The technology transfer office “Risk Space Transfer”, together with the Center for National Security and Defense Research (CNSDR), organized the first edition in Bulgaria CASSINI Hackathon “Space for Defence & Security.” It took place from March 24th to 26th in Sofia.
The topic of the 5th edition of the hackathon was “Enhancing Europe’s defense and security capabilities with EU space technology” and was held simultaneously in 10 countries within the EU. In this edition, participants were presented with three challenges.
Sixteen teams from Bulgaria participated, guided by mentors who were experts in the field, assisting with the development of their ideas and the use of space data and instruments.
Before the beginning of the hackathon, a “Big Ideas Campaign” was held, featuring sessions from the Central Hub and RST, to familiarize participants with the hackathon theme and available work instruments.
In Bulgaria, the event started with an opening seminar called “Space for Defence and Security: Balkan & Black Sea Perspectives – II.” Leading specialists from the European Committee (DG DEFIS, EUSPA), the European Space Agency (ESA), Eurisy, and Bulgarian experts from the State administration and Bulgarian Academy of Sciences participated. The conference themes were related to the three challenges of the hackathon to inspire participants to search for innovative solutions.
The CASSINI Hackathon 2023 included participants from different universities such as the National Military University Vasil Levski, Rakovski National Defence College, MOI Academy, Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy, Technical University of Sofia and Georgi Benkovski Bulgarian Airforce Academy, along with many other participants united by similar ideas and complementary skills.
They had the opportunities to use satellite data and services from “Copernicus” and “Galileo & EGNOS.” They also used Mundi’s database, which provided access to different instruments such as Jupiter Notebooks and virtual machines.
The event included panels at the local level – with Bulgarian information and mentor sessions – as well as at the European level, through interaction with the Central Hub and broadcasting information sessions prepared for all European participants.
During the hackathon, there were interviews with the local organizers and teams, broadcasted from the Central Hub to all hackathon locations. RST-TTO spoke about the Bulgarian hackathon and their activity.
The Bulgarian teams also had the opportunity to present themselves and share their ideas and motivation.
For the winners there were cash prizes with a total value of 3,500 euros and vouchers from Mundi with a value of 3,500 euros, along with a 3-month mentorship with experts. Material prizes were distributed to all participants and other special prizes were provided by the event sponsors: Atos Bulgaria, Digital Lights, and LLcloud Ltd.
Hackathon CASSINI concluded with a Demo Day which was broadcasted online in real-time on March 30th. It gave the winners of the ten countries the opportunity to present their projects at a European level in front of an international jury. The Bulgarian team ExpLora also presented their idea.
WINNERS
First place
Prizes:
- 2000 EUR
- 2000 EUR cloud resource vouchers from Mundi
- 3-month mentorship
Team ExpLORA

Second place
Prizes:
- 1000 EUR
- 1000 EUR cloud resource vouchers from Mundi
- 3-month mentorship
Team Air Force Academy

Third place
Prizes:
- 500 EUR
- 500 EUR cloud resource vouchers from Mundi
- 3-month mentorship
Team Thermopylae

Additional prizes:
- LLCloud Prize и adventure reward – team Safer Seas, Rakovski National Defence College
- Adventure reward – team Rapid Response System, MOI Academy
- Adventure reward – team DefSec































Ensuring operational mobility on different terrains
To make the seas more secure
Protection of our critical infrastructure
Challenges

Ensuring operational mobility in different terrains

To make the seas
more secure

Protection of our critical infrastructure
PREPARE FOR HACKATHON CASSINI 2023
Prepare better for Hackathon CASSINI 2023 “Space for Defence and Security” with the video recordings from “Big Ideas Campaign” which you can find on the website of Hackathons CASSINI in the section “Tools” section “On Demand Trainings”.

PARTICIPATE AND WIN
Students from military schools, universities, as well as representatives of scientific organizations and businesses working in the field of security and aerospace technologies can take part in the competition. No prior space related experience required.
For more information
During the hackathon, participants will have the opportunity to meet experts, learn how to use EU space technologies and create innovative applications in one of three challenges, with the top three teams awarded.
You can find the full requirements of Hackathon CASSINI on the official site of the event:
https://www.cassini.eu/hackathons/bulgaria
The participants will also have the possibility to connect via Discord: Discord канал CASSINI Space for Defence & Security – 2023.









