HackTech’24 – Our Best Hackathon So Far. Everything About How It Was
Last weekend saw the end of our biggest hackathon yet! It was an intense weekend of sleepless coding, skill-sharing sessions, networking, fun, and great food.
Let’s take a look at how the best IT brains in Cyprus and beyond spent the weekend of 23-24 November.
About HackTech’24
In case you somehow missed it, the HackTech hackathon is an annual IT competition organized by AdTech Holding. It is the major IT event on the island, where all the mighty IT minds gather to compete for the crown of the greatest innovator. And for the prizes, of course.
This year marked the third return of the event, and it was by far the most impressive competition we have ever organized.
Speaking of impressive, a significant part of it goes to our sponsors who supported us and encouraged us to make our HackTech bigger, better, and more wow-worthy than ever.
Who sponsored us this year?
The Tribe, a leading recruitment company specializing in HR solutions for IT companies in Cyprus, was this year’s Hackathon’s Platinum Sponsor. The Tribe connects top talent with employers and provides comprehensive support throughout the hiring process.
Hacktech was also backed by silver sponsors Quadcode and Leaseweb, and XM sponsored the “IT Solutions to Improve Life in Cyprus” challenge.
For the second year in a row, the Hackathon was supported and endorsed by the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digital Policy of Cyprus, TechIsland, and other industry leaders.
As you can see from the impressive list of our friends who have helped us this year, this event truly unites the Cyprus IT sphere, and we dare say it’s becoming more global as participants from other countries join us: Greece, Israel, Germany, UK, Estonia, Armenia, Serbia, Georgia.
To make the competition even more exciting and representative of the IT community, we invited prominent judges from leading companies and organizations across the island to ensure a well-rounded evaluation of the innovative projects.
By the way, keep an eye on our social media – we will be posting interviews with our judges soon.
Meet the judges:
- Alex Vasekin – CEO at AdTech Holding
- Stavriana Kofteros – Founder & Partner at W11 Ventures, EIC Fund Investment Jury, and Scaling Club Board Mentor
- Stylianos Lambrou – Co-founder of The Doers Company and Board Member at Techisland
- Maria Stylianou – CTO of Sequela and Founder of Google Developer Group Cyprus
- Michael Gitsis – COO at Quadcode
- Maria Terzi – Co-founder & CEO of Malloc
- Michael Tyrimos – Founder and Managing Director of Capacitor Partners
Who did they judge?
This year, we had a total of 22 teams, ranging from students to seasoned IT sharks, all competing for prizes in 2 categories:
- IT Solution to Improve Life in Cyprus
- Self-improvement
The second challenge was a complete redesign of our hackathon from a narrow IT theme to a more diverse topic that people outside of IT circles could benefit from.
Maria Yashina, organizer of the hackathon and head of AdTech Holding’s marketing agency, talks about the teams:
“One of the most rewarding aspects for us was seeing how many participants returned after attending our previous events. It’s always a great sign when people want to come back – it means we’re doing something truly special. This year, we were also thrilled to welcome many new teams, including participants from other countries, further proving the growing interest in our hackathon. All of this was the result of our well-thought-out and expertly executed Ads and PR campaigns, which helped us reach the right audiences.”
Now that you are armed with all of the essential facts about HackTech, we can move on and explore the “how it was” part.
HackTech’24 Hackathon: How It Was
Although the event took place in late November, the preparations had started long before that. The team had an ambitious goal to surpass last year’s hackathon in terms of quality of organization, presentation, and overall processes.
We started by analyzing what was done well and what could have been improved, reviewing feedback from participants and judges and suggestions from our IT team, which had participated in other hackathons.
Once we had a list of things to review, we moved on to planning the processes — the most exciting and, by far, the most challenging.
Maria Yashina, the organizer of the hackathon, reflects on the topic:
“Our team has extensive experience in organizing events, and this hackathon – the largest in Cyprus – was already our third. Honestly, we didn’t encounter any significant challenges, except for the one we set for ourselves: raising the bar even higher.”
