Creative collaborations for a smarter Halmstad
On Friday, more than 200 people with 24 nationalities gathered for a 48-hour long hackathon. The theme was ”The smart city of Halmstad” and the contestants were divided into groups to come up with solutions to questions focusing on the people in Halmstad.
"What happens when you gather people with different skills and backgrounds but the same goal, is that they create innovative solutions"
Staffan Enting, innovation counsellor
The Innovation Week started on Friday, 8 November, with a mingle at Digital Laboratory Centre (DLC) where the participants received a goodie bag with things from several of the businesses and organisations sponsoring the event. The introductory speeches were held by the University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Anders Nelson and the municipal board chairman Jonas Bergman.
The innovation week hackathon gathered more than 200 people in Digital Laboratory Centre.
The different cases were presented during Friday evening and the groups had 48 hours to complete a case, and then present their solution on Sunday. The groups consisted of a mix of creative people with different competences, among these students from Halmstad University, researchers, employees in Halmstads kommun, people from the business sector, local residents and people with an international perspective.
The cases the groups worked on during the hackathon:
- How can we create (inclusive) meeting areas in the smart Halmstad?
- How can the citizens be involved in the smart Halmstad?
- How can we make each other feel more safe in the smart Halmstad?
- How can the citizens know more about what the society has to offer?
- How can the society know what the citizens ask for?
– What happens when you gather people with different skills and backgrounds but the same goal, is that they create innovative solutions, says Staffan Enting, innovation counsellor Halmstad University, in an interview with Sveriges Radio.
The hackathon finished on Sunday and the winners were presented. Team Unifier, which consisted of Sebastian Larsson, Amir Hamza Jafari, Niklas Ekholm and Filip Lagerholm, was appointed winner by the jury. The solution was gathering existing applications on one single platform with information about, for example, jobs, parking spots, events and traffic reports. The aim is to make things easier for inhabitants in Halmstad and to protect their integrity by having them log on through a platform provided by Halmstads kommun.
Text: ANTON SALINAS
Translation: LINNÉA ANDERSSON
Photo: STAFFAN ENTING
