisors: 15000 PLN. The prizes will be distributed among the authors and supervisors of the awarded theses.
2. Awards for promoting units of doctoral and master’s theses: a selected online training course from StatSoft’s offering, available to a group of employees from the promoting unit (to be used by the end of 2027).

VI. Competition committee

The evaluation of the theses and the distribution of awards will be conducted by the competition committee, which includes university professors specializing in the application of statistical data analysis methods across various fields of scientific research, a representative of the Polish Statistical Association and a representative of StatSoft Polska.

VII. Competition timeline

1. Thesis submissions will be accepted until October 30, 2026.
2. The competition results will be announced by December 15, 2026.
3. Winners will be informed about their awards by phone or email.
4. Prizes for authors and supervisors will be distributed within 4 weeks of the announcement of results by the competition committee.

VIII. Final remarks

The organizers reserve the right to use information about the authors (including publishing names of authors and supervisors in journals, informational materials issued by StatSoft Polska, and on the company’s websites).
Substantive matters not covered by these rules will be decided by the competition committee; organizational matters will be handled by the organizer.
The rules are subject to change. The organizers reserve the right to change the value of the prizes, withhold the awards, or cancel the competition.

For more information about the competition and the Statistica software family, please contact StatSoft Polska by phone (+48 12 428 43 00) or email.