More than 50 Kazakhstani teams will compete in international FIRST championships.

In the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence in Kazakhstan, a national technology team comprising 52 of the best teams has been formed. They will defend the country's honor at international FIRST championships in North America, Europe, and Asia.

The results of the national stage were summarized within the framework of the large-scale technology festival Alem Tech Fest 2026, which brought together participants from across the country. Kazakhstan will be represented on the world stage by schoolchildren and students from Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, Karaganda, Akmola, Mangystau, Atyrau, Aktobe, Turkistan, Pavlodar, West Kazakhstan regions, and the Ulytau region. The wide geography of festival participants confirms that the development of IT competencies and engineering fields has become a national priority.

In 2026, Kazakhstani teams will compete on several continents. 16 teams will head to the FIRST Championship World Final in Houston, which will take place from April 29 to May 2 and will bring together more than 50,000 participants from around the world. Another 36 teams will represent the country at international FIRST stages in Canada, Mexico, Greece, the United Kingdom, South Korea, China, and Bulgaria.

The event organizers were the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the USTEM Foundation public fund, the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the international innovation cluster Astana Hub, and the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The championship demonstrates the level of engineering training of young people and their ability to work with modern technological solutions. Participants go through the path from idea to working prototype, mastering programming, automation, and the design of complex systems—skills that today define the development of the technology industry.

Zhaslan Madiev, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan

For young participants, reaching the world level has become an important step toward their professional dreams. The Central Asia FIRST Championship shows how actively interest in technologies, robotics, and programming is developing in the country. The large-scale successes of Kazakhstani teams are a step toward forming a new generation of engineers and developers who are already confidently stepping onto the global technology arena.

Source: gov.kz