Innovation Camp Created at University of Turku Organised at Singapore
- The Maritime Innovation Camp organised at Singapore in autumn 2018 is based on the concept created by Turku School of Economics of the University of Turku
- The innovation camp is organised together with the Singapore Maritime Institute
- The camp is related to the Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Turku and the Singapore Maritime Institute
Supported under the Memorandum of Understanding between University of Turku (UTU) and the Singapore Maritime Institute (SMI) established in November 2016, the inaugural Finland-Singapore Maritime Innovation Camp will be held in the third quarter of 2018 in Singapore.
This was announced by the Ambassador of Finland to Singapore HE Paula Parviainen at the maritime reception jointly hosted by the Embassy of Finland in Singapore, Turku Business Region and MacGregor on 24 April.
UTU and SMI will be partnering with two key maritime industry players MacGregor (Finland) and PSA Corporation (Singapore) in this initiative. Based on the Innovation Challenge set by both corporate partners, the university students from Finland and Singapore will be forming groups to generate innovative ideas and accelerate their concepts before pitching them to a distinguished judging panel.
– We have run and carefully developed the Innovation Camp concept during the past years, especially with many maritime sector companies, and now the innovation concept takes next steps becoming an international and multi-partner initiative. We are very proud to co-operate with both SMI and corporate partners MacGregor and PSA Corporation, says Mr Antti Saurama, Director of Corporate Research Co-operation at Turku School of Economics.
Value for the maritime sector in Finland and Singapore
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 corporate partners MacGregor and PSA Corporation and their respective value chain partners and stakeholders.
– We are pleased to collaborate with UTU and our corporate partners for the Innovation Camp. This collaboration will foster closer ties, create values for the maritime sector and further grow the maritime innovation ecosystem in Finland and Singapore, says Mr Toh Ah Cheong, Executive Director of SMI.
– MacGregor is no stranger to industry and university collaborations, and we have multiple ongoing collaborative projects, says Mr Magnus Sjöberg, Senior Vice President of MacGregor Cargo Handling.
– Research collaboration is important because of the wider perspectives it provides. Students can consider a wider, more general, cross-industrial view without limitations in their ideas, adds Mr Janne Suominen, Manager, Offering Development of MacGregor Cargo Handling.
– Mechanisation and automation are two of PSA’s key thrusts to provide a productive and safe environment for our staff. We look forward to working alongside MacGregor to challenge young minds to think out-of-the-box and solve real-life problem statements provided by us. As the students deepen their exposure to the maritime industry through this Innovation camp, we are excited to see the ideas that will be generated, says Mr Alvin Foo, Head of Engineering, PSA Corporation.
More details will be available in the coming weeks when the Innovation Challenge jointly issued by MacGregor and PSA Corporation is announced. Further information will be progressively released and made available on the Innovation Camp webpage at www.maritimeinstitute.sg/InnovationCamp.
Announced at maritime reception in Singapore
The Maritime Innovation Camp was announced by the Ambassador of Finland to Singapore HE Paula Parviainen at the maritime reception jointly hosted by the Embassy of Finland in Singapore, Turku Business Region and MacGregor on 24 April.
Photo (from left): Antti Saurama (University of Turku), Janne Suominen (MacGregor), Karri Mikkonen (Turku Business Region), HE Paula Parviainen, Jason Lin (Singapore Maritime Institute) and Toh Ah Cheong (Singapore Maritime Institute)