Technion to Host Official NASA International Hackathon for the First Time

For the first time in the history of the Technion, the campus will host an official NASA Space Apps Challenge event, a major international hackathon dedicated to innovation, science, and solving global challenges through technology. The outstanding projects selected at the event will become nominees in the global NASA Space Apps competition, where ten winners from around the world will be chosen.

The event will take place November 14–15, 2026, and will attract students and experts from across Israel. Bringing the competition to the Technion is an exceptional achievement that places the institution at the heart of one of the world’s leading scientific innovation initiatives. The event will offer participants a rare opportunity to work on challenges with global impact, engage with leading experts, and build meaningful connections with representatives from academia and industry.

The NASA Space Apps Challenge takes place annually at hundreds of locations worldwide, bringing together thousands of participants who develop solutions based on open data from NASA and 17 other space agencies. Participants tackle real-world challenges in fields including space, Earth science, medicine, engineering, data science, and more, while collaborating across disciplines. The scale of this international initiative is reflected in the numbers: in 2025, more than 11,500 projects were submitted through 551 local events worldwide.

It is intended for students from a wide range of disciplines, as well as industry professionals interested in taking part in an exceptional international innovation experience. The challenges are published in advance, allowing participants to familiarize themselves with the topics, form teams, and prepare for the official hackathon weekend. The local judging panel is expected to include academics alongside experts from the space industry and other technology sectors.

The event will also feature three talks at the “Black Sheep” pub in the Technion’s Student Union Building. The speakers are Prof. Shmuel Bialy of the Faculty of Physics, on the interstellar medium; Prof. Moran Bercovici of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, on “From Water Spheres to Giant Structures: Building in Space with Liquids”; and Technion alumnus Prof. Jonathan Stern of Tel Aviv University, on “How Galaxies Form.”

The event at the Technion is managed by a team of students led by Gaya Tzadok, who was selected as a Global Nominee in last year’s competition. Tzadok began her academic journey in the Physics and Aerospace Engineering track and is currently a student at the Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine. During her studies, she has also conducted neuroscience research under the supervision of Prof. Dori Derdikman. She heads the field of AI and innovation at the Israel Aerospace Medicine Association (IAsMA) and is active in advancing the field of space medicine in Israel. As part of these efforts, she and the association led the development of a new elective course in space medicine at the Faculty of Medicine. The course, the first of its kind at the Technion, will open in the Winter Semester of the 2026–2027 academic year.

The competition is being held in collaboration with the Technion Student Association and the Technion Hub for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (t:hub). Participation is free of charge.

For more information: Website: https://spaceappshaifa.app/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nasa-space-apps-haifa/about/