The hackathon will start on Friday evening 9th of May 2025 and end on Sunday evening 11th of May 2025, running continuously during that time.

There are no specific dates yet set for the EUDIS Hackathon in Autumn, but it’s envisioned by the end of October – beginning of November 2024. Please note that the call for spring hackathon local organisers is currently open. Passing this call does not grant you the right to organise the autumn hackathon. There will be a separate open call for autumn hackathon. 

Selected EUDIS 2025 Defence Hackathon local organisers will receive lump-sum financial support of up to 24,000€ to execute necessary activities for a successful hackathon. This funding can be used for all aspects of the event except for prizes, which are not covered by this amount. An advance payment of 8,000€ will be transferred after signing the Grant Agreement to help kickstart preparations, and the remaining 16,000€ will be paid after the hackathon concludes and the activity report is approved.

Additionally, organisers will have a separate allocation of 1,250€ for communication support. This will be used in collaboration with the communication partner, based on an assessment of your communication plan. Detailed technical, financial, and timing requirements will be outlined in the Agreement.

Communication with participants is not limited to the central hub. You will be able to communicate with participants directly. Local organisers are the first line of communication for local hackathon participants. Additionally, a Discord server will be created to facilitate convenient communication with participants, mentors, and other hackathon locations.

One of the requirements for local organisers is to ensure that remote participants have the
opportunity to join the hackathon as well.  If there are no people who wish to participate
remotely, the hackathon can be organised as a fully on-site event.

We will be using the TAIKAI platform. It provides a unified dashboard where local organisers
can easily monitor participant engagement, team formation, and project idea submissions,
allowing them to stay in control of key milestones.

Yes, it is possible and we recommend to reach out to organisations from your country to
consider applying as a consortium, since we can choose only one local organiser per one
country. Please note that the Agreement will be signed only with the main applicant.

We expect all communication and branding to align with the EUDIS Defence Hackathon’s visual
identity, which has been developed to ensure cohesion across all events. If selected as a local
organiser, you will receive templates, brand guidelines, and communication toolkits, including
social media materials, to simplify this process.
You can also include your logo and the name of your organisation in communication materials.
Additionally, you can communicate the involvement of your local partners in the hackathon.

The winners of open call will receive 24.000€ of financial support from the consortium and
1,250€ worth of communication/promotion activities. In addition, depending on the country
local organisers might need to raise additional funding on top of it – depending on the total
budget needed to run a successful hackathon.

No, local organisers are required to provide adequate support to support the three challenges.

There are no other specific requirements for hackathon participants except for age and
residency. This is an open innovation opportunity, ensuring accessibility to a broad range of
participants. This means that anyone, from students and startups to established defense
companies, can participate.

The Cassini hackathons are a separate initiative from DG DEFIS and future synergies with EUDIS
will be explored for the autumn edition. Teams who participated in the Cassini Defence
hackathon (organised through the same platform where the EUDIS hack will be promoted and
executed) can attend the EUDIS Defence Hackathon 2025 as well, provided that they meet the
participants eligibility criteria.

Local organisers will be responsible for providing adequate tools and materials needed to
execute the hardware component of the hackathon as described in their application.

You can find the selection and eligibility criteria for local organisers in our Open Call guide
(link).

Local organisers will be responsible for verifying participants. The EUDIS consortium has
experience with IT and AI solutions to verify ID documentations, but there are also other
services that can help with this as long as they are from EU member states. 
Participants from Ukraine are allowed to join the hackathon, either onsite or remotely from
Ukraine as an online team.

Yes, all information needed to apply as a local organiser can be found on the website to
promote transparency and fairness in line with EU standards for open calls. This Q&A document
is one of them.

Ukrainian civilians, including those with active military background, are able to partake in the
Hackathon as participant, mentor, and jury. It is important to note that Ukrainian civilians,
including those with active military backgrounds, can not receive any form of remuneration
from the hackathons budget provided by EUDIS.

The hackathon will primarily use two platforms: TAIKAI and Discord. Additionally,
technical/studio applications might be used for the support of the live streaming session
(Teams, Youtube, Webex, VMix). Further details will be provided to the winners after the
selection process.

Written consent to collect, store, process and use participants' data is a hard requirement and
especially sensitive given the context of the hackathons. This extends to photos and video and
any other form of data. Local organisers are fully responsible to be compliant with GDPR
practices. Local organisers are required to create a safe environment for those not providing
consent in a matter that does make them stick-out during the hackathon.

Sponsorships are encouraged as the financial support provided by EUDIS is not expected to be
able to cover all the costs of the full hackathon.

There are no strict restrictions on other sponsors or partners for the hackathon, but they must
be based in the EU or Norway and not subject to control by a non-associated third country or a
non-associated third-country entity.

Yes, we will use Discord. However, the streaming of the event will be through TAIKAI platform.

Each local organiser will have their own page on the TAIKAI registration platform. This page
will be jointly administered with us, giving you admin access to view registrants and their
contact information. This setup allows you to contact participants directly using the data they
provide during registration, ensuring flexibility and minimising centralisation issues.