Wood Technology Hackathon: Advancing Latvia’s Forest Industry through Innovation and Collaboration

Latvia’s woodworking and forest industry is one of the cornerstones of Latvia’s economy, which has remained consistently important. Forests cover 53% of Latvia’s national territory, and the role of industry in GDP reaches 6.5%, while the volume of exports is 3.6 billion euros, or almost a quarter of the country’s total exports.

Taking into account the potential of the industry and changes in the industry in the long term, 18.-19. In May in Valmiera, in the premises of Vidzeme University, the Wood Technology Hackathon will take place in person, where participants will develop their prototypes for new products and solutions in the ideation process.

“The forest industry is currently facing changes. Latvia’s long-term strategy is related to economic transformation, and wood technologies provide very wide opportunities for the development of new directions. The hackathon format is a great opportunity for our talents, entrepreneurs, researchers and students to create innovative solutions in close cooperation with industry experts, bringing together specialists from various fields and professionals from the wood industry,” emphasizes Laima Engere-Levina, the representative of the hackathon organizers, head of the entrepreneurship center of the Vidzeme planning region.

During the hackathon, with the help of mentors, participants will create ideas for challenges in three thematic verticals: digitization and optimization of existing industry processes, such as CO2 data accounting, open data solutions, development of new, innovative products or materials, such as scanning wooden buildings, development of new composite materials and sustainability and circular economy as the third topic of the hackathon, within the framework of which the development of ideas for the recycling of building materials and beyond will be invited.

The initiative is an opportunity to gain concrete experience in the industry and validate ideas under the guidance of experienced industry experts. In the role of mentors, the participants will be advised by Gunita Ķiesner, head of the School of New Construction of Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, architect Marija Katrīna Dambe, Artūrs Bukonts, executive director of the Latvian Wood Industry Federation, Krišjānis Zaķis, the leading expert in digitization of construction and energy efficiency of buildings at Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences’ School of New Construction, civil engineer Aivars Vilguts, and Ieva, the executive director of the Association of Furniture Manufacturers in Latvia. Eagle.

Hackathon participants will have the opportunity not only to prove their abilities by solving the challenges presented in the hackathon, but also to compete for valuable prizes. The cooperation partner of the hackathon “Latvijas Finieris” has provided a 1000 EUR prize fund for the further development of the idea prototype, and the winners will also be provided with the opportunity to go on an experience exchange trip to Norway. The hackathon is free and participants will be provided with free food and accommodation.

Experts, students, IT specialists, engineers, etc. interested or industry activists are invited to participate. We also invite companies that are ready to offer their employees’ teams and time for the development of innovative solutions or want to get involved in the organization of the hackathon as a project partner (for example, by supporting the participation of mentors or experts in the hackathon). De minimis support will be applied to entrepreneurs whose idea will be developed in the hackathon and those who will receive the opportunity to participate in an experience exchange trip to Norway as a prize.

You can find more information about the progress of the Wood Technology Hackathon on the website: https://hakatons.vidzeme.lv.

The hackathon is organized by the Vidzeme planning region, implementing the financial instrument of the European Economic Area 2014-2021. activities of the project “Entrepreneurship support measures in the Vidzeme planning region” of the program “Local development, poverty alleviation and cultural cooperation” for the period of 2018. The hackathon is organized in cooperation with Vidzeme University, Vidzeme Technology and Design Techniques and innovation management company Helve.