In mid- November, XAMK students from different degree programmes participated in an amazing event of a hackathon type which took place in the ski resort Himos near Jämsä.
“Innovate or Die” is one of the biggest innovative competitions in Finland. This year, around 230 students and 11 companies came together to change the definition of the word ‘innovation’ and to come up with revolutionary ideas. Therefore, participation in an event like this is great and meaningful for a student.
This exciting journey began with a coaching day, continued with a pre-assignment and meeting the team, then the actual event itself, and now our final task is to write a post-assignment. The most exciting part besides the competition itself was contacting the team for the first time and discussing the plans and the case company.
During two wonderful days in Himos, the participants had a marvellous chance to meet people from different backgrounds, different cities, countries and universities. So many people gathered together to share the love for innovation. How cool is that?
At the start of the event, the teams were introduced to the companies and the main challenge was given. Around 4 or 5 teams were trying to solve one company case. The winning team for each task received 1000 euros as the prize.
How did other students find the event? Here are some opinions:
“So the event was a really awesome experience for me. I met and worked with amazing people and what was really fun is that I worked with people who I never met before and yet we still worked hard and achieved the desired result.” – Erik Parkhomenko, a 2nd-year Business Management student. By the way, Erik’s team has won the competition for the Are company case. Congratulations!
“Cases from the companies were challenging and required pre-investigation, tough working for 24 hours and a perfect pitch. How to attract more people to the company? How to change people’s perceptions of the company? How to create a new product?” – Daria Chekalskaia, a 2nd-year Environmental Engineering student. That is so true! Facing unexpected challenges is such a useful experience for anyone.
Much work was done during these two days, a lot of pitches were held, and people were smiling and laughing a lot. However, I think the best way to measure this time is… in cups of coffee! The essential part of a sleepless night of any crazy dreamer, creator or innovator.
So, what would be your choice? To innovate… or die?
Written by Alisa Kivirian, 2nd-year Business Management
