Applications are now open for Future in Action Hackathon, a nationwide engineering competition for young innovators organized by Noosphere Engineering School. The hackathon challenges participants to tackle real-world problems that tomorrow’s cities will face.
Young engineers and developers aged up to 25 are invited to join Orbital City Lab — a futuristic mission where engineering, programming, electronics, artificial intelligence, and smart technologies come together to create practical solutions that improve everyday urban life.
Throughout the hackathon, teams will turn their ideas into working products using modern engineering and digital tools. By combining programming, electronics, AI, and sensor technologies, participants will go through the entire product development process — from concept to a functional prototype. Rather than presenting ideas alone, every team is expected to build and demonstrate a working Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Future in Action Hackathon will take place in two phases. The online stage runs from June 26 to July 5, 2026. During these ten days, teams of 2 to 6 participants will develop their projects and prepare their MVPs for evaluation. Afterward, an expert panel will review all submissions and select the finalists. The top teams will advance to the grand final in Zhytomyr on July 17–18, where they will refine their projects with guidance from experienced mentors before presenting their finished solutions to the jury.
Projects will be judged on the originality and relevance of the idea, technical implementation, practical value for cities, innovation, level of complexity, and the quality of the final presentation. Particular attention will be given to whether the MVP works in practice and has real-world potential.
The hackathon is open to school students, university students, young engineers, and developers aged up to 25.
Participants will compete in two divisions:
- Junior League — up to 18 years old
- Pro League — ages 18–25
At the end of the competition, the jury will select six winning teams — three from each league. Together, they will share a UAH 270,000 prize fund.
The official engineering challenges and hackathon themes will be announced on June 26.
You don’t need years of programming or engineering experience to participate. To help beginners get ready, Noosphere Engineering School will launch a series of free Pre-Event Meetup sessions starting on June 15. These open lectures will introduce participants to the tools and technologies they’ll use during the hackathon, answer their questions, and help them prepare to build their own projects with confidence.
Detailed information, the competition rules, and the registration form are available on the event website.
“At Noosphere, we believe Ukraine needs people who don’t just use technology, but create it. That’s why we’re building an environment where young people can solve real-world challenges, test their ideas, and turn them into working solutions. Initiatives like Future in Action Hackathon are about much more than learning new technical skills—they’re about empowering the next generation of engineers, inventors, and innovators who will develop new technologies and help rebuild and shape Ukraine’s future,” said Serhii Veretiuk, Head of Social Projects at the Noosphere Ecosystem.
