St Petersburg University programmers win #WhiteNightHack
The St Petersburg University team came out on top in the recent 32-hour blockchain hackathon for developers with their project ‘An Efficient Transport Network’.
During the first part of the event, workshops were held for the participants in which they could learn about the possibilities of applying blockchain technology and current IT solutions, after which the teams set about creating their own projects. The developers were given a choice of four cases connected with electric scooters and were asked to find the most effective solution.
T-Systems is a member of the St Petersburg University Centre of Blockchain Technology consortium, which unites the University’s key coordinating Centre of Blockchain Technology with leaders of research and academic institutions and also industrial partners for effective cooperation and problem solving in the field of blockchain technology.
The Tensy team from St Petersburg University chose a case that called for integrating the vehicles into a network to improve the efficiency of their use, and they decided to bring together insurance companies, scooter owners and users who rent them with the help of smart contracts based on blockchain. The programmers delved into the technical details of the project and made an effective presentation during the English-language pitch session. Then, having demonstrated how easy it will be to use the IT solution that his team had engineered, the team captain Savva Antoniuk left the stage on a scooter. ‘This is not the first hackathon we have participated in as a team. There are six of us, all students at St Petersburg University, we have already pulled together, and each of us knows what he is responsible for. We have a good feel for each other and we understand each other and the challenges we are facing, so it’s easy for us to work together and come up with results,’ commented Mikhail Petrov, a member of the team.
The St Petersburg University Centre of Blockchain Technology acted in partnership with T-Systems Russia, the organisers of #WhiteNightHack, along with Telekom Innovation Laboratories and several international companies. This is already the fourth hackathon from these organisations. Earlier competitions took place in Seattle, Berlin and Barcelona.
Alexander Rusov, Manager of the IoT and Blockchain Division of T-Systems Russia, recounted how the idea of holding #WhiteNightHack had been conceived. ‘Along with T-Labs, the innovation unit of Deutsch Telekom, and also in partnership with international startups, we are trying to establish a system that will make it possible to use blockchain simply and conveniently. In order to constantly upgrade the system, expeditiously test out new possibilities and generate business cases for its use, it is important for us to get feedback from users in the early stage. This is why we organise hackathons,’ Mr Rusov explained. ‘In December 2018, we held our first hackathon in St Petersburg, #BlackDayHack. We were so pleased with the result that we decided to do a repeat and set up another competition, this time during the White Nights.’ The organiser thanked the St Petersburg University Centre of Blockchain Technology for supporting these competitions and expressed his desire to continue working with the University in the field of innovative technologies.