The first edition of the international V4UAVchallenge competition, focusing on drone piloting and the practical use of unmanned aerial vehicles, took place from 7 to 9 October 2026 in Międzybrodzie Bialskie, Poland. The event was organised by the University of the National Education Commission in Krakow (UKEN) in cooperation with partner universities from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. A total of 15 three-member teams from nine universities participated in the competition.
The competition took place at the LKS Żar sports field and focused primarily on precision, speed and the safe operation of drones weighing up to 250 grams. Participants completed various challenges involving flights under visual line of sight (VLOS) conditions as well as using FPV technology, which allows pilots to control a drone through a live video feed from its onboard camera. Strong winds made the individual disciplines even more challenging, testing the pilots' ability to respond to changing conditions.
An important part of the programme was a professional seminar, during which the participating universities shared their experience in teaching, research and practical applications of unmanned systems. “We had the opportunity to present the activities of Dron LAB, a university-wide working group and student organisation that brings together students and academic staff from various fields of study,” said Jan Velička, Deputy Head of Dron LAB.
Participation in V4UAVchallenge was not only an opportunity to meet the international community of drone enthusiasts, but also a chance to compare different universities' approaches to technical education, student projects and research. Events of this kind provide an important platform for establishing professional contacts and preparing the ground for future cooperation.
In the overall competition results, the team from the University of Szeged in Hungary took first place. Second and third place went to teams from the Technical University in Zvolen, Slovakia. The VSB-TUO team achieved an excellent fourth place.
The project “V4UAVchallenge – an annual students' drone meeting and competition” is led by the University of the National Education Commission in Krakow (UKEN), in cooperation with the Technical University in Zvolen, Brno University of Technology and the University of Szeged. Its aim is to develop students' practical skills in working with unmanned systems and to promote cooperation between universities in the Visegrad Group countries.
The V4UAVchallenge project (No. 22530054) is funded by the International Visegrad Fund.