Chattanooga-based startup FreightWaves has announced the launch of a futures trading market for the U.S. trucking industry in late March, and they will kick it off with a 24-hour competition for college students across the country to solve challenges facing the trucking industry.
FreightWaves and CO.LAB will be partnering for the inaugural "FreightTech Innovation Challenge: A 24-Hour Transportation and Logistics Use Case Competition" to be held March 29-30. Any student interested in business, supply chain, technology, computer science, data and logistics can apply for it until Friday, March 8 at colab.co/freighttechchallenge.
While getting experience in the industry and meeting potential employers are two reasons to apply, there's also a chance to earn some prize money. The first place team will earn $5,000, second place gets $3,000 and third place still goes home with $1,000.
Co.Lab Executive Director Marcus Shaw poses at the Co.Lab, in the Edeny Building, on Wednesday, July 26, in Chattanooga, Tenn."Chattanooga is the beating heart of Freight Alley, so I can't think of a better place to bring together bright minds from across the country to help solve some of our industry's most perplexing challenges," said Craig Fuller, CEO and founder of FreightWaves. "This is a chance for college students to not only win a prize, but to jump-start an exciting career in the freight tech sector."
Launched in June 2016, FreightWaves provides news and commentary, data analytics and risk management tools for the transportation and logistics industry.
The Chattanooga area has established itself as the heart of "Freight Alley" with logistics contributing to more than 40 percent of the local economy, the company states. The partnership formed to marry FreightWaves' expertise and industry network with CO.LAB's experience in developing fast-paced competitions that focus on building talent pipelines.
"This collaboration with FreightWaves is an incredible opportunity to show the country's upcoming talent what Chattanooga has to offer," said CO.LAB CEO Marcus Shaw. "By the end of the event, we believe we will see students not only take away a great learning experience but also new relationships that can impact their career trajectory.