Russia and Kazakhstan expand educational ties at Sirius Talent Summit (VIDEOS)
Russia and Kazakhstan have brought together hundreds of students, teachers and young scientists for the third Kazakhstan-Sirius Talent Summit in Almaty, aimed at expanding educational and scientific cooperation between the two countries.
The three-day event, held from November 12 to 14, featured competitions and workshops in robotics, artificial intelligence, space technologies, biotechnology and environmental science. Around 230 schoolchildren from both countries worked in 15 teams on projects developed with industrial and academic partners of Russia’s Sirius educational center.
On Saturday, participants also took part in the first stage of the new Big Challenges international robotics Olympiad, which welcomes schoolchildren from around the world. The competition’s inaugural season focuses on the Arctic.
The summit forms part of a broader initiative launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to establish joint educational institutions in Almaty and Astana, including international schools, a talent development center and a youth science and technology park. The project is being implemented under an intergovernmental agreement signed during Putin’s state visit to Kazakhstan in May.
Speaking at the summit, Elena Shmeleva, chair of the Sirius federal territory council, said the initiative’s international cooperation would also expand to India, where the first talent summit is planned for February 2027.
Shmeleva noted that Sirius has been working with Indian partners since 2018, particularly in mathematics, natural sciences and astrophysics Olympiads. She said Indian colleagues had shown considerable interest in Sirius research.
The Almaty summit also included professional development programs for around 150 Kazakh teachers and scientific workshops for more than 100 university students and young researchers.
