Forum, Innovations, Latvia, Technology

Junction is a non-profit hackathon and tech community. Their volunteer-led teams organize hackathons, speaker events, coding workshops, and other tech events - around the year and around the world. These events are focused on learning new skills and the creation of new technologies and products. The event-filled year peaks annually with their flagship event Junction: Europe's leading hackathon which gathers several thousand programmers and tech enthusiasts each year.

The new take on the established concept of a hackathon is happening under the theme "Hack the Future". All participants will get the chance to gain real experience in product development, grow their knowledge in online webinars and get the best out of mentor programs and consultations with industry professionals. During the hackathon, participants will compete for the main prize - 10,000 EUR. Last year, among stiff competition, the main prize was snatched up by the part-Latvian Tassu Passu team.

Participants can still apply by November 4: https://bit.ly/3oYAsEi

In previous years, the hackathon took place in Helsinki. This year the event has taken a new form. It will take place in parallel both on the virtual platform and in person. Hackathon participants are invited to join others at more than 30 local hubs in various cities worldwide, including Riga, Stockholm, Vienna, Budapest, Tartu, Seoul, and elsewhere. TechChill organizes the hub in Riga in cooperation with the tech startup Printify. In line with current Covid-19 restrictions, a limited number of Latvian participants will have the opportunity to participate in the hackathon hub at Printify headquarters.

Printify is an online platform that connects merchants around the world with printing service providers. The startup was established in 2015 and is currently the fastest growing startup in Latvia with 250 employees, most of whom work at Riga's headquarters. "There are many outstanding technical talents in Latvia, and our fast-growing team is the best proof of that. At the beginning of the year, our team had 100 employees, now Printify can be proud of 250 talents from more than 20 different countries, and we expect to grow even faster next year. We are therefore pleased to support TechChill and Junction, recognizing their key role in the growth of future technology talent," emphasizes Printify CEO Jānis Berdigans. 

Hubs will be live-streamed on the Junction platform. Happening simultaneously both virtually and physically, “Junction 2020 Connected” has the best of both worlds: the spirit of a traditional Junction hackathon with the fresh possibilities that online hackathons have to offer.