The innovation hubs of the Port of Hamburg (homePORT), the Port of Halifax (The PIER), and the Port of Valencia (Opentop) announced on 26 October that they have begun work on the design and implementation of the first network of port innovation hubs.
This new effort was announced during the Port Entrepreneurship International Congress, which was hosted by Opentop and conducted as part of the Valencia Digital Summit.
“For any innovation hub, it is of utmost importance to share with other hubs our best practices from homePORT in collaboration between each port and the members of its innovation community and to communicate the benefits and results of innovative projects with the network members. Also, we would like to learn from others to improve our services to our community, too,” stated Phanthian Zuesongdham, head of the Port Process Solution Division of the Hamburg Port Authority.
The goal of the partnership between the two European ports and the Canadian one is to establish a worldwide network of port innovators. This will drive innovation adoption in the global port system by connecting communities of innovation centres, such as start-ups, entrepreneurs, companies, researchers, universities, and investors, to share innovative ideas, project results, innovation experiences, methodologies, and best practices.
The three innovation hubs are currently in the final stages of network design, and the programme will be publicly launched in the coming months.
“This kind of initiative has the potential to leverage the existing capabilities of innovation hubs globally, offering test spaces in the ports of the network’s innovation hubs, workspaces and collaborative platforms to be used as technology testbeds for members and partners from other hubs in the network,” noted Antonio Torregrosa, CEO of the Valenciaport Foundation, the entity leading Opentop.
Michael Davie, vice president of Operations and Technology at the Port of Halifax, commented, “The connection of the three hubs will bring an additional international perspective to each of the hubs and their members. This will allow us to think more globally and have a greater understanding of international culture, ideas and solutions to complex problems that would benefit start-up projects at the local level and expand existing capabilities for technology testing and demonstrations.”
