EUDIS Hackathon: autumn registration is open
Eight locations host the 15-17 October edition, with Ukrainian experience feeding into the challenges.
- 15-17 October 2026
- 8 countries · registration open
Event: 2026-10-15 / 2026-10-17 · Europe
The Commission opened participant registration on 31 August. The onsite event takes place on 15-17 October 2026 in Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Portugal and Sweden.
The theme is autonomy on the battlefield. Eligible startups, SMEs, engineers, researchers and technology professionals are invited. The website provides local registration routes; the September 10 information session has already taken place.
Choose a host and check its conditions before making travel plans. Our suggestion is to arrive with a narrow problem and a testable idea. A short hackathon can produce a clear result and useful contacts, but does not establish that a prototype is ready for deployment.
Autonomy as a defined team problem
The Commission’s autumn theme is battlefield autonomy. It identifies operation without satellite navigation and cooperation between unmanned systems for reconnaissance and logistics. Each host adds a third challenge reflecting local expertise, so the problem a team wants to address should inform its location choice.
For civilian teams, the useful exercise is to turn an idea into a bounded, assessable result. A hackathon does not establish combat readiness. It can help clarify whether the problem is defined correctly, what data is needed and where further validation belongs.
Eight countries, in-person participation
The 15-17 October edition takes place in Austria, Cyprus, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Portugal and Sweden. The Commission encourages Ukrainian citizens to participate as competitors, mentors and jury members. Its announcement invites startups, SMEs, engineers, researchers and technology professionals from eligible countries.
Poland is not a host location for this edition. Polish teams should check the selected host’s conditions, availability and logistics. Local organisers have separate registration links. Current participant registration must not be confused with the earlier, closed call for hosts.
What follows the weekend
Winning teams enter a two-month mentoring programme covering product development, business strategy and defence positioning, according to the Commission. A bootcamp and opportunities to pitch to investors and other stakeholders are also planned. These support further development without guaranteeing investment or procurement.
Founders may benefit most from contact with people able to challenge product assumptions. The outcome should be a better-defined problem and next steps, not simply an award. Participants should read the organiser’s event, confidentiality and IT-tool rules before attending.
Preparation that helps
Our recommendation is to define the demonstration scope, team resources and limits on information sharing. A public competition is not a place for classified material or operational data. A clear problem statement and a safe data scope are sufficient for discussing a technology’s potential.
The participant information session on 10 September has already passed. The current entry point is the host selection and registration page below. Local closing dates, travel arrangements and acceptance conditions should be checked before incurring costs.
Sources & context
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