The Offshore Klaipeda online event brought together international audience to discuss about the new opportunities emerging together with the ambition to develop 700 MW wind farm in the Baltic Sea, nearly 30 kilometres from the Lithuanian shore.

Virtual workshop was attended by participants from Lithuanian and foreign business companies, government and science institutions.
 

Rytis Kėvelaitis, Vice-Minister of Energy stated in his presentation that further development of the project is already underway. In the next phase, another 700 MW capacity would be installed. Total potential of wind production in the Baltic Sea is almost 3.4 thousand MW.
 

“We must make every effort to ensure that the production and assembly of wind turbines would be established here in Lithuania. Today, when cargo volumes are limited, Klaipeda port is able to attract new cargo and create added value. The emergence of such activities in Klaipėda also means new jobs and additional income to the state budget. The Port Development Council asked us to find areas where the assembly of wind turbines or the production of their components can be developed. We identified several potential areas in the port where it is possible to collect or produce wind power plants”, – said Algis Latakas, Director General of the Klaipėda Port.
 

Programme of the virtual workshop also featured presentations by Western Constructions (Western Shipyard BLRT Grupp), Klaipeda University, Lithuanian Wind Power Association, Lithuanian maritime cluster partners Emerson, Schneider Electric, experts from Aker Offshore Wind, Lautec and DNV GL.
 

You are welcome to download presentations by our speakers until 20 November.
 

Stay tuned about other events, projects and initiatives: Facebook   Linkedin 

Will Klaipeda be able to catch the wind of change? Will business in Western Lithuania take advantage of the new opportunities?
 

The process of the preparation for the construction of an approximately 700-megawatt wind farm in the Baltic Sea has already started. Investments for this project can reach more than one billion euros.

The project would give a boost for the establishment of a wind farm maintenance base in Klaipeda port. It would encourage to identify new business niches related to the assembly or even production of components required for power plants, logistics, maintenance, etc. The wind farm is expected to create about 1,400 direct and secondary jobs.

Various industries seek to become part of an accelerating process, so the Offshore Klaipėda event, which will take place online on November 11, will invite to discuss topics that now are most relevant for business and decision makers.

Offshore Klaipėda is organized by the Lithuanian Maritime Cluster and its coordinator Klaipeda Science and Technology Park, in cooperation with Danish and Norwegian maritime clusters, which have significant experience in developing offshore wind energy projects.

We invite you to REGISTER here

PROGRAM (PDF)

The second episode of our online session will be held at 15th of October 2020 starting at 09:00 CET. Again, Connect2SmallPorts project is glad to cooperate with SECMAR project to organise the event as well as to share the fully confirmed AGENDA.
 

Both projects provide one key-note speaker as well as a short presentation from current project results and processes. Prof. Lawrence Henesey will once again open the online session as moderator and chair the roundtable discussion at the end of the event. Mikael Lagström shares new insights of cyber security from his view as General Manager at Truesec, followed by Prof. Vytautas Paulauskas presenting first results from the Connect2SmallPorts audits and David Appleberg providing latest perceptions from SECMAR project progress. Richard Morton’s presentation will provide an overview of Port Community Systems and Port Resilience during COVID-19 and leads over to our roundtable discussion guided by our moderator.
 

To join the event, please REGISTER yourself to receive the link for our online room shortly in advance of the event.
 

The event will be recored and uploaded to the Connect2SmallPorts Channel afterwards, also you should check out our last online session on “Smart Tools for Smart and Medium Ports”.

The pandemic has shown that every crisis can be a time of opportunities. A number of companies have already started looking for solutions in different spheres, such as e-commerce, health, work optimization and  some others, but the market still needs innovations that can solve various pressing issues. The “TechHub” project, implemented by the Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA), aims to bring together representatives of various fields, promote the growth of knowledge-based business in the country and also organizes the first startup pre-accelerator this November. Registration is already open!

The Innovators Community
 

“According to evaluations in the field of innovation capacity, such as the level of research and experimental development (R&D), the number of patents of inventions, Lithuania ranks 42nd out of 141 in the world. Our aim is to contribute to the improvement of this indicator by bringing together a community of active innovators who would be involved in solving various problems of society, science or business, find like-minded people and develop their ideas together,” says Gintas Kimtys, Director of MITA.
 

Project consultants already provide professional advice to companies that are interested in developing or implementing innovations. Experts from various fields advise business representatives on financing, project administration and management, preparation of applications, strategy and other issues. It is presumed that with the help of project experts, companies will create or implement 100 innovations.
 

Innovation enthusiasts will also be invited to participate in regular innovation promotion and networking events where the success stories of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, opportunities for the development of early-stage ideas and markets will be presented. Moreover, participants will be able to test their strengths in hackathons, where they will create prototypes to solve different problems relevant to business, meet like-minded people and have a chance to win a ticket to the pre-accelerator.

Turning the idea into a minimal product
 

The first cycle of the pre-accelerator is planned in November. It includes 3-months of intensive training and mentoring sessions designed to develop startup ideas into reality, as well as to acquire business knowledge and skills. It is planned that 120 startups will grow their ideas to the minimum viable product during the implementation of the project.
 

