This year, the Start Me Up business idea competition received 168 accepted proposals, with the aim of discovering and supporting new growth entrepreneurs and startups. After the initial screening by...
The Ideation Competition seeks solutions to companies' climate challenges
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Business Joensuu news
Press release on November 7, 2023
City of Joensuu
City of Joensuu
At the end of November, a brainstorming competition called Hack Me Up will be held for students, where climate-smart solutions for the benefit of businesses, communities, and households are sought. The goal is to find solutions that either reduce carbon footprints or increase carbon handprints, meaning positive climate impacts. The best ideas will be rewarded, and the winning team stands a chance to win 1,000 euros.
The idea competition is organized in collaboration with the Climate Joensuu 2025 and the Innocities Joensuu projects, as well as partner companies.
- We want to encourage students to come up with creative solutions to promote positive climate actions in both businesses and households in Joensuu, explains climate expert Pinja Leino from the Climate Joensuu 2025 project.
- In the Hack Me Up competition, teams compete in a hackathon-style format, working intensively for a couple of days to generate new ideas through collaborative efforts, Leino adds.
Students can register for the event individually or form teams of 2 to 5 members. If registering individually, the competition organizers will assist in team formation. Upon registration, participants can choose one sustainability challenge they wish to address. The offered challenges include climate-smart e-commerce, reducing food waste in student dining, addressing public transportation needs related to students' leisure time, enhancing sorting and recycling in households and smart and climate-friendly district heating.
A panel of judges will evaluate the functionality, feasibility, user experience, and novelty of the ideas.
- We hope that the ideation competition will inspire students to continue innovating and developing new solutions in the future. Students have the opportunity, if they wish, to further develop and refine their ideas in next year's Start Me Up business idea competition in collaboration with a partner company, says Kirsi Svärd, a business coach from Business Joensuu.
Hack Me Up will take place from Friday to Saturday, November 24th to 25th, at Joensuu Science Park. The registration period for the competition ends on Friday, November 17th, at 3:00 PM. To learn more about the sustainability challenges and to register, visit businessjoensuu.fi/hackmeup.
