Bringing bold ideas to the frontline: EUDIS Hackathon Autumn Edition Winners Announced

From 17 to 19 October 2025, the third edition of the EU Defence Innovation Scheme's (EUDIS) Defence Hackathon, powered by BraveTech EU, brought together 471 participants across eight European locations (with Ukrainians at almost all the locations!) and online, who developed 129 innovative solutions to address some of today's most pressing space and defence challenges.

The EUDIS Hackathons aim to foster innovation, collaboration, and technological excellence in support of Europe's defence and security priorities, while supporting Ukraine.

Hosted in eight locations - Fondazione E. Amaldi (Italy), Bayern Innovativ GmbH (Germany), Arribes Enlightenment (Spain), Stichting dotSPACE (Netherlands), Romanian Tech Startups Association (Romania), Prague Innovation Institute (Czech Republic), Blue Dot Solutions (Poland), and Productized (Portugal) - the hackathon focused on the theme "Technologies for Space and Defence", addressing three key challenges:

• Protection of space assets
• Space for defence
• Sovereign aerospace

Over one weekend, participants co-operated intensively to develop innovative solutions. They were supported by experts and mentors, and inspired by keynote speeches from leaders in defence, space, and innovation. Each host location also offered prizes for its winning team, ranging from cash support to mentorship hours and opportunities to test solutions in real-life conditions.

At the end of the hackathon, eight winning teams - one from each host - were selected. These teams stood out for their creativity, technical excellence, and potential to contribute to Europe's defence and space capabilities. They will now receive comprehensive mentoring to develop their solutions.

Beyond their local prizes, these teams will join the EUDIS Mentoring Programme, a two-month journey to further refine their solutions with expert guidance. Their work will culminate in a final pitching competition , where they will present their projects to European stakeholders and compete for the ultimate winner.

The EUDIS Hackathons continue to showcase how European collaboration can drive innovation in defence and space. By connecting entrepreneurs, researchers, and experts across borders, the initiative contributes to a stronger, more resilient, and technologically advanced Europe.

More information about upcoming editions and opportunities to participate will be available soon on the official website: https://eudis-hackathon.eu/.