Second-year students of the “Robotics and Machine Learning” Educational Programme at the National University of Ostroh Academy, Roman Mychka and Anna Krystych, won third place at the 4th International FRESH AIR 2026 Hackathon, held in Odesa on April 2-4, 2026.
The fourth annual international FRESH AIR 2026 Hackathon was organised by the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics of Odesa Polytechnic National University in cooperation with Odesa IT Family and with the support of leading Ukrainian IT companies.
The 4th International FRESH AIR 2026 Hackathon brought together 40 teams from leading Ukrainian universities and universities abroad, who presented their projects and developments. The event focused on such areas as digital reconstruction, robotic solutions, automation of recovery processes, environmental monitoring, and socially oriented technologies.
As part of the hackathon, the National University of Ostroh Academy team “0xRA” presented a prototype of a ground-based robotic drone designed for small and medium-sized businesses in the agricultural sector. The students developed the prototype through their work at the Research Laboratory of Robotics and Embedded Systems with Applied AI. Participation in such a large-scale international event was an important achievement not only for the students themselves but also for the university community as a whole, demonstrating the high level of training of young specialists in modern technologies.
The organisers of FRESH AIR 2026 describe it as an international platform for young people from Ukraine and Europe working on innovative solutions for the country’s digital and technological reconstruction.
The university team was mentored by Oleksandr Melnychuk, Head of the Robotics Laboratory at Ostroh Academy, and Olha Kryvytska, Head of the Department of Information Technology and Data Analytics. The support of mentors, academic guidance, and the development of student initiatives within the laboratory create an environment in which young people can turn their ideas into concrete technological products.
As the guarantor of the educational programme, Oleksandr Melnychuk noted:
“This is a very good result for us, as Ostroh Academy is a classical university, and we have been developing robotics for only two years. That is why this achievement of our students is particularly valuable and inspires us to continue our work. It also demonstrates the great potential of our students, their motivation, and their ability to successfully compete with students from technical universities.”
According to participants Anna Krystych and Roman Mychka, FRESH AIR 2026 was their first experience taking part in a hackathon of this scale. The students noted that the competition gave them many positive impressions, valuable practical experience, and even greater motivation to continue their work. This result has encouraged them to develop their own ideas, improve their prototypes, and prepare for new hackathons and competitions.
Olha Kryvytska, Head of the Department of Information Technology and Data Analytics, Doctor of Economics and Professor, shared her impressions:
“The success of our students, Roman Mychka and Anna Krystych, is a vivid example of how a combination of quality education, research, and active participation in innovative projects helps shape a new generation of specialists capable of meeting the challenges of the modern world. We are proud of our team and move forward confidently!”
Roman Mychka and Anna Krystych express their gratitude to Oleksandr Melnychuk, guarantor of the educational programme “Programming of Robotic Systems (Robotics),” and to Olha Kryvytska, Head of the Department of Information Technologies and Data Analytics, Doctor of Economics and Professor.
Ostroh Academy is proud of its students and wishes them many more achievements, bold ideas, and continued success in robotics, embedded systems, and applied artificial intelligence.
