KazNU’s Faculty of Physics and Technology Hosts the Almaty Qualifying Round of the Formula of Intellect Championship

On 6 November 2026, the Faculty of Physics and Technology at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) hosted the Almaty qualifying round of the Formula of Intellect International Championship in Intellectual Games. School students took part in the competition, learned about the faculty’s degree programmes and visited the National Nanotechnology Laboratory of Open Type.

The annual championship is organised by the Youth Division of the Nuclear Society of Kazakhstan. It brings together students in grades 8–11 who are under 18 from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Russia. In Kazakhstan, qualifying rounds are scheduled in eight cities — Almaty, Astana, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Semey, Talgar, Akkol, Temirtau and Stepnogorsk. The Nuclear Society provided prizes and materials for participants.

As part of the event, students met S. A. Aliyev, head of both the Energy of the Future Information Centre for Atomic Technologies and the Youth Division of the Nuclear Society of Kazakhstan. The meeting gave students an opportunity to learn about the professional community behind the championship and its work to raise public awareness of atomic technologies and encourage young people’s interest in science.

During the career guidance session, students were introduced to the faculty’s degree programmes and fields of study in physics and engineering. They learned how the subjects they enjoy at school can lead to different paths at university. For students considering applying, the introduction helped them identify questions to ask when choosing a programme, including which subjects they would study, how practical training is organised and what topics they could explore through independent work.

At the National Nanotechnology Laboratory of Open Type, students saw the facilities KazNU researchers use to study materials and their properties. The visit complemented the introduction to the faculty’s degree programmes by showing how knowledge of physics is applied in research. For example, asking why some materials conduct heat better than others connects a familiar topic from school physics with questions in thermophysics and materials science. At university, students can explore such questions in class and test their ideas experimentally.

The competition and the tour also highlighted skills that players and researchers use. In the game, participants read questions carefully, identify relevant details, compare facts and justify their answers. In the laboratory, researchers formulate questions and test hypotheses through measurement and data analysis. Seeing where this work takes place helped students connect the reasoning they used during the competition with scientific practice.

The Almaty qualifying round formed part of the faculty’s career guidance work with local schools. For eighth-grade students, the visit offered an early introduction to university life. Older students had an opportunity to consider which fields they might pursue and what kinds of research questions they would like to explore during their studies.