On 19 and 20 March, the youth hackathon Idea for the Future took place in Razgrad, bringing together students, business mentors, and representatives of the academic community in search of innovative solutions for the development of the region. The event was organised by the Razgrad Regional Administration in partnership with the Regional Education Authority and leading schools from the district.
The forum was held within the framework of the project Accelerated Digitalisation for SMEs in the North Central Region through the Creation and Development of a European Digital Innovation Hub, with a focus on developing the entrepreneurial and digital skills of young people.
The hackathon was attended by 30 students from grades 10–12 from six schools in Razgrad district: NPTG Sandor Petőfi, Razgrad; PGI Robert Schuman, Razgrad; PMG Acad. Nikola Obreshkov, Razgrad; PGSS Khan Asparuh, Isperih; SU Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Zavet; SU Hristo Botev, Kubrat. The students were divided into six teams and worked on real-world case studies provided by local government and businesses, related to improving the business environment, quality of life, and sustainable development of the region.
During the two-day programme, participants developed innovative ideas through team brainstorming and work with mentors. At the final, each team presented its solution to an expert jury, which evaluated the projects according to criteria including innovativeness, practical applicability, quality of presentation, and potential for development into a real business product.
Mentoring support was provided by established specialists in the fields of entrepreneurship, cybersecurity, innovation, and strategic management, who guided the teams throughout the entire project development process.
After evaluating the projects, the jury ranked the best ideas. The winners “Change +” with the case study “Razgrad of the Future” received a monetary prize and the opportunity for subsequent support through national and regional innovation funding programmes. The organisers announced their intention to present the most promising projects at a follow-up Demo Day event in front of potential investors and entrepreneurs.
Within the forum, six project ideas were developed, some of which showed real potential for implementation. The event contributed to strengthening the partnership between schools, businesses, and local government, and laid the foundations for a sustainable tradition of holding an annual youth hackathon in the region.
The organisers emphasised that the initiative is of key importance for encouraging youth entrepreneurship and for creating opportunities for professional development of young people in Razgrad district.
This news item has been created with the financial support of the Research, Innovation and Digitalization for Smart Transformation Program 2021-2027, co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund under project BG16RFPR002-1.002-0001 -C01 “Accelerated digitalization for SMEs in the Central Region through the creation and development of EDIH.” The Regional Innovation Center “Ambitious Gabrovo” bears full responsibility for the content of the document and under no circumstances can it be assumed that this document reflects the official position of the European Union and the managing authority.
