SAMK wins national RDI competition with the Port Activity App

The winning video was edited by Petteri Hyvärinen. The video is available on YouTube as “Port Activity App – A Tool for Green Deal in Shipping”.

The Green Deal aims at climate neutrality and the RDI competition in 2022 focused on showcasing how the research, development and innovation (RDI) activities of universities of applied sciences contribute to Finland’s and Europe’s climate objectives. A YouTube video was submitted and the video with the most likes won the competition.

– The Port Activity App was suitable for the competition because it allows ships and ports to better anticipate and coordinate their activities through enhanced information exchange. This will help reduce carbon emissions, for example, says project manager Heikki Koivisto.

Another reason for taking part in the competition was that the project with the Port Activity App exceeded all expectations.

– We developed an application that fortunately – and by chance – was discovered by Fintraffic VTS, a service provider in Finland, right away. The project was completed a year ago and the app is now in active use in twenty ports in Finland. I believe the number will continue to grow, especially in the Baltic Sea region.

Plenty of praise for the app

According to Koivisto, the Efficient Flow project, in which the app was created, and the Port Activity App are an excellent example of the effectiveness of SAMK’s research work. It also shows how SAMK can serve the parties involved in the field – also internationally.

– We shared the annual Internationalization Award of the Rauma Chamber of Commerce with Rauma Marine Constructions. In addition, the Seatrade Awards also honoured the port application, Koivisto lists.

Winning the award and being Highly Commended has been a significant recognition, as the Seatrade Awards is a global maritime and marine industry awards program that has been handing out awards for over thirty years.

Second RDI competition win for SAMK

The RDI competition, organized by the network of universities of applied sciences’ RDI management, aims to raise awareness of the content and impact of the research, development and innovation activities of Finnish universities of applied sciences.

This year’s competition was the twelfth in its history, with nine participants.

– SAMK now won for the second time. In 2010, the eGMDSS program, with a web-based training package and online simulator on marine radio traffic, was the winner, recalls Heikki Koivisto.

The award was handed out in Helsinki on May 5 and was received by SAMK’s President, Managing director Jari Multisilta and Riitta Tempakka, Head of Logistics and Maritime Technology.

– The award is a great recognition of SAMK’s RDI work. A big thank you to everyone involved in the project for a great achievement. I believe that this recognition will encourage and inspire us to continue our good work, says Jari Multisilta.

Further information:
Research Manager Minna Keinänen-Toivola
SAMK / Maritime Logistics Research Center
minna.keinanen-toivola@samk.fi
+358 44 710 3063 Port Activity App video on YouTube Video creator Petteri Hyvärinen (on the left), project manager Heikki Koivisto and Research Manager of the Maritime Logistics Research Center Minna Keinänen-Toivola believe that success stories like the Port Activity App will benefit the Satakunta region – and, it is a wonderful achievement internationally, as well.