Will not be limited to Klaipėda: the Hackathon “Portathon Baltic” Expands its Geography

Klaipėda will once again invite to create advanced solutions for the ports of today and the future. The hackathon “Portathon Baltic 2020” organised for the second time will bring together the teams of companies, innovators and start-ups from Lithuania and abroad. The event will take place on the 25^th-27^th of September in virtual platform as well, providing opportunity for an even larger group of enthusiasts to participate.

80 participants from 4 countries – Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany – were accepted in the hackathon last year. In 48 hours they generated 18 solutions applicable in the logistics sector by automating and digitalising port terminal equipment and various processes as well as developing smart transport ecosystems.

Klaipėda Science and Technology Park (KSTP) organised the event, which took place in the Lithuanian port city for the first time, together with Klaipėda State Seaport Authority which supported the idea as well as with the companies belonging to the Lithuanian Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) cluster, and the Science, Innovation and Technology Agency.

This year, the Lithuanian maritime cluster, organisation “Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area” and business incubator “Starter”  are joining the ranks of partners. “Portathon Baltic 2020” has also secured the support from 3 international projects – “Smart Up BSR”, “Secmar” and “Connect 2 Small Ports”.

According to the development manager of KSTP, Andrius Sutnikas, open and compelling format of the hackathon last year became a powerful incentive for companies, students, teachers and start-ups gathered in teams not only to fight for prizes and the attention of potential investors, but also to demonstrate the ambitions and the potential of Klaipėda.

“In its economic development strategy “Klaipėda 2030”, the city has established the goal of focusing on the sustainable use of marine resources, strengthening of competencies relevant to the advanced industry, and the development of innovative technologies. The hackathon “Portathon Baltic 2020” proves that all of this is not just a fancy declaration – we have both the enthusiasm and strong minds capable of generating valuable content that can serve business. So it is no coincidence that the initiative attracted the attention of new solid partners” – stressed A. Sutnikas.

Team registration is already open: bit.ly/Portathon2020Registration. As last year, participation in the event is free. Companies will be invited to delegate their representatives to the event, individual start-ups, specialists, engineering students and IT students can also form teams and together strive to achieve a common goal.

Currently, port companies and other organisations are invited to offer their challenges to the organisers which will determine the nature of future solutions. “The hackathon provides a unique opportunity to take new perspectives on business-related issues, transforming challenges into new opportunities. Given that this year there are even two physical locations and an online platform, it will bring together several times more participants than last year and innovative solutions will be generated much more intensively. It is worth taking advantage of” – suggested A. Sutnikas.

The range of challenges of “Portathon 2020” will include the fields of digitisation in the logistics sector, automated port equipment, digitisation of port terminals, smart transport ecosystems as well as new and relevant topic of cyber security in the maritime sector. The challenges related to these fields can be formed and submitted by e-mail projects@kmtp.lt until the 21^st  of August.

The solid prizes will await the teams that generate the most interesting solutions to solve problems relevant to business, ports and port cities. Last year their fund amounted to 4 thousand euros.