HackTech’25, the island’s largest annual hackathon organised by AdTech Holding, wrapped up with a clear message: Cyprus’ tech community is ready to build real solutions to one of the country’s most urgent challenges — wildfires.

The 48-hour competition brought together 25 teams, dozens of mentors, public officials, emergency specialists, and leading tech organisations, all united around a single mission: to transform innovation into impact.

This year, the event shifted from multiple tracks to one central challenge. The decision emerged organically after the devastating summer wildfires, as organisations and individuals across the island rallied around the same concern.

The initiative was shaped by the alignment of TKI’s Monica Polemitis, Ivan Sysoev, Tanya Romanyukha from TechIsland, Deputy Minister Nicodemos Damianou, and AdTech Holding. The goal was simple but urgent: channel the island’s tech talent into meaningful, future-focused solutions.

AdTech Holding CEO Alex Vasekin captured the sentiment: “Speaking on behalf of AdTech and all our employees – the tragic events of this summer resonated strongly across the entire community. As one of Cyprus’s leading IT companies, we felt a responsibility not to stand aside. What we could do was bring people together: create a space where experts, innovators, and passionate individuals could collaborate and focus their talent on a challenge that impacts us all. That’s why hosting this event is not just an honour for us – it’s an opportunity to unite bright minds around ideas that can help shape a safer and more resilient future for Cyprus.”

HackTech’25 was supported by a strong ecosystem of collaborators.

The Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy — represented by Dr. Nicodemos Damianou — attended the event, sharing updates on government wildfire-prevention initiatives and how hackathon solutions could support ongoing efforts.

The initiative was also funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU, through the Cyprus Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Ecosystem partners TechIsland and i-Con played key roles, with i-Con offering all participants exclusive passes to its conference.

• Exclusive Platinum Sponsor – Mayflower, a FunTech company delivering high-scale entertainment systems.

• Gold Sponsor – The Nexxie Group, experts in marketing, tech, and online business solutions.

• In-Kind Sponsor – The Warehouse by IT Quarter, hosting the event for the second year.

• And supporters including Uptown Square Catering and City Friends Club.

AdTech’s Head of Marketing Agency and hackathon organiser Maria Yashina noted the intense pace behind this year’s execution: “This year, HackTech was organized in record time. What usually takes months had to be delivered in about two: from contracts and logistics to production, judges, and public-sector approvals. It came together because our partners and sponsors reacted fast, we’re truly grateful for this collaborative spirit. Thanks to them, HackTech became a shared effort with real value for Cyprus.”

Despite a relatively short promotional window, HackTech received an influx of applications — a clear sign that the wildfire crisis resonated deeply across the tech community.

A dedicated committee — consisting of government representatives and AdTech C-level IT experts — reviewed every submission, filtering out duplicate or unfeasible concepts before selecting the final 25 participating teams.

HackTech’25 brought together a multidisciplinary judging panel covering government, emergency response, cybersecurity, product development, and business strategy. Among them:

• Alex Vasekin (AdTech Holding)

• Konstantinos Kleovoulou (Deputy Ministry – Research Director)

• Marios Tziapouras (Deputy Ministry – Cybersecurity Director)

• Charis Demetriou (The Nexxie Group)

• Andrei Bolshakov (Mayflower)

• Christos Hadjigeorgiou (Limassol Fire Department)

• Riana Constantinou (Ambulance Service Directorate)

A number of honoured guests, including Deputy Minister Damianou, engaged with teams, offered insights, and provided real-world context during the awards ceremony.

Participants also worked closely with mentors from AdTech, Quadcode, and Exness — professionals who guided teams through solution design, feasibility assessments, and pitch preparation.

AdTech’s Head of QA Mikhail Sidelnikov explained the mentor role: “One of the important roles in a hackathon is the mentor team – experts who help participants develop their ideas, from the initial concept and architecture to the final prototype and demo. At any moment, a mentor can join a team and help solve both technical and organizational issues, acting as a coordinator… There’s also a bit of psychology involved: teams often feel a lot of stress before their demo, and a mentor helps them refine their presentation and prepare for their performance.”

Day 1 opened with early arrivals — some as early as 8 a.m. — ready to set up workstations for the marathon ahead. The opening ceremony featured speeches from Elena Dolya, Monica Polemitis, and Ivan Sysoev, each echoing the personal and collective impact of this summer’s wildfires.

Once the countdown began, teams split between sketching, coding, building circuits, and testing hardware. Around 20 participants stayed overnight at the venue, working through the night.

Day 2 focused on rehearsals and final refinements leading up to Demo Fest, where each team had only five minutes to pitch under one of three tracks: Prevention, Protection, or Recovery.

Projects ranged from drone surveillance and solar-powered forest sensors to citizen alerting systems, emergency-dispatch dashboards, and reforestation-support platforms.

With a €30,000 prize pool at stake, judges had a difficult decision to make. The final results were:

• 1st Place – Nexxians (€15,000): A federated, AI-driven “Cyprus Fire Digital Twin System” enabling smarter wildfire response and real-time situational awareness.

• 2nd Place – Cold Reload (€10,000): A community-driven platform connecting volunteers, organisers, and people in need through a unified hub.

• 3rd Place – DasoPhylax (€5,000): A year-round forest-monitoring system built on microcontrollers, combining an inference unit with a wireless camera for continuous alerts.

• People’s Choice Award – Re:Earth: “EchoGuard,” an AI- and satellite-powered solution that transforms environmental recovery data into sound, offering a unique perspective on post-fire forest healing.

While the hackathon has concluded, the fight against wildfires continues. AdTech Holding expressed hope that teams will keep developing their prototypes — and committed to helping amplify the most promising ideas.

HackTech’25 made one thing clear: when innovation, collaboration, and purpose come together, Cyprus’ tech community can drive meaningful change.