“It has been established that startups, that receive the help of mentors, grow almost 4 times faster in their field and attract as much as 7 times more venture capital than developing on their own. This is because the professional and experienced mentors can not only provide knowledge, but also draw attention to mistakes, motivate, introduce to potential investors, business angels,” says the project manager Gintarė Narakienė.
 

During the pre-accelerator, startups will have the opportunity to receive services up to 25.000 Eur free of charge. Experienced experts will lead sessions and advise on innovation development, product development, positioning, branding, team building, financing, intellectual property and other topics. During the training period, startups will have individual mentors.
 

Startups will also have the opportunity to travel abroad with project funds. Five best-performing teams from each cycle will be able to travel to EU countries to look for partners and investors as well as to participate in B2B meetings.  The other five best performing teams will be able to participate in foreign accelerators.  
 

The project will also help to discover team members that might be needed. “A startup can rarely be a successful one-man creation. Its existence requires not only experience, knowledge of technology, but it also needs a manager, lawyer, financial controller. So we want to bring together as many interdisciplinary teams as possible, also consisting not only of students, but also of researchers. “TechHub” experts will help to find reinforcement for startup teams, as well as invite those who do not have a startup, but want to help to implement the ideas of others,” says G. Narakienė.
 

All startups will be able to submit applications for participation in the pre-accelerator (very small or small companies with high and innovation-based business development potential, operating for no more than 5 years). Each applicant team will have to provide information about the startup, team, service (product) in the application form. Received applications will be evaluated and the participants will be selected by project experts.
 

A total of six pre-accelerator cycles until 2022 are planned. In November, 20 companies will be selected for the first cycle. Registration starts on 12 October and will last until 23 October. Follow us for more information on your Facebook account and website.
 

TechHub is a project implemented by the Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology (MITA) to help develop early-stage innovative business ideas, encourage intensive start-up growth and sustainable development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The aim of the project is to encourage researchers, scientists, students and businesses to develop innovative ideas, provide their teams with support and opportunities for intensive growth. We invite you to follow all project related news on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn as well as  https://mita.lrv.lt/techhub 
 

The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund. No: 01.2.1-LVPA-V-842 “Inogeb EN”

Dear participants and hosts,   
 

I am pleased to congratulate and extend my  appreciation to the participants, their mentors, the hosts, academic and office staff for their engaging work, far-reaching and insightful ideas throughout 3 days of brainstorming. 
 

My true conviction is that these kinds of events, as a new chapter in the virtual event era, empower us to think, to create and collaborate differently. 
 

Portathon Baltic 2020 proved to bring an inspirational and immersive experience for all of us. Creativity and commitment you demonstrated are critical in today’s life to transform challenges we face to opportunities to use. 
 

Let me THANK YOU again for your pro-active participation, proposed insightful ideas, elaborated interesting projects and enjoyable time we had during this rewarding event. 
 

It has been pleasure of having and meting you in Portathon Baltic 2020 and I am privileged to announce that a new traditional event Portathon Baltic has been born to bring ardent technology fans together, thus I hope you will participate in the event next year!  
  

Technologically Yours,  
 

Algis Latakas 
Klaipeda Port CEO 

Dear participants and hosts,   
 

I am pleased to congratulate and extend my  appreciation to the participants, their mentors, the hosts, academic and office staff for their engaging work, far-reaching and insightful ideas throughout 3 days of brainstorming. 
 

My true conviction is that these kinds of events, as a new chapter in the virtual event era, empower us to think, to create and collaborate differently. 
 

Portathon Baltic 2020 proved to bring an inspirational and immersive experience for all of us. Creativity and commitment you demonstrated are critical in today’s life to transform challenges we face to opportunities to use. 
 

Let me THANK YOU again for your pro-active participation, proposed insightful ideas, elaborated interesting projects and enjoyable time we had during this rewarding event. 
 

It has been pleasure of having and meting you in Portathon Baltic 2020 and I am privileged to announce that a new traditional event Portathon Baltic has been born to bring ardent technology fans together, thus I hope you will participate in the event next year!  
  

Technologically Yours,  
 

Algis Latakas 
Klaipeda Port CEO 

The second hackathon “Portathon Baltic 2020”  organised on September 25-27 took place on a virtual platform, involving participants not only from Lithuania, but also from Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The event invited academic youth, representatives of different industries and specialists from various fields to work on innovative solutions that are relevant not only to Klaipeda, but also to other ports in the Baltic Sea region.

Virginijus Sinkevicius, the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, joined the opening event virtually with his speech.

“Ports have always been important drivers of human development, ever since the early days of civilization. And today, they are more relevant than ever. They are the entry point for over 75% of all EU trade, so their role in the European economy cannot be overestimated.

At the same time, ports are also part of some of the biggest transformations that our European society is aiming for. First, the European Green Deal, and our ambition to become a carbon-neutral continent by 2050. Second, the digital transition, shaping Europe’s digital future and moving from followers to global leaders in this area. These strategic priorities are essential to the future of our planet, our future welfare and our sustainable economic growth. And they are, especially in the case of transport, closely interlinked”, – Commissioner  V.Sinkevičius said.
 

