Winners announced at 'ESI Impact Lab,' including SSE Riga students
ESI's student innovation program, in collaboration with partners, hosted the "ESI Impact" student entrepreneurship competition on September 22nd. This event invited university students to unleash their creativity and develop unique solutions to tackle diverse sustainability challenges. These challenges were thoughtfully presented by our program partners, including "Rimi Baltic," "SEB banka," and "Printify."
The event featured prominent companies in corporate social responsibility and program partners: "Rimi Baltic," "SEB banka," and "Printify."
The full-day event took place at the premises of the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, uniting around 120 students from six educational institutions across various regions of Latvia. The event commenced with an inspiring keynote address by sustainability advisor Kristīne Nagle, who introduced the concept of Sustainable Entrepreneurship, its principles, and its boundless potential.
Furthermore, an interactive ideation workshop was conducted to instruct students on crafting innovative business solutions. Students were matched with professional mentors from the Latvian startup ecosystem, including Riga Techgirls, Inovāciju Akadēmija, Magebit, and Tet.
Thirty teams eagerly tackled sustainability challenges presented by our partners. The topics covered included avoiding greenwashing, streamlining the management of sustainability regulations, and minimizing the environmental impact of printing, among others. However, the most captivating part of the day was the pitch session, during which teams presented their solutions. The jury recognized the teams in each of the partner tracks with exciting cash prizes.
Andris Vedigs, Enterprise Agility & Innovation Lead at Rimi Baltic, shared his enthusiasm: "We were thrilled to participate in the event, especially witnessing so many enthusiastic students passionate about sustainability and eager to tackle the given challenges. We deeply appreciated the dedication and efforts of the teams throughout the day, their innovative solutions, and their vision of turning those solutions into reality. Despite the limited time, the solutions put forward were exceptional. We were honored to award prizes to the top teams, who truly earned their accolades. The teams that tackled our specific challenges showcased immense drive, enthusiasm, and a burning desire to make a difference in the world."
Viktors Toropovs, Head of Sustainability Development at SEB Latvia, added his insights: "It was great to see that teams were ready to come up with good ideas around the sustainability area, despite the fact that it is complex, especially when regulatory requirements are considered. Well done by many teams for their ability to structure ideas and come up with interesting proposals during a short preparation time. On behalf of SEB bank, we hope to see more and more sustainability skills in the market as the demand for roles in sustainability continues to grow."
The ESI student innovation program extends its gratitude to all participating students and partners!
The ESI Impact Lab is supported by the ESI Student Innovation Program, "Rimi Baltic," "SEB Banka," "Printify," and the European Regional Fund. Project number: 1.1.1. 3./21/A/008.a. The program is organized by the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga, the Riga Graduate School of Law, the Latvian Academy of Arts, the Institute of Solid State Physics of the University of Latvia, the Rēzekne Academy of Technology, and other industry partners.
