🌿 Helping develop green projects — and sparking an interest in environmental careers!

Two days, 14 teams and around 100 people united by a desire to make a difference in their communities. On 20–21 October, Dnipro University of Technology hosted the Green Initiatives Hackathon, organised by STEP NGO as part of a UNICEF project. Young people developed ideas for conserving water, restoring green spaces, reusing resources and promoting environmental education, turning them into projects with action plans and budgets.

The hackathon’s mentors and participants included faculty members, a PhD student and an alumna of the Department of Ecology and Technologies of Environmental Protection: Associate Professor Pavlo Lomazov, Assistant Lecturer Sofiia Pinchuk, PhD student Valerii Malichenko and Svitlana Barannik.

Working alongside colleagues from other disciplines, our mentors helped teams address practical questions: which environmental problem their idea would solve, which solutions would work best, and how to implement them in their communities. This is where environmental expertise demonstrates its practical value — helping teams make informed decisions and identify their next steps.

🏆 The winning team, “Synergy of Discourse”, proposed an environmental STEM hub — a space where children, young people and parents will explore the environment through practical activities. The team will receive goods and services worth up to USD 2,500 to bring the idea to life. Congratulations to the winners! We hope this space will inspire many more environmental ideas.

🎓 And the work on projects led to an unexpected conversation about future careers! Many participants expressed an interest in studying at our department and learning about admission opportunities. This was a particularly rewarding outcome for us: exploring environmental issues through their own ideas and working alongside specialists encourages young people to learn more and consider a career in the field.

🌱 Your green ideas can receive support too! The application deadline for the Green Mini-Initiatives Competition has been extended to 29 October. Teams of young people aged 14–35 from the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions can receive UAH 50,000–150,000 for environmental and climate solutions in their communities — from creating green spaces and collecting rainwater to composting and reusing materials. The key requirement is that young people themselves develop and implement the idea. Competition guidelines, the application form and the budget template are available here: https://www.stepngo.in.ua/green-initiatives/

Thank you to the organisers, university leadership, colleagues and teams for two productive days, bold ideas and an openness to collaboration. We wish every green initiative success — and would be delighted to welcome hackathon participants as our future students! 💚

#econtudp #STEP #dniprotech