Zagreb’s Open Source Scene Levels Up: DENT and University of Algebra Launch Networking Hackathon

Get ready, Croatian open source community – something big is brewing in Zagreb. The University of Algebra and DENT (you know, the Linux Foundation networking project) are teaming up to host what promises to be one of the coolest open source events this year. Mark your calendars for December 14th – we’re talking a full-day hackathon where you’ll get to tackle real networking challenges alongside fellow open source enthusiasts.

Here’s what makes this special: it’s not just another hackathon. This is one of Croatia’s first major open source hackathons, focusing on network configuration and management. Plus, with a €3,000 prize pool, your brilliant solutions could earn you more than just bragging rights.

The whole thing’s happening at Algebra Spark Event Space, running from 8 AM to 8 PM. Whether you’re a student staying up late contributing to GitHub projects or a seasoned networking pro, this is your chance to dive into some fascinating challenges. Think remote packet capture, telemetry integration, and cloud system management – the kind of stuff that makes network engineers’ eyes light up.

DENT’s bringing serious tech cred to the table. If you haven’t heard of them, they’re doing impressive work building a standardized network operating system using the Linux kernel and Switchdev. They’ve got backing from tech giants like Amazon and EdgeCore, plus our very own Croatian company Sartura is in the mix. They’re all about stripping away unnecessary abstraction layers to make networking more efficient and accessible.

Whether you’re into low-level networking protocols or high-level system design, there’s something here for you. You’ll be working on problems like remote management solutions and configuration persistence – real challenges that the industry is grappling with right now.

This isn’t just about the competition (though €3,000 is nothing to sneeze at). It’s about bringing together Croatia’s open source community, learning from each other, and maybe building something amazing in the process. Students get to work alongside industry pros, everyone gets to tackle interesting problems, and the open source community grows stronger.

If this sounds interesting head over to Algebra and apply!