Winners of the Idea Battle contest from Astana Hub have won 200,000 tenge each and access to the techno park's educational programs

The Idea Battle competition was held in 15 cities: Aktobe, Aktau, Atyrau, Kokshetau, Kostanay, Uralsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Pavlodar, Taraz, Turkistan, Zhezkazgan, Kyzylorda, Petropavl, Taldykorgan, and Shymkent. All stages of the competition took place online on the Instagram platform. A total of 46 projects competed for victory.

The following ideas were recognized as the best:

• In Kyzylorda, young programmers intend to teach elderly people computer literacy. The young people have prepared a series of training sessions for the older generation and "silver volunteers" on using the ZOOM platform, social networks, and the E-gov platform. The training will last about a month.
• In Aktau, an interactive city map for people with disabilities will be developed. The application will provide information about the accessibility of various organizations and establishments. Locations lacking inclusive infrastructure will also be indicated, and information about them will be regularly sent to the local administration. Additionally, public transport will be filterable based on the criterion of "equipment for people with disabilities."
• In Pavlodar, the Aqua team members plan to extract vital moisture from the atmospheric air.

Pavlodar residents noted that in the last two years, unprecedented heat has caused the drying up of water bodies in Kazakhstan. Drought and water shortages have led to a reduction in agricultural crop plantings and livestock deaths, as well as instability in the economic sector. The young developers created a design that allows for the condensation of water contained in the atmosphere in the form of vapor. The IT component of the project consists of a remote monitoring system for equipment status using special sensors.

According to the organizers, the main goal of the competition is to popularize startup culture and support socially important IT solutions in the regions of Kazakhstan. The jury also paid attention to the originality, realism, impact of the idea (positive effect on the problem), and the presence of an IT component.

- The competition, which we held simultaneously in all 15 regions of the country, aims to promote ideas of technological entrepreneurship and support innovative young people regardless of their place of residence. The Astana Hub team believes in the high potential of Kazakhstan's regions and makes great efforts to engage active people and companies in its ecosystem, - notes Arkady Seleznev, Managing Director of the technopark.

The winners will have the opportunity to complete one of the free educational courses offered by Astana Hub: Startup School, No Code School, Freelance School, or Beta Career. According to the competition organizers, thanks to the knowledge gained, the teams will be able to implement their ideas more qualitatively and effectively.

2149