He is the main force behind upcoming hackathon that will take place couple days from now in Impact Hub Bratislava. Besides being a Senior Manager for Strategy and New Business Development at Slovak Telekom he is also a big fan of innovation and technology. Peter Gal.
Can you please share with us what motivated Slovak Telekom to organize Innovation Hack? Is this the first time the company is organizing such an event?
Recently, we have seen a huge contribution that all the external innovation can bring to the company like Telekom. As an example, I would like to mention a Big data based product Market Locator, where we have decided for partnership with Adastra Partnering. They brought the idea, specific knowledge and significantly shortened the time to launch the service on the market. We provide access to the customer base, sales network and the marketing power. The result is one of the few Big Data based products on the market that is able to generate money.
And yes, it is the first time we organize Innovation Hack and the reason is that such an event can produce great ideas in a very short time. And it also provides the opportunity to meet very interesting people.
We have found out that within 4 challenges that will serve as themes of focus for attendees of the hackathon, there are some topics Slovak Telekom has already worked on. Can you specify which are these and what exactly is the project/service that you have already launched on the market?
The first one is already mentioned Market Locator. It is a Big Data based solution for population analytics and targeted marketing. The range of possibilities in the area of localisation services is huge and I am very curious about the new ideas.
The second is Rodinný Asistent (Family Assistant) product, technologically highly advanced telecare solution targeted on chronically ill or elderly people, shortlisted for Global Mobile Awards 2016 in the category Best Mobile Health Innovation at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The area of telecare is progressing at an extreme pace and is also supported by trend of population ageing. I really believe into commercial potential in this area which goes hand in hand with a social element.
The schedule of the event seems quite packed, though interesting. Within 48 hours of intensive hacking, we have seen, as we scanned through the program, that there will be quite a number of workshops. What can participants of the event learn or whom they can meet at these workshops?
From my experience, a lot of great ideas died because the idea owner was not able to define a solid business model or, in other words, execute commercially. This is what we can help with. On the other hand, I am really looking forward to meet all the innovative people which might be inspiration for our business, and also for our thinking as people from bigger corporation.
You plan to reimburse the costs related to travelling to participants from abroad. Who do you expect to come from outside of Slovakia and why have you decided to support these participants financially?
Business is not local today. To be able to think globally, we need to talk to people with an international experience. That is the reason why we support such participants. On the other hand, we are part of DT Group. In case the solution we develop together is successful locally, it might be easily transferred to other countries with DT Footprint.
There is a lot of prizes to win. From 2000 Eur of cash to acceleration by hub:raum Poland to paid services provided by partners of the event. Is there a possibility that winner of the event will be provided by additional perks such as introductions to Telekom’s network or help with access to market?
The scale of the support is only depending on the quality and business potential of the ideas.
Hackathons are in this region usually organized by small communities of developers and small teams of innovation enthusiasts. This format has only recently started to get attention of big corporations, nonetheless you are one of the pioneering corporations to organize hackathon in Slovakia. When we will hear about another one? 🙂
I would like to evaluate the first round. But in general I can say that we trust the potential of such events and I think that in a reasonable time we will organize another round.
Innovation Hack will take place on the 6th-8th of May at Impact Hub Bratislava. To register for this event, visit the website or official Facebook event of the organizers.
Photos: Peter Gal, Innovation Hack & Impact Hub Bratislava
