Second edition of the Finland-Singapore Maritime Innovation Camp seeks to create value through innovation with new Corporate Partners

Supported under the Memorandum of Understanding between University of Turku (UTU) and the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) established in November 2016, the second edition of the Finland-Singapore Maritime Innovation Camp will be taking place from 11 to 16 January 2020 in Singapore.

The second Innovation Camp follows the success of the inaugural edition that took place in September 2018 in Singapore. UTU and SMI are pleased to partner three key maritime industry players at Innovation Camp 2020 – The China Navigation Company, Jurong Port, and MacGregor.

Based on the Innovation Challenge set by the three Corporate Partners, university students from Finland and Singapore will work together in groups to generate innovative ideas and accelerate their concepts before pitching them to a distinguished Judging Panel. The team’s proposal will be assessed based on the novelty, benefits, potential and presentation of their solutions.

The members of the distinguished Judging Panel will include:

“UTU and the School of Economics are more than enthusiastic to continue innovation collaboration in Singapore with leading corporate partners in the industry. We highly regard and value the trusted partnership with SMI that provides opportunities for productive, transformative and ambitious joint initiatives like the Innovation Camp”, says Mr Antti Saurama, Director of Corporate Research Co-operation at Turku School of Economics in UTU.

“It is important to bring our talented and vibrant youth together to expose them to real world problems requiring innovative solutions. The involvement of major companies attest to belief that not only new ideas will come from the meeting of enthusiastic minds, but through this camp we will continue to build an international community of innovators that will help address key challenges facing the maritime sector.”, says Dr Sanjay C. Kuttan of SMI who will be chairing the Judging Panel.

UTU and SMI are also pleased to have the Singapore Maritime Foundation (SMF) as a Supporting Partner for this Innovation Camp as part of joint efforts to raise the profile of the maritime sector.

“SMF aims to position Singapore as an International Maritime Centre through attracting and developing the next generation of talent, who have the passion to shape the industry’s growth in this era of digitalisation. The Innovation Camp will allow us to hear from the creative minds of the youth, on how the industry can continue to maintain its competitiveness as we navigate the changing landscape of the maritime industry.”, says Mr Kenneth Chia of the Singapore Maritime Foundation.

Through the Innovation Camp, all parties hope to gather greater interest and identify talent among students in Finland and Singapore for the maritime sector. Innovation and entrepreneurship will be cultivated within participating students, which will also create value for the three Corporate Partners and their respective value chain partners and stakeholders.

“I’m honored to represent The China Navigation Company and Swire Shipping on the judging panel, and I’m looking forward to interacting with emerging talent, as well as with my fellow judges. Shipping remains a lifeline in the world economy and the challenges confronting our industry demand fresh ideas, growth mindsets and innovative solutions. I’m confident that participants of the camp will rise up to the challenge and we will see solutions that have not been thought of before, and ideas that will drive the industry forward.”, says Mr Rasmus Nagel of The China Navigation Company.

“Swire Shipping’s success over the past 140 years has been built on a culture of customer centricity, innovation and recognition that we can only be as successful as our customers are. As we continue on our next phase of growth fueled by digital transformation and a relentless pursuit of customer service excellence, we need talent, bold ideas, as well as a broader and robust maritime ecosystem where innovation and creativity can flourish. We will continue to work closely with industry partners and our peers because we believe that together we can make for a better and vibrant industry.”, Mr Nagel adds.

“Encouraging innovation that strives to unlock efficiency gains and optimization is part of Jurong Port’s strategic plans as we become a next generation multipurpose port. We are delighted to be part of this collaboration alongside SMI, UTU, The China Navigation Company and MacGregor to drive innovation, and are excited to see how new ideas from this innovation camp will further widen perspectives for the maritime sector”, says Mr Tan Wee Meng of Jurong Port.

“We are very pleased to be participating again in the Innovation Camp,” says Michel van Roozendaal, President of MacGregor. “We work in close collaboration with our customers and partners to develop new, value-added cargo and load handling solutions, and are equally keen to support the work of talented students as they identify innovative ways to address key challenges in the maritime industry.”

The top winning team of the second Finland-Singapore Maritime Innovation Camp will be announced and awarded during the Closing Gala Reception on 16 January 2020 by the event’s Guest-of-Honour.

Registrations for the second Finland-Singapore Maritime Innovation Camp is now open online at www.maritimeinstitute.sg/InnovationCamp. More details will be available in the coming weeks where further information will be progressively released and made available on the webpage.

**End of Release**

About University of Turku (UTU)

The University of Turku is a multidisciplinary higher education and research university in Southwest Finland. Turku is the oldest city in Finland, first mentioned in writing in 1229. The University was established in 1920 and currently it is a community of 20,000 students and 3,300 staff members. Southwest Finland is a major port and ship-building region on the Baltic sea, and the University of Turku plays the leading academic role in this region. With seven faculties including natural sciences, law and business, its profile builds on interdisciplinary research. The strategic theme “Sea and maritime studies” covers environmental research, cultural aspects of sea and coast, and especially ship-building, logistics and port operations.

For more information, please visit www.utu.fi.

About the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI)

The Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) is a joint effort by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA), the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB).

Established in April 2011, the SMI develops strategies and programmes to achieve its mission with key focus areas in sectors such as port, shipping and maritime services. The SMI charts the maritime research strategy and promotes greater industry-academia R&D collaborations to be undertaken in Singapore.

As a whole-of-Government approach, the agencies work together in initiatives driven through the SMI. The formation of the SMI will strengthen Singapore’s research manpower and capabilities as a global maritime knowledge hub to enhance the overall positioning and competitiveness of the maritime industry.