This past weekend, the WINEGUARD solution, designed to monitor crucial environmental factors in vineyards, significantly impressed a panel of four experts. With the esteemed title of "Winners of the sixth CASSINI Hackathon in Slovenia" and their ticket to the final of the European competition, the WINEGUARD team isn't just celebrating their triumph; they're eagerly anticipating the grand prize. This includes intensive business support from Tovarna podjemov (Venture Factory) for further evolving their innovative solution and an exclusive opportunity to participate in one of CEE's most influential startup and tech conferences, the Podim conference. This Thursday, the team will compete against nine other teams at the European CASSINI demo day. Fingers crossed!

The 6th CASSINI Hackathon in Slovenia witnessed nine solutions developed by 45 participants. This intensive three-day experience was enriched by the guidance of 19 seasoned mentors who offered invaluable support and expert direction to the teams. Leveraging extensive data from European programs like Copernicus, Galileo, and EGNOS, the teams honed in on addressing pressing issues in sustainable infrastructure, bolstering food production, ensuring access to clean water, and comprehending and predicting forced migrations. The pinnacle of the CASSINI Hackathon awaits on Thursday, November 9, at 6:00 PM, as winners from all participating countries vie for the prestigious European-level award.

45 attendees, 9 teams, 3 days of innovating

The 6th CASSINI Hackathon, supported by the European Commission, took place simultaneously in 10 European countries, including Croatia, Estonia, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Ukraine. 

 CASSINI Hackathon Slovenia

According to participants, the atmosphere at the hackathon was truly exceptional. Anže Kozole from the BeeSeen team shared, 

“The atmosphere at the CASSINI Hackathon was excellent and incredibly relaxed. Engaging with fellow participants allowed us to absorb a wealth of new insights. The mentoring sessions were particularly exciting, as top-notch mentors provided us with valuable feedback on our ideas and their real-world applications.”

19 mentors

Nineteen entrepreneurial mentors guided the teams in refining their ideas and addressing key challenges. Notable experts among them included Dušan Heric (Poligram), Dejan Pernat (PP Agro), Anja Ilič (GEN-I), Saša Štraus (DIH Agrifood), Nejc Habulin (nChain), Urša Gomboc (nChain), Mark Kalin (ABC Accelerator), Muhamed Turkanović (FERI UM), Domen Mongus (FERI UM), Igor Križnar (Paradigma Technologies), Tomaž Ščavničar (Refarmo), Urban Lapajne (Tovarna podjemov), Vid Peterman (Modri planet), Matej Rus (Tovarna podjemov), Klara Eva Kukovičič (RTV Slovenija & TedXLjubljana), Nataša Rus (Tovarna podjemov), Luka Mustafa (IRNAS), Sergej Krajnc (Termodron) and Blaž Jakopin (PRIOT and winner of the 4th CASSINI Hackathon). 

WINEGUARD as Slovenia's winner

All 9 teams and their solutions pitched to a four-member expert jury on Sunday afternoon, featuring Dušan Heric (Poligram), Matej Rus (Faculty of Economics and Business and Venture Factory), Blaž Jakopin (PRIOT and winner of the 4th CASSINI Hackathon), and Muhamed Turkanović (Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science).

Jury

Among the nine presenting teams, the five-member WINEGUARD team, made up of Aljaž Hercog, Andraž Vrečko, David Režonja, Jure Zavratnik, and Tadej Podrekar, greatly impressed the jury with their outstanding solution. Their victory in the second challenge not only astounded them but also brought numerous awards, including a 1,000 EUR cash prize, a special business development package from Venture Factory, and exclusive tickets to attend the PODIM 2024 conference.

"We are very excited to present our innovative idea to the whole of Europe on Thursday. We believe that our project has great potential. Throughout the hackathon we learned a lot with the great support of our mentors. We were particularly excited to work with them as they provided valuable insights and guided us to better understand where we are and where we need to go." - Jure Zavratnik

Dušan Heric and WINEGUARD

Green cable and IMIAI as other top solutions

The top solutions in other challenges included Green cable, developed by a team focusing on sustainable infrastructure development, and IMIAI, offering solutions for understanding and predicting forced migrations.

Blaž Jakopin and Green cable

Muhamed Turkanović and  IMIAI

Thank you to our partners

The CASSINI Hackathon in Slovenia received support from various partners, providing a wide spectrum of knowledge essential for solving complex challenges. Partners included the Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Sports, ABC Accelerator, nChain, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, GEN-I, PP Agro - Agronatur, DIH Agrifood, Noordung Center, Termodron, IRNAS, Blue Planet, Science Park Graz, Refarmo, and Paradigma Technologies. Thank you!

Start:up Slovenija

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