Ignite Hackathon 2026: Code meets imagination at ACS

February 25, 2026 -- On February 20 and 21, the American College of Sofia hosted Ignite Hackathon 2026, a 24-hour game design and programming marathon under the theme “Discovery.” The competition brought together 20 teams of three or four students and more than 70 participants from over five schools in Sofia.

The event was opened by the College President, Dr. Emily Sargent-Beasley, who shared the words of Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do the things you think you cannot do.” Over the next 24 hours, participants developed their digital projects with the support of mentors with experience at Ubisoft, indie studios, and Google.

The grand prize in the main category went to Team Development Hell: Damyan Aleksandrov, Krasimir Tuhchiev, Yasen Georgiev, and Slav Nanchev from SoftUni BUDITEL. Second and third place were awarded to Future Minds Collective and ABC (Atanasoff's Bold Coders) from the John Atanasoff Vocational High School of Electronics. In the Junior category, the winners were Nikolay Nachev, Aleksandra Hristova, and Teodor Ivanov from the American College of Sofia.

The ACS Ignite Hackathon was carried out as a project by twelfth-grade students in collaboration with the Computer Science Department at the American College of Sofia. We extend our gratitude to our partners Imperia, OddSub, and ARC Academy, as well as to all mentors and volunteers who supported the young talents. Ignite Hackathon 2026 once again demonstrated that the future of technology in Bulgaria is in capable hands.