The range of challenges of Portathon Baltic 2020 included digitization in the logistics sector, automated port equipment, digitization of port terminals, smart transport ecosystems, cyber security in the maritime sector. The event also called for solutions that would help to reduce water pollution using arine biological resources or components.

Over 80 technology enthusiasts from Lithuanian and foreign academic institutions, business representatives and start-ups registered to the event. The tenth and eleventh graders of the engineering classes of Klaipėda Baltic Gymnasium became the youngest participants of the event.

The teams were assisted by 14 mentors from Vilnius and Klaipeda Universities, Vilnius Tech, the Center for Physical and Technological Sciences and other institutions, experts from Poland, as well as the Swedish Blue Science Park and Blekinge University of Technology. Participants also had an opportunity to cunsult with the representatives from the business organizations – Schneider Electric, Omega Technology.

According to the decision of the commission consisting of mentors and the head of Klaipeda State Seaport Authority Mr. Algis Latakas, the teams from Kaunas University of Applied Sciences, Germany and the UAE were recognized as the strongest after 12 final presentations.
 

Lithuanians were awarded for the generated solution of the quay condition monitoring system using sensors. Representatives of the Universities of Rostock and Wismar (“Baltic Merchants” team) – for a drone solution that help in monitoring and eliminating polluting spillage, the team for Amity University in Dubai  were awarded for an innovative container monitoring solution.

In cooperation with Klaipeda State Seaport Authority, the event was organized for the second time by Klaipeda Science and Technology Park, Science, Innovation and Technology Agency (MITA), Lithuanian Maritime Cluster, organisation Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot Metropolitan Area and business incubator “Starter”. Portathon Baltic 2020 was also supported by international projects Smart Up BSR, Secmar and Connect 2 Small Ports.

Welcome to the “Baltic Sea Region – Towards Sustainable Economic Transformation”! This high-level conference of the future of the Baltic Sea Region will take a look at Smart Specialisation as a tool for Economic Transformation and SDG implementation.
 

When: 28th of September, 9.55-14.00 (EEST +3).

Where: This event will be held as Webinar over Zoom, hosted from Aalto University.

The virtual event will bring together speakers from regions of EU and the Baltic Sea. The webinar focuses on the future opportunities of the Baltic Sea in applying smart specialisation in order to speed-up sustainable economic transformation and SDGs, while contributing to the post-crisis’s recovery and resilience.

Program:

10.00 – 10.30 Opening remarks
 

10.30 – 11.20 Policy discussion of Sustainable Economic Transformation in the Baltic Sea Region
 

11.20 – 11.35 Book Launch of ‘BSR Towards Economic Transformation by Smart Specialisation Strategies’
 

11.35 – 11.50 Virtual coffee break
 

11.50 – 12.40 Panel of Leadership, Innovation, Design and Youth in Baltic Sea Region
 

12.40 – 12.50 Discussion of “BSR Strategic Instruments for Capacity Building”
 

12.50 – 13.20 Key Learnings & Insights of Smart-Up BSR-partners
 

13.20 – 13.30 Closing Remarks and Next Steps
 

13.30 – Virtual Cocktails

Preliminary Agenda

To sign up, please use the following link: webropol.com/s/bsrconference. Program is subject to change.

A final in the series, St.Petersburg Innovation Camp will take place on 9-11 September 2020 and will be run online. Smart-Up BSR Virtual Camp is organized by ITMO University in collaboration with Aalto University and will bring together participants from all the Baltic Sea regions, ranging from regional development professionals and politicians to academia and civil society representatives.
 

We invite you to join the international group in order to help solving the current issues of socio-economic and urban development modern cities face.

Together we can find better solutions using the shared experience and expertise of our diverse community, supported by interactive  workshop tools.
 

The Agenda of the Virtual Innovation Camp – HERE

Participation in the Innovation Camp is free of charge.  English is the official language of the event. Registration is understood as confirmation of participation on a first-come, first-served basis.

Please, fill in the registration form – HERE

The Challenges:
 

Challenge 1/ How to provide beneficial for citizens data usage in the Smart city environment?

Challenge 2/ How to attract public to the creative clusters at postindustrial sites?

Challenge 3/ How to attract Russian and International companies to ITMO HighPark?

Learn more: https://smartup-bsr.eu/st-petersburg/

In the recent weeks, Connect2SmallPorts developed an online channel to provide several different audiovisual materials of the project content as well as external presentations in the fields of digitalization in small ports, Blockchain, IoT and much more.

The current beta version is already online and can be visited by public – the registration is completely free!

What is our vision?
 

Soon, we will be able to upload the online course in cooperation with Giovanni di Noto which offers a certificate at the end for all participants.
 

In addition, we already uploaded the videos from our short online session at 1st of July and added even more videos by Edgar Lopez and Anthony Howcroft – you should check it out here: Connect2SmallPorts Channel.
 

In the future, we will be able to publish way more “episodes” of project related content as Video on Demand. Furthermore, the project will invite external experts to share knowledge and experiences in port digitalization. If you are interested to participate in one of our upcoming online sessions or would like to be part of the presenters you can contact us at any time!