On 7 May 2025, Hamburg’s HafenCity turned into an interactive stage for maritime innovation and career exploration as part of the German Shipping Day. At the heart of the youth programme stood Discovery Hamburg, an engaging rally designed by Connected River project partners Hamburg Port Authority, Digital Hub Logistics & Commerce, and the Logistics Initiative Hamburg.
This interactive scavenger hunt-style tour invited secondary school students to explore key maritime locations throughout Hamburg’s HafenCity – a redeveloped area of the Port of Hamburg which contains multiple exciting maritime companies. under the motto “COURSE FUTURE – Your Opportunity in the Maritime World.” Participants visited prominent maritime industry players such as Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Carnival Maritime GmbH,Hamburg’s Container handling Company HHLA and DNV Maritime. At each station, students gained practical insights into topics like digitalisation, sustainability, and smart port infrastructure—while connecting directly with professionals from the field to learn about potential career paths in the maritime sector.
The tour concluded at DNV, an international maritime registrar and classification society, with an award ceremony, lunch, and relaxed networking that allowed for further exchange between students and industry representatives.
As a central event within the youth-focused programme of the German Shipping Day 2025, Discovery Hamburg contributed significantly to this year’s overarching goal: securing the maritime industry’s future by attracting new talent. The event was hosted by the Deutscher Nautischer Verein von 1868 e. V. and the Nautischer Verein zu Hamburg, in cooperation with the Bundesverband der Deutschen Binnenschifffahrt e. V. and the Deutscher Marinebund (DMB), and supported by Hamburg’s Ministry for Economy and Innovation along with numerous corporate partners.
Almost 100 young talents on our Discovery Tours on a single day and time - slot
The German Shipping Day was a great and unique opportunity for the Connected River project to experiment: With almost 100 young people taking part, we had to conduct several trips in parallel for the first time. This worked surprisingly well. To ensure that everything ran smoothly, we opted for an “accompanied tour” in each case. With a total of eight different trips, the planning, preparation and coordination effort was particularly high.
There were also minor challenges, such as a misguided guide due to his knowledge of the company location, which was unfortunately incorrect in this case. It was not the main building, but an additional facility at a different address. In addition, some participants dropped out of the various trips due to private commitments/appointments. In one case, the person who wanted to leave earlier, was unfortunately also the owner of the master tour-smartphone of a group. Nevertheless, beside these smaller interruptions, it was a successful Discovery Tour with satisfied participants and companies/stations.
The German Shipping Day is a nationwide celebration of maritime heritage, innovation, and industry. Held biennially, the 2025 edition placed a special emphasis on the next generation - recognising that meeting the challenges of digital transformation and maintaining Europe’s competitiveness in the global maritime economy requires the ideas and commitment of young professionals.
With its successful implementation at the German Shipping Day, Discovery Hamburg not only highlighted the diverse opportunities within the sector but also showcased how EU-funded innovation projects like Connected River can help shape the future of maritime talent development.
Source & Pictures: HPA