Meanwhile, here’s how Zoe Dima, our HR event manager, describes the process:
“The hardest part of preparing the hackathon was ensuring that every detail aligned seamlessly with our plan so that all parties, from participants to partners, would receive the best experience. Coordinating across multiple teams, managing logistics, and staying within budget while maintaining a high standard of quality required quite a planning and constant communication.
One particular challenge was balancing the technical requirements with the creative elements to ensure both were equally prioritized. However, seeing the event come together and witnessing the energy and innovation of the participants made every challenge worthwhile.”
Fun fact: Zoe’s birthday was on the first day of the hackathon. What a way to celebrate her special day!
For this year’s hackathon, we moved to a new location — Warehouse by ITQuarter in Limassol — a much more spacious place with a “character.” The venue used to be an old warehouse, so it had cobbled walls and a unique atmosphere that many participants enjoyed.
With more space, we could better organize the areas for the participants: a work zone, a dining area, relaxation zones, a game zone with PS5, and a separate room for the judges.
Outside, there was a beautiful sea view with the giant letters “HackTech”, which were later blown away by a heavy storm – those who stayed for a night had quite an experience.
Day 1: Getting Off to a Strong Start
Registration started really early, or so we thought. While we officially opened at 9 a.m., the first team showed up at 8:30 a.m., saying they had waited too long for this day to miss it.
As attendees filled the room, more and more people donned the hackathon-branded turquoise sweatshirts that were included in the welcome pack.
Some attendees brought their own screens and extra keyboards to feel at home, others rushed to grab whiteboards for their teams, and finally, some attendees realized they needed extra fuel this early in the morning and went for a coffee and snack tasting (no criticism here).
Then we had a tremendous opening ceremony where our hosts, Maro & Konstantinos, fired up the room and explained everything about our agenda, rules, criteria, and prizes.
The event started, and our mentors had quite a busy time running between the assigned teams and trying to help and guide them through the process.
Our own Alex Koshkin, Technical Product Owner at AdTech Holding, described his mentoring experience:
“I really like hackathons for their atmosphere of creativity. They also give to all participants very important training – how to solve task in limited amount of time, reduce all unnecessary things and keep only most important ones. This experience is very important also for our daily routine: stop, think, reduce unnecesssary, focus on result. This is what i’ve adviced to all teams that i’ve mentored.
I was involved in all projects of my teams. We were there for 2 days straight, and I didn’t even notice the time going by. The whole event was very energizing and totally different from a typical work routine.”
One of the highlights of HackTech’24 was the Presentation Pitching Masterclass, which definitely made a huge difference in the quality of the presentations the next day: team performances were better structured, much clearer and our participants felt more confident.
The official part of the day ended with the Captains’ Checkpoint, where organizers and team captains discussed progress and plans. After that, most participants went home to relax, but some, the brave ones – about 40 people – stayed for an all-night coding session.
Day 2: Who Came to Win?
As the clock ticked down, the teams became more nervous and focused: some were trying to add another feature to the app they had just created, and others were making last-minute changes to their presentation.
And some, you guessed it, discovered the outstanding delicacies of our catering – again, total understanding on our part.
In the afternoon, as sponsors, guests, and judges began to arrive, our team was busy organizing interviews (check out Hackathon’s social media!).
Kira Vessiari, our Head of Content Marketing, says:
“It’s important to hear what industry leaders, judges, mentors, and participants have to say about their experience at the hackathon and how they perceive the role of the event. It was great to hear real stories about the backgrounds of our judges or how our participants found their inspiration for developing the project. For example, one participant shared that the idea for her project came from her 11-year-old nephew. It is in moments like these that you realize the true value of your work.”
Meanwhile, participants were lining up for the DemoFest.
After 2 hours, which felt like 20 minutes at most, the jury went to decide the fate of the prizes.
The Results
Here, you can see the projects that have stolen the hearts of our judges and the audience this year.
