
From November 12 to 16, Florida State University (FSU) in cooperation with Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (KNU) successfully held the international hackathon “Hack Disaster: The International Hackathon to Rebuild Cities” aimed at finding innovative solutions to rebuild cities affected by war and natural disasters. The event brought together 32 FSU students and 17 students from Kyiv National University who worked in nine interdisciplinary international teams.
Over the course of five days, participants created projects to assess damage to buildings and predict reconstruction costs. The projects were supported by more than 12 mentors from both universities, who provided expertise in computer science, artificial intelligence, engineering, and crisis management.
The winner was the Clear Sight Disaster Suite team, which presented the concept of a mobile command center to manage recovery in disaster areas. Participants noted the value of collaboration and exchange of ideas between students from different countries.
The event was the result of the initiative of Taras Panchenko from Kyiv National University as part of the BridgeUSA Ukrainian Academic Fellows program.
The organizers note that the hackathon has become the basis for future international projects between FSU and KNU.