Ohrid Techathlon is a hackathon built to push young entrepreneurs toward real business ideas, not just code. Teams spend a weekend turning a rough concept into a working prototype, then pitch it to a jury of founders, engineers, and industry mentors. The event is organized to give participants a full cycle: idea, build, feedback, pitch.
The theme changes every edition. This year, teams work on business and technology solutions built with AI. You still need to bring a feasible, original idea; the AI angle just sets the boundary for what you build inside.
You learn by building, not by sitting through slides. You spend the weekend next to founders, engineers, and mentors who show up specifically to work with participants, and those conversations often turn into job offers, co-founder matches, or investor introductions. Your ticket also covers meals, snacks, and coffee for the full event, so the cost buys access, not just admission.
Ohrid Techathlon is open to anyone between 15 and 29 years old.
No. Ohrid Techathlon needs programmers, but it also needs designers, business strategists, and people who are simply good at solving problems. Mentors run workshops during the weekend so non-technical participants can contribute to a working prototype, including no-code tools that let you build without writing a line of code.
That's fine. Say so on your application or tell an organizer when you arrive. Ideas get pitched at the start of the event, and you're free to join whichever one interests you most.
No. You can apply solo. If you do, the organizers help match you with teammates during the kickoff session, once everyone's specialties are on the table.
Teams run up to 5 people. You don't have to declare your team before the event unless a specific challenge says otherwise.
Three ways work best. Talk to the mentors and tell them you're looking; they actively match solo participants. Bring friends or classmates who already share your interest. Or wait for the on-site team-building session that runs right after task details get announced, and build a team from people you just met.
Every specialty gets its own badge color. Marketing wears blue, programmers wear yellow, and so on through the rest of the disciplines. Check the badge before you ask who does what.
Yes, up until your team leader submits the project and presents the idea. Once voting rounds open, team details lock: no more changes to the team name, project name, members, or attachments.
Click Apply Now and fill out the short application. Applications get reviewed on a rolling basis, and you'll get a confirmation email with next steps once you're in.
Standard tickets run €29.99. Students pay €14.99. If you register early, you lock in the early bird rate of €19.99. Every tier includes food and drinks for the full weekend.
Two reasons. Ticket revenue covers part of the organizing cost; sponsors cover the rest, but not all of it. A ticket price also filters for participants who are actually committed to showing up and building, while staying low enough that cost isn't a barrier.
Bring a laptop and a charger; that's the one non-negotiable. Add headphones, adapters, and business cards, since the weekend doubles as a networking event and you'll want a way to follow up with people. If you plan to catch a power nap between build sessions, bring a sleeping bag.
Yes. Lunch and dinner are provided, along with coffee and light snacks running through the day, so you don't need to plan meals around the schedule.
English. Workshops, presentations, documentation, and team communication all run in English, so the event stays accessible to participants from outside the region. You don't need to be fluent; basic business English is enough to follow along and contribute.
Challenges span Cloud Computing, Web Development, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Internet of Things, FinTech, CleanTech, and Health Technology. Tasks fall into two categories. Open Tasks give you a loose prompt and leave the direction up to your team. Partner Tasks come from sponsor companies with their own requirements and rules, so read those terms closely before you commit a weekend to one.
Yes, both free and paid resources are fair game. Credit them clearly in your submission. Using a paid asset doesn't earn extra points during judging, so don't spend money assuming it buys an edge.
Judges score Open Task submissions against five criteria, weighted as shown below.
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Idea & Innovation | 30% |
| Relation to Category | 20% |
| Practical Applicability / Usability | 20% |
| Design | 20% |
| Completeness & Implementation Value | 10% |
Partner Tasks follow their own rules, set individually by each sponsor, so check the task description for that track's specific criteria.
Finalists get 3 minutes total. One minute introduces the team and the problem you're solving; the remaining two minutes go to a live demo of what you built. The jury picks finalists from each task and announces them during the event.
The first-place team takes home €7,500 along with a fully subsidized bootcamp seat, choosing between a Silicon Valley track or a Toronto track. Runners-up receive cash prizes and subsidized bootcamp spots as well, plus direct visibility with the partners and judges in the room. Individual Open and Partner Tasks each carry their own additional prize pool on top of the overall awards, so a strong finish on a specific track can pay out separately from the main competition.
Start anyway. Passion and persistence matter more at this stage than a finished concept, and the mentors are there specifically to help you shape a direction over the weekend rather than expecting you to arrive with one.
That's a normal outcome, not a failure. Ohrid Techathlon treats it as a checkpoint: if your idea stalls, partner ideation and acceleration programs exist specifically to help you restart and push the concept further.
Beyond the prize, participants get access to mentors, exposure to potential partners, and a track record they can point to when applying for jobs, freelance work, or their next accelerator program. The relationships you build over the weekend tend to outlast the event itself.
If your question isn't covered here, reach out to the Ohrid Techathlon organizing team directly through the event's official contact channel.
A two-day innovation festival packed with engineering competitions, hands-on challenges, workshops and showcase moments — built for creators, dreamers and doers.
Location: UIST“St. Paul The Apostle” · Ohrid | Time: Autumn 2026
© 2026 Ohrid Tech City
