Talent Hack Day 2025
Are you an international student, a recent graduate or looking for a job in Finland? Looking for hands-on experience solving real business challenges?
Join us for an engaging and insightful experience at the Talent Hack Day! The application period is now open, so be quick and apply!
Date: March 6, 2025
Location: Start up Runway, Avia Pilot, Lentäjäntie 3, Vantaa
Application Period: 12-26.2.2025
We will inform applicants at the beginning of March about the selection to the event.
The hack day is organized by City of Vantaa in collaboration with Ultrahack.
Talent Hack Day is designed for international talents in Finland - students, recent graduates and those looking for new opportunities
A Hack Day is a fast-paced event where participants come together to brainstorm, build, and innovate on creative projects within a short timeframe. It’s all about collaboration, problem-solving, and pushing the limits of what’s possible!
Real challenges
Work on actual tasks set by companies, providing a practical learning experience.
Apply creative problem-solving skills
Enhance your design thinking and problem-solving abilities that are valued by employers everywhere. No previous hackathon or innovation event experience required - we will help you to achieve your goals!
Networking is the key in Finland
Forge connections with local companies and professionals. You get a chance to showcase your ideas and skills, while working together on company challenges. Maybe you have a possibility to network with your future employer during the event?
Diverse teams
You can join the event as an individual, in which case we will team you up with other talent with multidisciplinary backgrounds, or you can join the event with a ready-made team.
Facilitation
We are partnering with Ultrahack to facilitate the Talent Hack Day 2025. Ultrahack facilitators together with mentors from our partner companies is will be guiding and supporting participants throughout the day. Ultrahack, founded in 2015, is a world-leading company specialising in open innovation challenges and hackathons. Ultrahack has executed over 150 innovation programmes across four continents and more than 20 countries. With a rapidly growing global community of developers, Ultrahack empowers companies, NGOs, and public organisations to drive innovation and develop new digital business opportunities. Through its unique end-to-end innovation management model, Ultrahack fosters collaboration and groundbreaking solutions on a global scale.
Venue
The Talent Hackathon will be held at Startup Runway at Aviapilot, Lentäjäntie 3, Vantaa. Lunch, snacks and coffee will be provided for all participants!
Vaisala
Vaisala is a global leader in measurement instruments and intelligence helping industries, nations, people, and the planet to thrive. From predicting hurricanes to optimizing renewable energy production, our technology is used where it matters the most – from data centers, windfarms and laboratories
More information about Vaisala
Vaisala's Challenge: Reinventing Vaisala’s Employer Brand for Young Talents
Vaisala is looking for fresh, disruptive employer branding concepts to attract graduating students and young professionals. Your challenge is to develop a creative yet simple concept that differentiates Vaisala from competitors, focusing on what makes it a unique and appealing workplace. Craft an idea that includes both a general employer branding concept and a Vaisala-specific application. Think beyond traditional recruitment—how can Vaisala authentically connect with young talents in an innovative way? Concepts will be evaluated on impact, feasibility, clarity, and innovativeness, with the winning team earning an exclusive visit to meet professionals at Vaisala’s offices.
Startup Refugees
Startup Refugees is an award winning and innovative non-profit organization that supports refugees, asylum seekers, and other migrants in employment, skills development and entrepreneurship through creating fast integration model for newcomers.
More about Startup Refugees
Startup Refugees Challenge: Communicating Impact beyond numbers
Startup Refugees has developed Match Made in Startup Refugees, a digital platform that tracks employment, entrepreneurship, and skills development support for refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants. However, numbers alone do not fully capture the transformative impact of this work. The challenge is to develop an engaging and meaningful way to communicate this impact beyond raw data. Hackers are encouraged to explore storytelling through testimonials and case studies, interactive data visualizations, digital media such as videos and podcasts, or engagement tools like gamification and social media campaigns. The goal is to create a tangible and emotionally resonant representation of Startup Refugees' efforts that effectively connects with stakeholders including donors, policymakers, partners, and the public. Relevant resources, including studies on refugee employment and Startup Refugees' website, are provided for reference. The final outcome should be a prototype or concept demonstrating impact, along with actionable recommendations for implementation. The winning team will have access to a job shadowing and career coaching session as rewards.
For who
This challenge is targeted at all students regardless of their background, as Startup Refugees is eager to hear a variety of perspectives and ideas on the topic.
Paahtu
We collect used coffee grounds from local businesses and turn them into efficient fire
logs. The idea started in our founder's home in Sipoo when he learned that Finns consume 49 million kg of coffee per year, with most of the used grounds going to waste—while millions of trees are cut for firewood
Paahtu's Challenge: Scaling Coffee Waste Collection for a Greener Future
Paahtu repurposes used coffee grounds into sustainable fire logs, but collecting enough grounds is a challenge. Your task is to develop a high-level strategy to help Paahtu reach its goal of collecting 1,000 kg per day. Choose from three focus areas: (1) engaging and onboarding local businesses as suppliers, (2) designing an efficient scheduling and collection model, or (3) optimizing routes for speed and sustainability. No need to develop complex software for this hackathon—just propose a clear, innovative concept that Paahtu can refine and implement. The best ideas will result in interviews with Paahtu for an internship, and help shape a more sustainable future!
For who
Logistics and business students/professionals, as well as individuals passionate about sustainable solutions
Team Formation and match making
Participants will collaborate in teams of 3-5 people to tackle a company challenge, with each company having three teams working on its challenge. You can either form your own team and register together. OR you can register individually. If you sign up alone, the organizers will match you with a team based on your challenge preferences and educational background. We’ll do our best to align teams with their interests and expertise to ensure a great experience!
Choosing the challenges
Participants are encouraged to review the challenges before registering to ensure they are matched with their preferred option. In the registration form, you can select your first and second choice of challenge. We will then prioritize placing you in your first choice, but if it's more participants signed up to the same challenge, we may assign you to your second choice. This helps us create well-balanced teams while considering everyone’s preferences!
Guidance and Support
Participants will be guided and supported through out the day by mentors from Business Vantaa, by representatives of challenge owner companies and by Ultrahack facilitators. They will also receive a short pitching training by Ultrahack before the pitches are made.
Selection of participants, assigned teams and challenges
Once registration period closes, selected participants and teams will be notified of their selection by the end of February. At the beginning of March, you will receive details about your assigned challenge, your team, and additional information about the hack day. Stay tuned!
From Challenges to Solutions: Talent Hackathon 2024 connected Companies with Diverse Talent
Talent Hackathon 2024 Recap
A brief interview with Tai - A Talent Hackathon 2023 participant
Talent Vantaa, in cooperation with the Nordic leading innovation consulting company Spinverse Oy, organized a Talent Hackathon event for the first time last month. We had over fifty international talents who are currently studying at universities in Finland or recently graduated to participate...
Any Questions? Contact Us!
Matleena Vuola (Specialist, Talent Vantaa)
matleena.vuola@vantaa.fi
Blen Hailu, Coordinator
blen.hailu@vantaa.fi