Winners of the “IT Solutions to Improve Life in Cyprus” Challenge
1st Place: Middle-Aged Cyprus Ninja Turtles
The team developed a platform for managing event volunteers. It enables organizers to streamline recruitment, onboarding, and management processes, ensuring smooth event execution while building a skilled volunteer database for Cyprus.
2nd Place: Byte Me, Please
This mobile app empowers users to make healthier grocery choices. By scanning barcodes, shoppers instantly access product details like ingredients and reviews, available in their native language.
3rd Place: Green Cyprus
A tree-planting platform that connects individuals and companies with reforestation initiatives in Cyprus. Users can sponsor trees, track their growth, and contribute to environmental sustainability.
Winners of the “Self-Improvement” challenge
1st Place: Databulls
The winning team introduced a microlearning app that helps users explore professions through short, informative videos on backend development, SMM, and management.
2nd Place: WorkWize
An AI-powered tool to boost mental health and job satisfaction in the workplace. It gathers anonymous feedback, identifies stress patterns, and offers actionable insights to employees and management alike.
3rd Place: HelioWorld
This beginner-friendly app leverages AI to create engaging exercises for learning Greek, helping users take their first steps in mastering the language.
People’s Choice Award: LRS (Lanitio Research Squad)
The crowd-favorite project was an interactive map-based app for discovering events in Limassol. Users can add and explore activities like concerts and parties, fostering connections and strengthening local communities.
Why Is The Hackathon So Important To Our Community?
Talking to our many guests at the event, they all emphasized the hackathon’s importance for the community and for up-and-coming IT professionals just starting their careers.
Alex Vasekin, CEO of AdTech Holding, shared his perspective on HackTech’s role:
“HackTech has become a cornerstone event highlighting Cyprus’s potential as a center for technological progress. Every year, we witness solutions that address real societal needs, strengthening communities and driving positive change. At AdTech Holding, we are committed to fostering these innovations and supporting initiatives that contribute to the growth of Cyprus’s tech ecosystem.”
Arnis Augstmanis, the CMO of AdTech Holding, commented:
“In the era of digital transformation, Cyprus is actively strengthening its position as a dynamically developing IT hub in the Mediterranean.
We strongly believe that events like our HackTech hackathon serve as vital platforms for bringing together talented developers, innovators, and entrepreneurs, demonstrating the island’s growing potential in the technology sector.
Such initiatives not only contribute to the development of the local IT ecosystem but also draw international attention to Cyprus as a center for technological innovation.”
Maria Yashina, the organizer of the hackathon, shared her thoughts on why it matters:
“One of our slogans this year was “where your ideas truly belong”, and it perfectly captured the essence of the event. We created a space where participants could develop projects that not only improve people’s lives but also address meaningful challenges on the island.”
Another guest at the event, Youth Tech Fest founder Sean Alimov, added in his interview:
“So you definitely see the really thriving atmosphere [in Cyprus], and more companies are coming; however, if we want to become a true technological hub, we need to diversify the talent pool here, and hackathons like AdTech Hackathon really put a really good input in developing interesting disciplines like engineering, programming, but also business development, you know, marketing and production.”
And our friends from Quadcode also know why hackathons are important since they recently successfully organized their own hackathon.
For Michael Gitsis, COO of Quadcode, this is his second HackTech. Last year, he attended as a participant, and now, with all the knowledge and understanding of what the attendees go through, he’s coming back as a judge. What made him decide to become a judge?
“I want to continue and contribute to the ecosystem and for the developers to be more innovative and come up with new ideas every year and for me to contribute from my experience from the previous years so to eventually help everyone to become better.”
We are really enthusiastic that our HackTech is making a huge contribution to the island’s IT sphere, helping to diversify the talent pool, strengthen the connections within our industry, and ultimately boost the social initiatives that create positive change.
What now?
Stay tuned for our upcoming updates.
We are preparing insightful interviews with industry leaders, winners, and mentors to help you better prepare for future events and get a glimpse of what the industry will look like in 2025.
See you on social media!
