The 11th edition of the CASSINI Hackathon runs from 24 to 26 April across 10 countries simultaneously, including Austria, Italy, Norway and Spain.
Wrocław secured its place as the Polish host through a consortium led by the Wrocław Agglomeration Development Agency and local tech firm ChallengeRocket.
The city has a particular connection to this year's theme – "Space for Water".
Shaped by the River Odra and stitched together by more than a hundred bridges, Wrocław was devastated by the so-called millennium flood of 1997, which submerged 40 percent of the city and damaged 700,000 homes.
The experience prompted long-term investment in flood protection and smarter water management.
Participants will have three days to develop solutions across three challenges: improving equitable access to clean water, tracking and preventing pollution, and monitoring disaster risks such as droughts and floods.
All entries must draw on data from the EU's Copernicus, Galileo and EGNOS space programmes.
Local water utility MPWiK will provide real-world datasets to help teams build relevant, scalable products.
No prior experience with space technology is required.
Students, engineers, designers and researchers aged 18 and over are all eligible to enter, provided they reside in the EU or a country associated with the Horizon Europe programme.
Winning teams from each country will go forward to a Demo Day and Awards Ceremony on 29 April, where an expert jury will select the top three projects overall.
The hackathon also fits into Wrocław's broader ambitions: the city is actively bidding to host a European Space Agency Technology Centre focused on space and defence.
(ał)
Source: wroclaw.pl, challengerocket.com