IT talents from Central Asia will meet at the Central Asia Programming Championship 2026

In Shymkent, as part of the Digital Qazaqstan 2026 forum, one of the largest IT events in the region will take place — the Central Asia Programming Championship 2026, an international competitive programming championship where the best programmers from Central Asia will compete for a prize fund of 3 million tenge.

The competition will bring together talented participants from five countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The online qualifying round took place on February 28, and the final will be held on March 27, 2026, in an offline format in Shymkent.

Prize fund: first place — 1.5 million tenge, second place — 1 million tenge, and third place — 500,000 tenge.

The competition is held individually in the format of solving complex algorithmic problems at the ICPC level — this will allow participants to demonstrate their analytical and technical skills. The top three participants from each country advance to the final, along with 25 additional top performers based on overall results outside of national quotas.

Special attention has been given to the expert program: representatives of international technology companies, including a senior developer from Meta, specialists from Google, Booking, and other major IT brands, will speak at the final. This will create a platform for professional dialogue, experience sharing, and discussion of career opportunities.

The championship is organized by the Alem.ai Foundation, the Kazakhstan Competitive Programming Federation, and Astana Hub, with support from Higgsfield.ai and AGI Lab. Participation is free, and the organizers cover travel and accommodation expenses for finalists.

Source: Astana.hub