Robotek Grand Tournament underway in Astana

Astana is hosting the Robotek Grand Tournament. The best school teams from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic are participating in the international robotics championship taking place in the country for the third time. Over 200 schoolchildren are competing across seven categories and multiple age groups ranging from nine to 17 years old. Each team dedicated several months to creating their robots. Prior to the start, all machines underwent regulation checks.

“Over the course of two days, children participate in seven robotics categories, including Mergen, Delivery Robot, Flag Delivery, Robotek, Reverse Line Racing, and others. In these categories, children compete by building strong robots tasked with completing challenges set on the field within two or three minutes,” said Sanzhar Shalkarbekov, Director General of the Robotek School.

According to the competition organizers, their goal is to discover and support talented children in the fields of robotics, engineering sciences, and programming. They also aim to promote technical professions among young people and draw the attention of the public and government to technical education. During the tournament, a memorandum of cooperation was signed between robotics schools from Turkic-speaking states as part of the TURKTIME global program. Among them was a school from the Kyrgyz Republic, whose young participants showcased their project.

“I would like to note the beauty of the country and its cities. We are brotherly nations. I really liked the friendliness and hospitality of the Kazakh people. We had the chance to meet other teams, such as those from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, who had also shared positive feedback. Our robot delivers different goods from one place to another, and now we are going to test it,” Aruubek Baimyrzaev, participant in the international championship from the Kyrgyz Republic, shared.

The winners and runners-up in each category will receive valuable gifts and diplomas, as well as prizes in special categories, including ‘best engineering solution’, ‘best rural team’, and ‘best foreign team’. Notably, one of the championship winners will receive a grant to study at the School of Information Technology and Engineering of Kazakh-British Technical University.