Pawel Urbanski … privately and at work

The combination of a non-negotiable challenge on the one hand, and hard-earned perseverance and activity on the other, allowed me to achieve success as a speaker, consultant, and previously an adventurer.

Learn how I got involved in extreme sports, education and entrepreneurship, and who I am and what I plan for the future.

For the past few years I have worked as a speaker, coach, consultant, and analyst. This has given me experience with businesses, startups, schools, universities, and media. I’ve climbed the Seven Summits, and designed medical applications or improved usability.

I live near Warsaw, and was born in Poland.
A challenge in my youth taught me perseverance and creativity.
I am an analyst and an extreme user of technology.
Sport is a field for self-fulfilment without pressure for me.

I deal with team collaboration, application, and risk in technology, and educational activities, in the following contexts:

Adapting products or services to demographic or technology shift.
Efficiency and balance in work in a chaotic environment.

Studying in a boarding school at the age of 15, after losing my eyesight, was a lesson in responsibility and a crash course in adulthood for me. A later scholarship and study at one of the international United World Colleges (UWC) in Norway became a turning point.

Regular climbing at school instilled a fascination for sports.
Dependence on the computer gave me valuable future skills.
Living with people from 95 countries opened my eyes to the world.

I returned to Poland to study economics, which I completed earlier thanks to good academic results. Working on a doctorate at the Polish Academy of Sciences and the innovation program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology expanded my technological skills.

Reorganizing and supporting team cooperation through coaching.
Creating concepts or adapting products or services.
Conducting educational or implementation workshops.
Assessing and eliminating predictable risks.

Education in theory and practice

I am a supporter of learning in practice and through safe experiments. At the same time, I value learning in the traditional sense or especially out of pure curiosity. Completing the International Baccalaureate at the second attempt tested my persistance. This was not an obstacle to my later work on my PhD or participation in the innovation program at MIT.

I was a startup mentor in the MIT Enterprise Forum accelerator.
I was awarded a Mind Mapping certificate by Prof. Tony Buzan.
I support the activities of the Polish UWC National Committee.

Education at various stages of life was not only a source of required knowledge for me, but also a motivator of positive change. I am a graduate of the following schools, universities, and programs.

New Ventures Leadership at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Institute of Computer Science at the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Faculty of Economics at the University of Gdańsk.
Red Cross Nordic United World College.

Climbing, skiing, golf

My fascination for extreme sports was born during my stay in Norway. It was there that I started climbing and learned to ski. Regular training after school turned into winning skiing competitions. I returned to sports after a 3-year break from sports climbing and started training judo. It was at that time that the idea of expeditions to the Seven Summits was born.

The first expedition of the project ended with a flight in a rescue helicopter.
A year later I conquered Kilimanjaro, the first blind Pole to do so.
I crossed the glacier on Spitsbergen above the Arctic Circle.
The expeditions to Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro were the basis for 2 films.

I took part in 7 expeditions to: Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Mont Blanc, Mount Kosciuszko and the Arctic Circle. At the same time, I coordinated cooperation with the media and sponsors of the project.

I am a laureate of the Sports Star award on the Alley of Stars.
I currently play golf and regularly train at the gym.