Hackathon: Digital State Future Solutions

Margus Püüa is the Head of the Personalised Learning Path Initiative, managing it´s infrastructure development at the Ministry of Education and Research of Estonia. During his 18-year career in the public sector, he led the development of Estonia's e-Governance for 8 years and served as the Head of Strategy at the IT and Development Centre, Ministry of the Interior (Estonian: Siseministeeriumi infotehnoloogia- ja arenduskeskus, SMIT) for 4 years. As a senior expert at the e-Governance Academy, he has shared Estonia's e-governance experience with several countries. As a member of the board of the Information Technology Foundation for Education (HITSA), he initiated the development of a personalised learning infrastructure in 2018. While working at the end of the last century at the then Eesti Telefon (telecom company), he developed the bank authentication solution and direct debit, which were precursors to today's e-invoicing solution. Since 2001, he has been a contract lecturer at the IT College of Tallinn University of Technology.

Indrek Kotkas holds a degree in IT from Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) and graduated from Estonia Business School (EBS) in 2022 with a bachelor´s degree in Entrepreneurship and Business Administration. Indrek has worked in the IT sector as a tester in several reputable companies such as Swedbank, Finestmedia, Axinom, and Net Group, where he has been involved in both private and public-oriented developments. To combine the knowledge gained at TalTech and EBS, Indrek joined the Republic of Estonia Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications´(Estonian: Majandus- ja Kommunikatsiooniministeerium, MKM) Digital State team, where he contributes to make Digital State services more sustainable. In order to reduce what is commonly referred to as "reinventing the wheel", and to steer future developments towards greater reusability and shareability, including by listening to the problems, solutions and wishes of various IT sectors.

Ott Sarv is one of the pioneers in the field of digital transformation, focusing on the development of digital identities and data exchange infrastructure. Since 2008, Ott has been working on several projects and products that have strengthened digital identities and trust frameworks for the country. As an independent expert, Ott collaborates with organizations that aim to move beyond discussions and actually solve problems.

Silvia Lips, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Department of Software Science at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), specializing in e-Government Technologies and Services. Silvia has a background in law and holds a master's degree in e-Governance Technologies and Services. Her main research interests are electronic identity (eID), various authentication solutions, and their cross-border applicability. Concurrently, she works as an expert at the Estonian Information System Authority (Estonian: Riigi Infosüsteemi Amet, RIA). Silvia is a member of the European Commission's cooperation network and is involved in the evaluation of electronic identity systems at the European Union (EU) level. Previously, she worked for more than ten years in the field of internal security, with five of those years responsible for overseeing the production and procurement of Estonian ID cards and travel documents at the Police and Border Guard Board. She values professionalism and believes that lifelong learning (LLL) ensures continuous personal development.

Mehis Sihvart, head of the software company Wisercat Estonia, studied information technology at Taltech. He began his career at Uptime as a programmer, later rising to become the head of the country's first IT institution, the Center of Registers and Information Systems (RIK). Nearly 12 years in this role provided him with a unique perspective on the client's role in the IT industry, both in leading his own team and in procuring developments from external sources, and now in a private enterprise.

Kaire on Audrust Pärnumaalt pärit tüdruk, kes alustas bakalaureuse õpinguid Tallinnas Eesti-Ameerika ärikolledžis rahvusvahelise turismi erialal ning liikus edasi 2011 aastal magistrikraadi tegema Tallinna Ülikooli riigiteaduste erialal. Tänaseks töötab ta Majandus – ja Kommunikatsiooniministeeriumi juhtkonnas diginõunikuna, kuigi 6 aastat tagasi oli Kairel tegelikult null teadmist digivaldkonnast. Kuna kogu digimaailm on see, mis tema silma särama paneb ja on suure potentsiaaliga, siis on ta väga kompetentsete ja inspireerivate kolleegide abil ennast arendanud ja läbi kogemuste õppinud. Kaire nägi vajadust ikkagi ka teadmisi ülikoolis täiendada. 2021 aasta lõpetas ta teist korda magistriõpingud ja seekord TalTechis informaatika valdkonnas ja „Digimuutused ettevõttes“ erialal. Tema tugevuseks on uudishimu ning uute lahenduste, ideede, eksperimentide katsetamine ja mõtlemine tihti raamist välja. Kaire hoiab alati silmad lahti, et leida erinevate ettevõtete, ülikoolide, riikide või inimeste häid praktikaid ja kogemusi ning oma töös panna kõige paremad tükid kokku ning moodustada uus tervik. Kolleeg on iseloomustavalt kirjeldanud teda järgnevalt: „Trügid kogu aeg kastist välja“. Digiriigi visiooni „Eesti täis digiväge“ ellu viimine on tema sisemine missioon, et tulevikus oleks kõik Eesti elanikud rahul ja õnnelikud riigiga suhtlemisel ning me saaksime kõiki digiriigi tugevusi elanike jaoks maksimaalselt ära kasutada.

Andrea Giudici has a master's degree in Computer Science from the University of Genoa (Italy) and a PhD in Civil Engineering from TalTech. He is a researcher at the Laboratory of Wave Engineering in the Institute of Cybernetics at TalTech, and an IT consultant in the Medical/GxP field. His main interests are numerical simulations of marine wave fields and the management of processes of data migration and preservation. In the past, he has worked with several startups in Estonia, focusing on product development and software engineering. He has experienced what it feels like to be a hackathon participant himself and what are the next possible steps with the initial idea development.