Nazarbayev University hosted the National Competition of Student Projects and Research in Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Fintech Developments, and Digital Solutions in the Financial Sector, organized by the Association of Banks of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The event took place on 12–14 November 2025 at Nazarbayev University in Astana.
The competition aims to promote the exchange of best practices in IT and Fintech, offering a valuable platform for students to showcase innovative ideas and scientific achievements that contribute to the technological development of Kazakhstan. Participants had the opportunity to present their research, learn from peers, and build new professional networks.
This year’s competition brought together 45 student teams, each presenting not only a working prototype but a vision for the future of the financial industry: intelligent anti-fraud systems, biometric authentication tools, digital forensics, emotional-state recognition models, smart recommendation engines, and more. Their work was evaluated by a professional jury consisting of banking experts, risk managers, AI specialists, heads of fintech divisions, and representatives of venture and investment funds.
On November 13, ISSAI participated as an official partner of the event by contributing to the evaluation process. Aspandiyar Nurimanov, Data Scientist at ISSAI, served as a jury member, assessing projects, providing expert feedback, and helping identify the most promising student solutions. The event program included project demonstrations, panel discussions, award ceremonies, and educational tours of Nazarbayev University’s research laboratories.
As part of the awards, ISSAI presented a special Certificate to Gleb Ihlasov from Kostanay University of Engineering and Economics named after M. Dulatov for his project on emotion recognition for payment systems. This Certificate grants him the right to participate in the ISSAI Summer Research Program 2026.
The jury shared a unanimous conclusion: Kazakhstan has a growing community of talented, motivated, and technologically capable young specialists who are ready to drive the future of the country’s financial sector.