Road to Puerto Rico: NIS Kyzylorda Students Become World Robot Olympiad 2026 Champions

Students of Nazarbayev Intellectual School (NIS) in Kyzylorda have won first place at the national round of the World Robot Olympiad (WRO) 2026, organized by Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools.

The team, consisting of Ernur Sadu and Ayanur Sadu, achieved outstanding results in the Future Engineers category by presenting an innovative robotics project designed to tackle complex engineering challenges. Their victory secured them the right to represent Kazakhstan at the international WRO 2026 finals, which will take place this December in Puerto Rico.

The team was mentored by computer science teacher Serik Akhmetov. In addition, team member Ernur Sadu was awarded an educational grant from the Kazakhstan-British Technical University (KBTU) in recognition of his achievements.

This year, 286 students from across Kazakhstan competed in the national stage of the Olympiad. The theme of WRO 2026, “Robots Meet Culture,” challenged participants to explore how robotics can help preserve, interpret, and promote cultural heritage. Competitions were held across four categories: RoboMission, Future Innovators, RoboSports, and Future Engineers.

“WRO is much more than a competition for NIS. It is one of the key platforms for the systematic development of educational robotics in Kazakhstan. This year, we were especially pleased to see strong participation from students representing public, rural, and regional schools. It demonstrates that interest in robotics is growing across all regions of the country,” said Sabyrzhan Saduakasov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools.

NIS Kyzylorda was also proudly represented by Bekzhan Amanbek, Adilkhan Torgai, Amir Akbergen, Zharkynbek Akhmetov, Eraslan Yerboluly, Yerassyl Aidarbek, Asylkhan Meirambek, and Inkar Nurkhankyzy. Having successfully passed the qualifying stage, they ranked among the strongest competitors in the national competition.

The achievement highlights the growing potential of young Kazakhstani innovators and reinforces Kazakhstan’s position in the global robotics community. NIS Kyzylorda now looks forward to supporting its champions as they prepare to represent the nation on the world stage in Puerto Rico.