ITU Supported the Hackathon on Fostering Integrity and Preventing Corruption in Ukraine's Security and Defence Sector

In November 2025, Ukraine hosted the Hackathon on Fostering Integrity and Preventing Corruption in the Security and Defence Sector of Ukraine — an event that brought together security and defence specialists, representatives of the academic community, students, and IT developers around a common goal: creating digital solutions to strengthen the culture of integrity, transparency, and accountability in defence management.

 

The Hackathon has become a platform for fruitful cooperation between talented youth and professional experts for the third time. Its key objective is to transform innovative ideas into practical tools that have a real impact in the context of implementing the State Anti-Corruption Programme and strengthening Ukraine’s defence capabilities.

 

From November 17–21, 2025, participants—including representatives from higher military educational institutions within Ukraine’s security and defence sector—worked on developing solutions within two comprehensive areas:

• Digital assistant for the anti-corruption commissioner;
• Tool for complex analysis of integrity and experience of candidates.

 

The participants’ projects were evaluated by an independent jury, which included representatives of the IT Ukraine Association, according to clear and transparent criteria: relevance to the task, innovativeness, level of completion, quality of presentation, and scalability of the solutions. The final presentations took place on December 10th, and the award ceremony for the winners was held on December 11, 2025, as part of the VI International Scientific and Practical Forum “Effective Governance and Fostering Integrity in the Security and Defence Sector.”

 

 

The level of team preparation, the depth of topic elaboration, and the sincere motivation of the participants made an extremely strong impression. Many projects demonstrated not only technical maturity but also a deep understanding of the context of integrity and the real challenges of the security and defence sector. This testifies to the great potential of young specialists and the importance of such initiatives for forming responsible technological leadership in Ukraine

noted Nadiya Synytsia, Education Lead, IT Ukraine Association

   

Thanks to the active participation of ITU Member and Partner companies, hackathon participants received broad opportunities for further training, professional development, and career growth, as well as encouraging prizes, including:

• Hillel IT School provided grant certificates for any training for the winners, promo codes for a UAH 500 discount on Hillel Max online courses, and branded notebooks and pens for all teams, as well as certificates for exclusive AI training for hackathon mentors.
• DAN.IT supported the winners with training certificates of their choice and certificates for free access to recorded AI training programs for all participants.
• GlobalLogic provided branded shoppers and T-shirts for the participants.
• Sigma Software University contributed gift sets of notebooks and branded pins.
• lionwood.software provided participants with branded shoppers, notebooks, and sticker packs.
• robota.ua provided branded work planners with pens and sets of wireless mice and mats.
• YouScan prepared branded caps for the participants.
• Intellias provided a variety of branded gifts, including blankets, shoppers, notebooks, a backpack, a cup, a bottle bag, keychains, and voluminous sticker packs.
• ITVDN supported all participants with promo codes for one month of full access to the ITVDN platform (over 300 programming and IT technology courses), and for the winners—subscription packages with access to all courses for three months.
• UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group contributed branded gifts, including polo shirts, T-shirts, sweatshirts, and pens.

   

We view hackathons as part of a larger talent development ecosystem. Education must go hand-in-hand with practice, and this is where the future of the IT market is born—through collaboration, experiments, and the desire to create something meaningful

emphasized Kseniia Stolbova, CEO of DAN.IT Education

 

For us, hackathons are not a one-time activity, but a way to work systematically with youth. We see strong ideas and motivated people for whom applied knowledge and skills are extremely important. Therefore, we provide access to relevant training so that these projects can develop further

noted Vadym Drumov, CEO and Co-founder of Hillel IT School

 

 

We consciously moved away from the format of a classic competition. For us, the Hackathon is a mechanism for building a sustainable IT cluster in the sphere of integrity and corruption prevention, focused on the development, scaling, and further implementation of innovative solutions. We are convinced that the involvement of young specialists in solving complex managerial and ethical challenges is the key to long-term changes in the security and defence sector of Ukraine

noted Vadym Nishchenko, Senior Research Fellow of the Research Department for Implementing Integrity Standards at the Scientific Centre for Integrity Education and Corruption Prevention in the Security and Defence Sector

 

The IT Ukraine Association is one of the key partners of the hackathon and systematically supports the development of young talents, innovative solutions, and the formation of high standards of professional ethics. The Association’s participation includes not only expert and resource support but also a contribution to creating a sustainable environment where technology promotes the strengthening of trust, transparency, and effective governance.

 

We are sincerely grateful to the organisers and partners of the hackathon for the joint work on an initiative that combines innovative thinking with high values and creates a real impact on the future of Ukraine’s security and defence sector.

 

Event Organiser: National Defence University of Ukraine.