On April 15–16, 2025, the 14th Republican Olympiad "Best Chemist-Researcher" was held. The event was organized and sponsored by the Laboratory of Electrochemical Production Technologies and the Department of Analytical, Colloid Chemistry and Technology of Rare Elements of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University.
The Olympiad consisted of two stages: on April 15, from 14:00 to 16:00, the individual round was held. This stage included four tasks: two written problems and two video-based problems, where participants were asked to describe physico-chemical processes shown in the videos and propose the components involved.
On April 16, from 15:00 to 18:00, the team round was conducted. Participants formed teams of 3–4 people, solved a comprehensive problem, and presented their solutions in the form of a video recording along with an A0 poster illustrating their answer. The assignment was: "Propose a suitable coating for steel parts or a combination thereof, and justify your choice from an economic perspective."
The Olympiad jury included four members: Fyodor Malchik (Head of Laboratory), Saken Abdimomyn (PhD student, former Olympiad participant), Yaroslav Zhigalenok (PhD student, former Olympiad participant), and Malik Seiylbek (Master's student, former Olympiad participant), who evaluated the answers in Kazakh and Russian languages.
The prize fund amounted to 200,000 KZT (1st place – 50,000 KZT, 2nd place – 30,000 KZT, 3rd place – 20,000 KZT for the individual and team rounds separately), sponsored by the Laboratory of Electrochemical Production Technologies.
Twelve teams from various universities and schools of Kazakhstan took part in the team round. In the individual round, 24 participants from different universities and schools competed.
It is noteworthy that alongside university students, students from Lyceum No. 134 (grades 10–11) also participated and won prizes in both individual and team rounds.
On April 18, the award ceremony and review of the Olympiad tasks were held. Numerous positive oral feedbacks about the high quality of the Olympiad were received.
Scientific Olympiads such as the "Best Chemist-Researcher" play a key role in developing youth science and nurturing the next generation of researchers. These events not only identify talented students and pupils but also create a scientific environment where creativity, analytical thinking, and teamwork are highly valued. Therefore, such Olympiads are not merely competitions but investments in the future of the country's scientific community and engineering potential.
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