Young Professionals in standardization 2025 – practical workshop

People involved in the work of Technical Committees met at Brain Embassy to gain practical insights into standardization, learn how to formulate comments on draft standards and take their first steps towards cooperation with CEN, CENELEC, ISO and IEC.

Practical format of the meeting

This year’s “Young Professional in standardization” was organized in a fully workshop-based formula. The participants – over 20 young specialists – worked at three tables, going through three modules in sequence:

• work in the Technical Committee in practice;
• writing and justifying comments on draft standards;
• first steps in the work of CEN, CENELEC, ISO and IEC.

The meeting was opened by Anna Komar – Director of the External Relations Department, who presented the workshop format and encouraged active participation. Then Ewa Zielińska – the President of PKN spoke, emphasizing the importance of face-to-face meetings, the opportunity to ask questions and the exchange of experiences between experts. After a short integration session, the participants moved on to workshop activities at the tables.

Working in a Technical Committee – conclusions from the first module

The first session was led by Olga Pieniążek-Bylewska from the PKN Consumer Products Sector, who discussed the daily work of Technical Committees: the roles of members and representatives, tasks in the PZN, the importance of voting and reviewing draft standards. Participants then worked in groups with task cards.

The most important conclusions included:

• the need for better onboarding of new people in the KT (introduction by a consultant, not just e-learning);
• the idea of automatic reminders about missing quorum in voting;
• a request for clearer messages in the PZN – a brief summary of the task in the email;
• drawing attention to the problem of the so-called “voyeurs” – people who are formally in the KT, but do not actively participate in voting;
• recommendation for regular KT meetings, which would allow for better prioritization and improved information flow.

Teresa Sosnowska – the Vice-President for Standardization also joined the discussion, answering questions and indicating where to find supporting materials for KT members.

How to write comments on draft standards – working with OSD

The second session was led by Tomasz Mazur – Deputy Director of the Standardization Department, who introduced participants to working with the OSD application, which supports the process of submitting comments on draft standards. He discussed three types of comments:

• technical;
• editorial;
• global (general).

After a brief introduction, participants immediately moved on to exercises using sample documents. The conclusions from the table work showed that:

• technical comments require a specific, well-reasoned description;
• editorial comments, although often underestimated, significantly affect the readability of standards;
• general comments are needed where the problem concerns the entire structure of the document;
• a short introductory guide to the OSD for new KT members would be useful.

First steps in CEN, CENELEC, ISO and IEC

The third session was led by Weronika Kowalik from the PKN Defence and Public Security Sector, who explained the differences between the roles of a Delegate and an Expert and discussed the principles of participation in the work of European and international organizations.

The participants identified the barriers to involvement, such as:

• lack of time and resources in the company;
• limited financial resources;
• unclear benefits and expectations;
• language-related concerns;
• reporting concerns.

At the same time, the following benefits were strongly emphasized:

• access to first-hand information;
• real influence on the content of standards;
• competence development and prestige;
• international networking;
• better preparation for upcoming regulatory changes;
• opportunity to promote one’s own results and solutions.

SMART Standards – the direction of service development

The workshop culminated in a presentation by Beata Liszkiewicz – the Director of Standards Transformation Department, on SMART standards and the directions of digital transformation in standardization. The participants learned about the concept of modern, „smart” standards and PKN services that already support users in working with standardization documents.

At the end of the workshop, Anna Komar (WRZ) conducted an evaluation survey, gathering opinions and ideas for future editions of the workshop.

Thank you for your commitment

This year’s “Young Professionals in standardization” workshop showed the value of young experts’ perspective and how much can be achieved through collaborative, practical work at the tables.

We would like to thank all participants for their presence, energy and specific proposals. It is thanks to you that we are developing standardization in Poland – both in Technical Committees, and internationally.