On 18 May 2026, Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman hosted the 10th anniversary edition of IDEAFEST — an international business idea competition organized under the European Digital Innovation Hub WIN-WIN EDIH.

The event brought together KNEU Rector Dmytro Lukyanenko, American partners Prof. Gregory Gardner and Martin Karner (AIRE), five student project teams, and an international jury of eight professionals and investors.

Competition results:

— 1st place — “Rocky,” an ESP32-based mini-robot with an emotional OLED face, by students Oleksii Lytvynenko and Vasyl Oliinyk (mentor: Yaroslav Voznyuk);
— 2nd place (tied) — “SmartPot,” an IoT plant-care device, by Oleksandr Tymchenko; and “Cryptelix,” an AI trading analytics platform, by Dmytro Samolichenko and Ivan Solodkovskyi;
— 3rd place — “SmartBench Alma Mater,” a smart charging bench project by a team of six MEIM students;
— Audience Choice Award — “Demo.me,” a career-exploration app by students of Donetsk National University.

The university emphasized that the competing projects “will go on to support Ukraine’s victory and recovery.” The event’s partners included Grant Thornton Legis, Badvasi, and the German-Ukrainian Economic Society.