Achievements of Robotics Systems Students at the RoboCup Rescue Competition within ALEM TECH FEST 2026

The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Қасым-Жомарт Тоқаев, in his Address to the Nation emphasized that transforming Kazakhstan into a digitally advanced country is one of the state’s strategic priorities. He also proposed declaring 2026 as the Year of Artificial Intelligence. These initiatives contribute to accelerating technological development and implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 – Quality Education, SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, and SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals.

 

Within this strategic framework, the public foundation USTEM Foundation organized the large-scale technology festival ALEM TECH FEST 2026 from February 11 to 13, 2026, at the EXPO International Exhibition Center in Astana.

 

ALEM TECH FEST 2026 was organized as a technological platform covering artificial intelligence, robotics, engineering technologies, drones, and digital innovations. The main objective of the festival was to develop students’ engineering thinking, enhance practical skills, and contribute to the training of highly qualified specialists in accordance with the SDGs.

 

Within the festival, international and national competitions in robotics, artificial intelligence, and drone technologies were organized for university students:

 

● Physical AI Championship

● RoboCup Rescue (robot dogs)

● FPV Simulator Racing

● Whoop Racing (micro-drones)

● Drone Soccer

● Alem Drone Challenge

 

The RoboCup Rescue competition (Powered by Unitree Robotics) focused on autonomous and remote control of robot dogs, navigation, and algorithm development in an offline format. The competition track included obstacles and QR-code zones, contributing to the development of engineering decision-making, programming, and robot control skills. This category is directly related to the development of robotic solutions for emergency situations in line with SDG 9.

 

Students of the “Robotics Systems” educational program of the Department of Mechanics, trained by the International Institute of Digital Technologies and Robotics, participated with two teams and achieved prize-winning results.

 

Team 1 — 1st Place ✊

Mentor: Zhanabergen Damir, Deputy Director of the International Institute of Digital Technologies and Robotics.

Students:

 

Team 2 — 3rd Place ✊

Mentor: PhD Balzhan Akhmetova, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Mechanics.

Students:

 

These achievements contribute to the development of students’ engineering competencies, improvement of technological education quality, and strengthening of the country’s innovation potential. This represents a clear example of the harmonious development of education, science, and technology in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

The future belongs to the youth!