From October 28 to November 3, 2025,

the XIV Festival of Innovative Projects “Sikorsky Challenge 2025”

was held at the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.

The event began with welcoming speeches by festival guests—representatives of government agencies, members of the international Supervisory Board of the Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine innovation ecosystem, representatives of foundations, accelerators, and investment companies.

This is the fourth festival to be held amid full-scale war with Russian occupiers. Therefore, the main event of the festival was a defense forum dedicated to key challenges and breakthroughs in defense technologies to support the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 

Speeches and visionary messages from representatives of state authorities (in particular, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Digital Transformation), the Institute of Advanced Defense Technologies at Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, state-owned and private enterprises in the defense-industrial complex (including manufacturers of drones, cyber defense systems, and artillery systems), as well as their associations, such as the Association of Ukrainian Engineers, were aimed at discussing strategies for implementing innovations to strengthen defense capabilities.

The discussion covered the integration of AI, unmanned systems, and logistics to strengthen defense capabilities on the front lines, with an emphasis on the rapid implementation of innovations in real combat conditions.

During the Forum, there was also a presentation of the Sikorsky Challenge International Accelerator (Ukraine-UK) as an effective mechanism of the Ukrainian Innovation Transformation Platform, and the signing of a memorandum between the UK Innovation Holding and the Sikorsky Challenge Innovation Holding. 

The activities of the Sikorsky Challenge International Accelerator will contribute to: 

• attracting investments from the British Innovation Fund
• accelerating the development of Ukrainian and foreign technology startups
• scaling startups in Ukraine and other countries
• creating joint ventures in the jurisdictions of the United Kingdom, Ukraine, and other countries 

The presentation of the interactive capabilities of the Sikorsky Challenge Immersive Virtual Exhibition for international partnerships was conducted by its developers, Lisa Biletska and Alexander Filippov. In addition to developing an English-language virtual exhibition environment, there are plans to create an interactive simulator for piloting the Ursula river drone to educate future operators. This will allow anyone interested to take a free course in operating river drones.

On the second day of the Festival, the Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine Innovative Ecosystem Participants Forum “Innovative Development of Ukraine” was held, where the current interaction between universities and plans for future cooperation were discussed.

After speeches by representatives of universities that are partners in the Sikorsky Challenge innovation ecosystem, diplomas were awarded to the most active participants in Sikorsky Challenge Ukraine.

And finally, about the Sikorsky Challenge 2025 Innovative Startup Projects Competition!

This year, 126 projects from 24 cities in Ukraine were submitted to the competition.

The following took part in the competition:

71 teams from Ukrainian universities

27 teams from Ukrainian companies and entrepreneurs

25 high school students

87 projects made it to the finals, competing in the following categories: 

• Defense and security
• Energy sustainability and security, ecology, and green chemistry
• Biomedical engineering and human health
• Digital country, industrial high-tech and agrotech
• Sikorsky Challenge Junior

The finalists' projects were evaluated by members of the International Jury, both Ukrainian and foreign. Foreign members of the Jury had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the projects on the online evaluation platform. 

Winners by section

Section 1: Defense and security

1st place in the section - project No. 112 UMP-Ravlyk

Winners in the nominations: 

• Project idea - project No. 85 Electromechanical complex for cutting fiber optic communication lines of UAVs
• Technological efficiency - project No. 90 Contactless gas detonation deminer    
• Solving problems for potential customers - Project No. 32 Anti-Icing Solution for UAVs
• Business model - Project No. 112 UM-Ravlyk  

Section 2. Energy sustainability and security, ecology, and green chemistry

1st place in the section - project No. 65 UASILICA

Winners in the nominations: 

• Project idea - project No. 67 Lithium from associated formation waters
• Technological feasibility - project No. 31 “INTEL-CERAMICA”
• Solving the problems of potential customers - project No. 118 Reverse Vending Machine (RVM)
• Business model - project No. 65 UASILICA

Section 3. Biomedical Engineering and Human Health

1st place in the section - project No. 40 Innovative means of identifying shrapnel in wounded patients

Winners in the nominations: 

• Project idea - project No. 27 RehabHand
• Technological feasibility - project No. 123 VITA325
• Solving the problems of potential customers - project No. 40 Innovative means of identifying shrapnel in wounded patients
• Business model - project No. 34 Assessment of endothelial function in screening examinations

Section 4. Digital country, industrial high-tech, and agrotech

1st place in the section: project No. 93 Underground storage facilities made of soil concrete

Winners in the nominations: 

