The final of the international Social Impact Award (SIA) program was held at NU, bringing together 15 teams of school and university students from across Kazakhstan. The teams presented their projects to an expert jury, focusing on solutions to pressing social challenges.
Social Impact Award (SIA) is a global initiative operating in 30 countries that helps young people turn social ideas into sustainable projects that create meaningful impact. In Kazakhstan, the program is supported by NU Impact Foundation and NU Alumni as part of the development of the NU ecosystem.
Over the course of three months, participants took part in an educational programme and worked with mentors and industry experts. The young teams learned how to formulate and test hypotheses, understand their target audiences, develop sustainable business models and prepare their projects for public presentation. NU alumni also served as mentors and experts, sharing their professional and entrepreneurial experience with the participants.
“We, as NU alumni, wanted to go beyond our own community and support talented young people from across Kazakhstan. We wanted to give them access to the knowledge, experience and support they need to turn their ideas into real projects. It is inspiring to see our alumni come together around this goal and invest their time and energy in the next generation,” said Aigerim Janalinova, SIA Kazakhstan organiser.
Following the final, an expert jury of nine representatives from the business, technology and social sectors selected four winning projects:
- Banana Patch (Almaty) — an affordable tool for quickly stopping bleeding, made from banana peels. The project was developed by 16-year-olds Abai Orazbek and Seyitali Altyn.
- EndoSim (Turkistan) — a simulator for aspiring endoscopists, created by 18-year-old Karina Bauyrzhan and 17-year-old Zhasmina Turgunbayeva.
- OnAITynys (Kokshetau) — a specialised device and digital platform for monitoring breathing, pulse and oxygen saturation in people with asthma. The project was developed by 17-year-olds Yussuf Mukhambetkaliyev and Hussein Malik.
- SnP (Astana) — an affordable sip-and-puff assistive device that enables people with quadriplegia to control a computer hands-free using their breath. The team consists of Asylbek Aitbayev (19), Aymedet Taufik (24), Ramazan Zhylkaidarov (23) and Yerassyl Segizbayev (24).
The four winning teams shared a prize fund of 3 million tenge. They also received the opportunity to represent Kazakhstan and present their projects at the global Social Impact Award Summit in Montenegro.
