An expert on organising IT-sector hackathons believes that currently hackathons are the most effective means of encouraging innovation and the use of technology. This can significantly affect the competitiveness of Latvian companies and give a big boost to Latvia’s economy. Corporate hackathons involve inter-sector cooperation, which stimulates sustainability, which is often the biggest problem in the startup environment.
One of the hottest topics in the IT sector today is 5G and the internet of things. The proponents of 5G claim it will usher in a new industrial revolution. 5G has the potential to completely transform industry, smart homes, transport and other areas of life, and this is the biggest challenge relating to its introduction.
The ”5G Hackathon”* will be held in Riga on 27-28 November. The significant players in the 5G ecosystem have until 1 September to submit challenges for this event that are based on real-life situations and are in line with the enterprise’s business strategy. The challenges must align with one of four categories: smart city, smart mobility, media and entertainment and 4.0 industry. When all the challenges have been submitted, Baltic and Scandinavian IT companies will be invited to submit innovative solutions to the problems. On 28 November, the final day of the hackathon, the three best teams will step onto the main 5G Forum stage to present their smart solutions. Apart from winning, the event offers participants the chance to gain valuable experience and feedback from sector experts and make contacts with international companies.
The introduction of 5G is especially pertinent in Latvia, since it was one of the first European countries to begin actively discussing the introduction of 5G infrastructure. The driving force in this regard is Latvijas Mobilais telefons (LMT), which demonstrated a 5G network for the first time in Riga last September.
*This will be held as an official side-event of the ”5G Techritory Forum”.
Newsletter/Article is prepared within European Regional Development Fund funded project No. 3.2.1.1/16/A/004 "Promotion of competitiveness and export capacity of IT industry".
