USUST hosted the ‘DNSZ RAIL CHALLENGE 2026’ Hackathon

On 20 May 2026, the ‘DNSZ RAIL CHALLENGE 2026’ hackathon tool place at the SEI ‘Dnipro Institute of Infrastructure and Transport’ of the Ukrainian State University of Science and Technologies, in partnership with JSC ‘Dnipro Switch Works’.
 
The event united more than 40 participants, including students of different years of study from the SEI ‘DIIT’, ‘DMI’ and vocational school No. 17. The hackathon became a dynamic platform for teamwork focused on solving real industrial and technological challenges proposed by experts from  JSC ‘Dnipro Railway Switch Plant’ – one of Ukraine’s leading manufacturers of railway track components and switch products. With more than 100 years of experience, the company cooperates with railway and industrial enterprises not only in Ukraine, but also across Europe and Asia.
 
The organisers formed four mixed teams of approximately ten participants each: ‘Lokomotyv’, ‘Jimmy Neutron and the Minions’, ‘Fixiki’, and ‘Cyborgs’. Team were composed according to the participants’ preferences indicated during the preliminary registration process. Each team received branded T-shirts and caps in distinctive colours -grey, light blue, blue, and dark blue.

The hackathon took place across two locations. The first half of the day was held directly at the production facilities of JSC ‘Dnipro Railway Switch Plant’. The participants were welcomed by Valerii Kriachko, First Deputy Chairman of the Board and Director for Economics and Finance of the company, who wished the teams productive work, innovative ideas, and successful project implementation.

After a safety briefing, the students received their assignments from the mentors and joined thematic tours of the company’s production workshops. Despite air raid alerts, which periodically interrupted the programme, the participants were able to learn about most of the planned production processes and gain an inside view of a modern railway engineering enterprise.
 
Lunch was provided in lunchboxes in the plant’s shelter, in full compliance with all safety requirements. In the afternoon, project work continued in the Academic Council hall of the SEI ‘DIIT’.
 
The teams were supported by mentors, who guided the students as they completed their tasks and prepared their project presentations. Technical support for the event, both in the hall and in the shelter, was provided by specialists from the university Web Management Centre.
The jury included representatives of the company and the university community:
  • Eldar Babaiev, Head of Sales Department, JSC ‘Dnipro Railway Switch Plant’;
  • Roman Biliavskyi, Technical Director, JSC ‘Dnipro Railway Switch Plant’;
  • Roman Khalaba, Chief Designer, JSC ‘Dnipro Railway Switch Plant’;
  • Volodymyr Malynovskyi, Director General of the Science and Technology Science Park and Assistant to the Rector of USUST;
  • Dmytro Kurhan, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor at the Department of Transport Infrastructure, DIIT.
The participants worked on engineering, logistics, and digital solutions related to the modern railway industry. The project topics covered AI technologies, automation of production processes, optimisation of material cutting, digital tools to support engineers, and the development of sales markets.
Following the final review of the projects, the jury selected one winner of the hackathon and winners in three categories. The awards were presented as follows:
  • Hackathon winner – team ‘Fixiki’ with the project ‘Steel Mind: Optimal Cutting’;
  • Practical Potential Award  – team ‘Lokomotyv’ with the project ‘Engineer’s Co-Pilot’;
  • Efficiency and Impact Award – team ‘Jimmy Neutron and the Minions’ with the project ‘Global Track: Conquering Markets’;
  • Technological Breakthrough Award – team ‘Cyborgs’ with the project ‘AI Defect Detection’.

Before the award ceremony, the participants were addressed by Professor Anatolii Radkevych, First Vice-Rector of USUST; Valerii Kriachko, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC ‘Dnipro Railway Switch Plant’ and Professor Mykhailo Kapitsa, Director of the SEI ‘DIIT’. They thanked the students for their active engagement, teamwork, and commitment to developing modern engineering solutions.

All participants and accompanying academic staff received branded gift sets.
The ‘DNSZ RAIL CHALLENGE 2026’ became another example of effective cooperation between the university and its industrial partners. It also confirmed the importance of practice-oriented learning, which gives students the opportunity to work on real challenges facing modern engineering and the transport industry.
 
Today, similar engineering hackathons are actively developing worldwide as one of the most effective formats for training future specialists for the transport and railway sectors. European universities and industrial companies are increasingly involving students in solving practical production tasks through the Railway Challenge and other technological engineering competitions.

More photos from the event are available at the link.