• Project idea - project No. 91 StrawberryHub
• Technological feasibility - project No. 93 Underground storage facilities made of soil concrete
• Solving the problems of potential customers - project No. 41 FaceIDea
• Business model - project No. 25 MOODLE TEST READER

Section 5. Sikorsky Challenge Junior

1st place in the section: Project No. 51 Development of gloves for translating and voicing gestures

Winners in the nominations:

• Project idea - project No. TONICS
• Technological feasibility - project No. 71 PHYSREHAB
• Solving problems for potential customers - project No. 51 Development of gloves for translating and voicing gestures
• Business Model - project No. 82 Re:Vie. An intelligent system for recovery from injuries

Special awards:

The permanent partner and sponsor of the Festival, Meridian JSC named after S. P. Korolev, recognized and awarded the following projects: 

• in the Industry Innovation category, project No. 14 Patobooking (Sumy State University) - 50,000 UAH:
• in the Applied Innovation category, project No. 114 Dzhmil-90 (private company) - UAH 50,000 and project No. 114 Dzhmil-90 (private company) - UAH 50,000
• In the Youth Innovation category, project No. 54 SOLER (Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute) - 100,000 UAH

The Leonid Kuchma Presidential Fund “Ukraine” awarded the following projects with 40,000 UAH: 

• Defense and Security Section - Project No. 13 Spectra Shield (Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute)
• Defense and Security Section - Project No. 113 Tenebra (Drones with artificial intelligence, digital communication systems) from a private company
• Biomedical Engineering and Human Health Section - Project No. 40 Innovative means of identifying shrapnel in wounded persons (Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute)

The Sikorsky Challenge Junior projects received 20,000 UAH each from Leonid Kuchma's Ukraine Presidential Fund: 

• Project No. 63 Close protection system using optical disorientation (Polytechnic Lyceum of NTUU “KPI”)
• Project No. 82 Re:Vie. Intelligent system for recovery from injuries (Kyiv-Pechersk Lyceum No. 171 “Leader”)
• Project No. 108 BBProsthetic (Polytechnic Lyceum of NTUU “KPI”)
• Project No. 110 Concept of an air defense system using airships (Polytechnic Lyceum of NTUU “KPI”)

AWEDYNE (Special Technologies LLC) awarded the following projects: 

• Project No. 12: Covert radar reconnaissance UAV (Kharkiv Aviation Institute National Aviation University) – UAH 30,000
• Project No. 32 Anti-Icing Solution for UAVs (Kharkiv National University of Municipal Economy named after O. Beketov) - UAH 40,000.
• Project No. 123 VITA325 from GROUP325 LLC - UAH 30,000.

The Sikorsky Challenge Innovation Holding will provide informational support to the following projects: 

• Project No. 40 Innovative means of identifying shrapnel in wounded persons (Yuri Kondratyuk Poltava Polytechnic National University)
• Project No. 90 Contactless gas detonation mine detector (Kharkiv Aviation Institute National Aviation University)
• Project No. 93 Underground storage facilities made of soil concrete (Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute)
• Project No. 112 UMP-2 Snail (Ukrainian Unmanned Technologies LLC)
• Project No. 118 Reverse Vending Machine (RVM) from Felmar's Lab

Project materials will be posted in the virtual exhibition “Sikorsky Challenge Immersive”

Mentoring and acceleration services will be provided to: 

• Project No. 06 Kvadrat-U (KARE Private Enterprise)
• Project No. 34 Assessment of endothelial function in screening examinations (O. Beketov National University of Urban Economy in Kharkiv)

The Sikorsky Challenge Additive Technologies Science Park awarded certificates entitling the recipients to engineering and technological support for their projects using the Park's technological equipment and expert support from the Park's specialists, as well as UAH 10,000 for the development of projects in the Biomedical

Engineering section of the Sikorsky Challenge Junior: 

• Project No. 95 Manuscriptum (Igor Sikorsky KPI)
• Project No. 76 The Tider Returns (Igor Sikorsky KPI)

The Sikorsky Challenge team would like to thank everyone for participating! We appreciate your sincerity, your desire to move forward, acquire new knowledge, improve everything around you, and achieve your goals!

Together, we are strong! So let's unite and continue working together!

FESTIVAL ORGANIZERS  

 GENERAL  SPONSORS  OF  THE  INNOVATIVE  ECOSISTEM 

SIKORSKY  CHALLENGE  UKRAINE 

SPONSORS OF THE XIV FESTIVAL OF INNOVATION PROJECTS  

«SIKORSKY CHALLENGE 2025» 

 PARTNERS OF THE XIV FESTIVAL OF INNOVATION PROJECTS  

«SIKORSKY CHALLENGE 2025»