Student Project Competition announced as part of the 815th Anniversary of the Port of Riga
In celebrating the 815th anniversary of the Port of Riga, and emphasizing the role of the port in urban development, the Freeport of Riga has announced the annual – fourth – competition of creative work by students “The Port for the City”, Freeport of Riga Authority says in its press release. Young people are invited to submit their work both in annual sub-topics of the competition such as economics and marketing, transport and logistics, engineering industry, navigation, security and safety, and this year also in the field of history, looking back at the most picturesque milestones in the 815 year history of the port’s development.
Historical sources show that the beginning of Riga – Livi village – was a natural port. The River Daugava, the most ancient part of the international trading route between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, was used since the 5th century. Navigation history often mentions the trading artery from the Varangians to the Greeks, and the amber road of the River Daugava and the River Dnieper. Populated areas formed along the popular trading route, including Riga in the 12th century. The village had the natural prerequisites for the development of a port – a place for ships to find shelter from wind, waves, stream and floating ice during seasonal spring high water, to unload goods and embark passengers. Thus, Livi village on the right bank of the lower reaches of the River Daugava, in the mouth of the River Riga (Rīdzene) became a popular trading place among Scandinavian, German, Dutch and navigators from other countries, who arrived in the port from the sea, and merchants of Russian principalities by the River Daugava from inland. So the Port of Riga is considered to have begun trading cca the year 1200, as appreciated by German Bishop Albert, when he founded the City of Riga nearby the port one year later.
The aim of the annual “The Port for the City” competition is to promote the understanding of students regarding port activities and development, by means of increasing knowledge about the port, which will be useful for their future careers, and to facilitate the exploration of economic, social, as well as cultural phenomena worthy of serious research and analysis. So participants of the competition are encouraged to search for new, creative, inter alia, interdisciplinary approaches, thus supplementing their education with new experience and broader knowledge in the field of port specifics.
All students studying at a higher education institution in the Republic of Latvia, as well as any Latvian national studying at a higher education institution outside Latvia, can participate in the competition. Teams of two persons participate in the competition. The creative work is to be developed according to the requirements of higher education institutions set for the students’ scientific projects, which means that participants can also use and submit the projects they created during their studies. This year the competition work is subject to a higher quality standard: the review of the supervisor of the work will also have to be submitted with the work. At the second selection stage or at the final of the competition, students will present their ideas on site. The presentation will be evaluated by a jury committee. Representatives delegated by the Freeport of Riga, the University of Latvia, Riga Technical University and Latvian Maritime Academy have pledged to comprise the competition jury.
Participating teams can apply for the competition till April 27 on the website at: www.ostapilsetai.lv. The final of the competition, when the best teams present their works to the competition jury, will be held on May 14.
