Three days, five teams, real maritime challenges: Students pitch AI solutions for the ocean industry in Innovation Sprint

People & Careers | 24.08.26

Engage EU students gather at Bryggen for the Innovation Sprint 2026

19 international students gathered in Bergen for Expedition+ during One Ocean Week. The intensive ‘innovation sprint’ focused on real challenges in the ocean industry, presented by Odfjell. Over three days, the five student teams developed solutions and pitched their ideas to a professional jury.

Expedition+ is an international collaboration between leading universities that brings students together to tackle real-world challenges. This ‘AI Accelerated Innovation Challenge’ brought together students from seven European universities to explore how artificial intelligence can support safer, more efficient and more sustainable maritime operations. Working with real operational cases, the teams translated complex challenges into practical solutions.

Challenge 1: Aligning ocean systems for sustainable performance in the era of AI
How can ocean industries unlock efficiencies and sustainability gains in data-rich, yet complex and fragmented environments?
Challenge 2: Securing the future workforce for ocean industries
How can ocean industries attract, develop, and retain the talent needed – both at sea and onshore – to sustain their future operations?

The sprint included workshops, experimentation, and expert mentoring. At the end of the program, the teams presented their ideas to a jury consisting of industry representatives, professors, and counselors.

It was a tight race, but one team stood out.

Reinventing ship inspections

Laartz and his team developed a concept aimed at improving the vetting process.

"Although the process is digitalized in many ways, assessments still rely heavily on the captain’s experience and judgment,” said Nassim Haou. "We explored how a more data-driven system could reduce the risk of critical deficiencies during inspections."

By combining data with human expertise, the team’s concept aims to make inspections more predictable, reliable, and efficient.

As winners of the challenge, the team was awarded tickets to Slush in Helsinki, one of Europe’s leading events for startups and innovation.

"I still haven’t processed that we won. It feels unreal," says Bjarne Laartz, an NHH student and member of the winning team together with Yelzaveta Tykhonova, Paola Pop, and Nassim Haou.

Turning ideas into impact

The remaining teams also delivered strong concepts, addressing topics such as maritime recruitment, emissions reduction, improved communication systems, and real‑time decision support for ship captains.

“I would like to congratulate all of you. It is impressive to see what you have achieved in just three days — especially without prior knowledge of the ocean industry. You are all winners for making it this far,” says Alena K. Pedersen, VP Corporate IT at Odfjell.
“Ocean industries face serious challenges, but initiatives like this give reason for optimism. The students showed an impressive ability to turn fragmented challenges into tangible ideas. Our experience is clear: some of the most impactful innovations are driven by young, entrepreneurial minds.”

The pitch was held at Odfjell’s headquarters, in front of an audience of academics, industry professionals, and students.

Jury:

Sigvald Sveinbjørnsson, CEO, Maritime Bergen
Alena Pedersen, VP Corporate IT, Odfjell
Øistein Jensen, Chief Sustainability Officer, Odfjell
Alexis Lanza, PhD and Senior Innovation Developer, VIS
Claudia Hegrenæs, Associate Professor, Department of Professional and Intercultural Communication, NHH
Morten Hovland, Entrepreneur, Founder of Guilty and Savvy

"At NHH, we are currently investing heavily in new initiatives that make entrepreneurship a more natural and attractive path for our students, and the AI-Accelerated Innovation Sprint is one of our flagship initiatives in this area. What makes this format so exciting is that students work on real industry challenges while using AI tools in a structured and evidence-driven way to develop and test solutions rapidly," said NHH Associate Professor and lead of this sprint, Björn Schmeisser.

"The collaboration with Odfjell has been fantastic throughout the entire sprint. The students were genuinely inspired by the challenge and highly motivated by the opportunity to work on problems that matter not only for Odfjell, but for the broader ocean industry. The quality of the solutions developed in just a few days was truly impressive. We very much hope this is only the beginning of our collaboration - and a big thank you to the entire Odfjell team for their partnership and support."

Students enter Trans Sol for Innovation Sprint kick-off

Three days, five teams, real maritime challenges: Students pitch AI solutions for the ocean industry in Innovation Sprint

Reinventing ship inspections

Turning ideas into impact

Jury:

Related stories