ValioHackathon aims to find solutions for tackling the seasonal variation in milk production. Valio's customers buy milk products evenly throughout the year. However, the amount of milk entering Valio’s production varies throughout the year. Equalizing this seasonal variation in milk production would make Valio's production planning more efficient. Constant production levels would enable leaner and more efficient operations in the entire production chain and would improve cost control. The Hackathon is organized upon assignment from Valio Ltd by the BioBoosters By Jamk Bio and circular economy business accelerator in cooperation with Estonian University of Life Sciences and with Kasvu Open.
ValioHackathon was kicked off on November 10, 2023, with an online event that brought together innovative startups and SMEs as well as research teams selected to solve the challenge of seasonal variation in the milk production. The six teams selected for the Hackathon are Anicare Oy, Elvenite AS, Quanturi Oy, Condensed milk, SimHerd AB, and HAMK Smart Data and Business Analytics team. In the Kick-off, the teams presented their ideas to Valio representatives and the Valio team of primary production.
The open call for solution providers attracted a record number of 18 applications including 6 international applications from the Baltic Sea Region. The applications represented a wide range of solutions from farm-level counselling and advisory services to different research interests and technology applications. ”We were happy to see a wide range of applications and a high-level of interest to ValioHackathon. The applications gave a good overview of the approaches available for tackling the challenge of seasonal variation in milk production. In the team selection, we prioritized new, innovative data-based applications to manage the dairy farm operations and gain more balanced production.” stated Sanna Nokka, Development Manager, Valio.
After the Kick-off, the teams continue to refine their solution and co-operation proposals for Valio until the Hackathon Days organized in Helsinki on 27.-28.11.2023. In Helsinki, the teams will be joined by the expert mentors helping the teams to finalize their presentations for the final pitch session. Our mentors include animal health, farm advisory, smart farming, business development and innovation expertise from Institute of Bioeconomy at Jamk University of Applied Sciences, BioBoosters by Jamk accelerator, Kasvu Open, ProAGria, Faba, Emovet, and Estonian University of Life Sciences.
ValioHackathon is part of the international BioBoosters project, led by Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences and co-funded by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region Programme. The project brings together nine innovation networks in the bioeconomy sector from countries around the Baltic Sea: Finland, Sweden, the Baltic States, Poland, and Germany. The project organizes 18 Hackathons to support responsible business practices and the transition to a circular economy for bioeconomy companies.
More information about the ValioHackathon
https://www.jamk.fi/en/project/biopaavo/biopaavo-hackathon/valiohackathon
More information
Project manager Anna Aalto, Bioeconomy Business Accelerator BioBoosters by JAMK: [email protected], tel. +358 40 640 2346.
Development Manager, Sanna Nokka, Valio Ltd.: [email protected], tel. +358 40 167 6363
