From May 22 to 25, the city of Lviv hosted the European Defense Tech Hackathon for the first time in Ukraine. This international event brought together over 150 engineers from various countries to develop solutions addressing the needs of the front line. What made this hackathon truly unique was the direct involvement of Ukrainian military mentors, which ensured a clear connection between battlefield demands and the developers working to address them.

We are especially proud to share that one of our students took part in the hackathon, eager to apply his knowledge and skills to solving real-world challenges currently faced by our defenders on the front lines. Following the event, he was happy to share his personal experience, insights into the project he worked on, and impressions of collaborating with military professionals.

The hackathon was organized by the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade and its technical team AB3 TECH, together with Women in Defense Tech, DroneAid, and Inflection, with support from companies such as Quantum Systems, D3 VC, NUNC Capital, ARX Robotics, and Oko Camera.

Ukrainian military units and partners identified around 10 technical challenges focused on radio communication, artificial intelligence, and countering FPV drones. On the first day, participants joined several workshops, including FPV drone assembly and thermal imaging camera development. In addition, training sessions were held on tactical medicine and FPV drone operations.

Over the course of two days, teams worked intensively on prototypes, with access to 3D printers, soldering stations, oscilloscopes, and other specialized equipment. On the final day, project presentations took place, and several teams received invitations to continue collaboration with military representatives.

You can read more about the event in the article on the Militarnyi website.