The celebration was a part of "Days of the Sea 2020", a four-day, free for all, event focusing on the sea, history and culture of Piraeus, that includes music, dance performances, concerts, photography, painting exhibitions, guided tours, conferences and other educational and sporting activities.
The competition is a pioneering institution for the city of Piraeus and the country in general and contributes to the innovative development of entrepreneurship and the support of start-ups.
During the event, the startup teams of the first phase of the competition had the opportunity to present their business ideas.
Due to the pandemic, the event was broadcast in real time online. The Minister of Development and Investments, the Minister of Maritime and Insular Policy, and the Deputy Minister of Research and Technology participated with videotaped greetings.
The Rector of UniPi, Professor Angelos Kotios, in his speech characterized «Blue Development" as the long-term strategy to support sustainable development of the maritime and shipping sector, pointing out that the University of Piraeus in collaboration with the public authorities and stakeholders in Piraeus, can contribute to the local planning of the Blue Economy.
As the Mayor of Piraeus, Giannis Moralis, in his greeting, remarked that the "BlueGrowth" competition supports and promotes innovative business ideas. It has become an institution for the municipality, which considers Blue Economy a basic pillar of growth and further development of the city. The Municipality of Piraeus is one of the first cities in Europe that designed and implemented blue growth policies and has landed important international distinctions for this work.
The evaluation committee voted the first two winners of the competition and the audience that watched the competition via live stream voted for the third.
The first prize went to team No. 9 with “BlueAir”.
The second prize to the team No. 5 with “Fishing Rod-Trip”.
The third prize and Audience Award to group No. 6 for the “Smart Face Mask Detector”.
All eight competing teams won their participation in the Blue / Lab Acceleration Program.
Dimitris Karydis, the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Development and Professor Fani Sakellariadou Scientific coordinator of "Blue Growth Piraeus" and Director of the M.Sc. "Sustainability and Quality in Marine Industry" of the University of Piraeus presented the awards.
The awards were sponsored by the Piraeus Chamber of Commerce, Optima Bank and the Association of Shipbuilding Companies.