Estonian Maritime Academy

Maritime innovation starts with one day.

MarineHäkk is an annual maritime hackathon organised by TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy and TalTech Entrepreneurship Centre, bringing together students, engineers, entrepreneurs and representatives of public institutions. The goal is simple: concrete problems, concrete solutions – in 12 hours.

The hackathon is a concentrated development format where diverse teams work through real-life maritime challenges and move from idea to prototype in a single day.

Why MarineHäkk?

The Baltic Sea has become more strategically significant than ever before. The maritime sector faces challenges ranging from sustainability and logistics to security and emerging technologies – all requiring fast and smart responses. As a small nation, we compete not through scale, but through speed, agility and the ability to collaborate.

MarineHäkk is where different stakeholders come together to move from ideas to real solutions – in partnership with industry, academia and government.

Who Is It For?

MarineHäkk is open to everyone whose strengths complement the maritime sector:

• Students and researchers – bring academic knowledge to a real-world challenge
• IT developers and engineers – build solutions that have genuine impact
• Designers and business planners – shape ideas into viable concepts
• Maritime specialists – your domain expertise is the backbone of the team

Teams are formed from participants with diverse backgrounds – no prior maritime experience is required.

Partners and Organisers

MarineHäkk is organised by TalTech Estonian Maritime Academy and TalTech Startup Centre.

Port of Tallinn is a long-standing sponsor of MarineHäkk, whose support has helped the hackathon grow year after year.
Each year, partners are brought on board to present real challenges and participate as mentors and jury members. Partners typically include:

• Government agencies and defence structures – bringing operational needs and security context
• Maritime industry companies – ports, shipbuilders, marine technology developers
• International technology companies – with an interest in Estonian maritime innovation
• Industry associations and clusters – representing the sector's broader interests and collaborative networks

The partner network varies each year according to the hackathon's focus and the most pressing current challenges.