UNICOM Mechaton UA 2025

On July 16–17, 2025, students and teachers of Lviv University took part in the All-Ukrainian MechatonUA, which was held in a mixed format as part of the Erasmus+ KA2 project “UNICOM” UniCom – Universities-Communities, supported by the Erasmus+ CBHE program funded by the European Union, and in cooperation with the Lviv University Science Park. The MechatonUA 2025 brought together 10 innovative teams and over 50 participants from leading Ukrainian universities in different regions of Ukraine, who worked for two days on the development and presentation of their own technological solutions. The event aimed to create practical solutions at the intersection of technology, sustainable development, security, inclusion, agriculture, and tourism that can be implemented in communities for their recovery and sustainable development.

During the opening ceremony, participants were welcomed by the organizers and partners of the project, including Serhii Shkabko, representative of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine; Vasyl Rossikhin, Vice-Rector of Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics; Svitlana Shytikova, Head of the National Erasmus+ Office in Ukraine; and Diana Spulber, UNICOM project coordinator, University of Genoa (Italy) and IT company representative Vyacheslav Radchenko. The opening was moderated by Maksym Kolisnyk (Kharkiv University). At Lviv University, the representatives of the Lviv teams were greeted by Khristina Milianchuk, Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work and International Cooperation, Oksana Krayevska, UNICOM Project Coordinator at the Lviv University, and Nazar Demchyshak, Director of the University Science Park, as well as mentors and representatives of student teams.

During the event, the teams chose one of the relevant tasks, developed a technical solution, consulted with mentors, and presented their results to a jury consisting of representatives of Ukrainian communities, IT business experts, and teachers from UNICOM partner universities in the Czech Republic, Italy, and Sweden. Nazar Demchyshak, director of the Science Park, was selected as a mentor and jury member from Lviv University. The evaluation criteria included innovation, technical implementation, scalability, social significance, and presentation of results. Lviv University was represented at the Mechaton by four teams:

Flexible Light – a team from the Faculty of Chemistry that develops and tests new organic molecules for OLED displays.

AgriNova is a startup by students from the Faculty of Biology that develops microorganism-based biofertilizers. Their product increases soil fertility, reduces plant stress, and helps restore communities affected by war.

TYL is a platform created by representatives of the Faculty of Economics that brings together donors, a marketplace, and suppliers to provide transparent and effective support to the Ukrainian Armed Forces and volunteers. The team pays special attention to communities close to the combat zone.

SimplyShare is a convenient mobile app for distributing group expenses in different currencies with integrated bank exchange rates. It also offers a volunteer account with transparent and verified expense reporting, automated reports, and a history of collections and purchases. Tools for tracking personal finances and financial education for communities.

Mechaton UA 2025 was a vivid example of how Ukrainian youth not only generate innovative ideas, but also offer real solutions for the sustainable reconstruction of Ukraine and demonstrated the power of cross-sectoral cooperation between education, business, and communities in shaping a new wave of leaders for the future of Ukraine. The event was organized by the team of the Kharkiv National University of Radioelectronics, co-organized by the Sumy National Agrarian University. The hackathon was not only a demonstration of the potential of university startups, but also an example of real synergy between science, education, and community development aimed at strengthening the social role of universities in communities.

MEKHATHON UA 2025 WINNERS

• 1st place — team “GreenMindLab” from Sumy National Agrarian University for the project “Development of an information subsystem for accounting for environmental protection measures”

• 2nd place — team “Vitryla” from Vinnitsa National Medical University named after M.I. Pirogov for the project “Development of the chatbot ”Meteobot"

Special awards:
Audience Choice Award — team Flexible Light, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv

Best Presentation — team Simply, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv

Most Creative Solution — team Agrinova, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv

Most socially significant project — team TYL, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv and team MSPU, Melitopol State Pedagogical University named after Bohdan Khmelnytsky

Most innovative approach — team UnityLab, Ukrainian State University named after M.P. Dragomanov

Best technical implementation — SQUAD team, Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics

Best software product idea — Innovation Shield team, Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs