On Saturday, 29 November 2025, an intensive one-day offline hackathon on embedded development for beginners took place at the Innovation Hub of Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University.
The event was co-organised by the Center for Conversion and Professional Adaptation (CCPA) and the Innovation Hub of Zhytomyr Polytechnic. It brought together 10th and 11th grade school students and first-year university students who gained practical experience in embedded development and created their own smart devices from scratch.
The hackathon became a day of focused work, rapid prototyping and pitching. It also served as a preparatory stage for the next large-scale IoT hackathon, Hack the FICT, which is planned for spring 2026.
The event was implemented by the Innovation Hub of Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University with the support of BGV Group Management, founded by Hennadii Butkevych, and in partnership with the Ukrainian startup Uniot.
Throughout the day, participants worked with Arduino and prepared electronic components under the guidance of technical mentors. Together with the mentors, they developed working prototypes, tested their ideas and prepared them for presentation.
The programme also included a lecture from the Uniot startup team titled “How to Take Your Project Beyond the Laboratory: From Embedded to IoT.” The session helped participants understand how a technical prototype can grow into a scalable product and become part of a broader IoT system.
At the end of the hackathon, teams presented their ideas to the jury. Based on the pitching results, the jury selected the strongest projects.
1st place — Team “TS” with the project “Smart Pill-Box”
The team developed a smart pill box with sensors and light indicators designed to help automate control over timely medication intake.
Team members: Oleksandr Taturevych, Vladyslav Druz, Artem Ostapenko and Yehor Pobokin.
2nd place — Team “TD Company” with the project “GhostLid”
The team created a contactless waste bin based on ultrasonic sensors. The device opens automatically and supports more hygienic waste disposal.
Team members: Kseniia Kolos, Daryna Pidoplichko, students of TGI Academy in Irpin, and Kateryna Soldatova.
3rd place — Team “С-ААА” with the project “SMART CASE”
The team presented a protected case with a climate-control system that monitors temperature, humidity and external risks to ensure the safe storage of valuable items.
Team members: Sofiia Burachek, Andrii Khomych and Arsenii Shcherban.
4th place — Team “StanOK” with the project “Lumira”
The team developed an adaptive lamp that synchronises with human biorhythms by changing the light spectrum to support comfortable sleep in the evening and energy in the morning.
Team members: Ivan Polonchuk, Arina Kuznietsova, Volodymyr Chyzhevskyi and Viktor Stankevych.
The prototypes developed during the hackathon will serve as a foundation for participation in Hack the FICT, where teams will be able to further develop their embedded solutions into more complete IoT product systems.
The demo day was organised by the Innovation Hub of Zhytomyr Polytechnic State University within the activities of Win-Win EDIH Ukraine.
For CCPA, participation in such events is part of its broader mission to support technology-driven education, youth entrepreneurship and the development of a regional innovation ecosystem. The hackathon created a practical entry point for young people to explore embedded systems, product thinking and the path from an idea to a working prototype.
