SPARK Team Wins Special Certificate and Cash Prize at the International Olympiad in Electrochemical Material Science
On November 19, 2025, the 5th International Olympiad in Electrochemical Material Science was held. The event was organized and sponsored by the Laboratory of Electrochemical Production Technologies and the Department of Analytical and Colloid Chemistry and Chemical Technology of Rare Elements of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. The Olympiad was held on-line: the team members set up cameras facing their laboratory desks, which allowed the jury to observe the task performance in real time. Upon completion of the 3-hour session, the participants submitted reports in English for expert evaluation.
The international jury included Dr. Fyodor Malchik (Al-Farabi KazNU), Dr. Netanel Shpigel (Ariel University, Israel), Prof. Ilie Hanzu (TU Graz, Austria), Prof. Thierry Jenizian (Mines Saint-Etienne, France), Yaroslav Zhigalenok, doctoral candidate, and Saken Abdimomyn, doctoral candidate (Al-Farabi KazNU). The prize fund of the Olympiad amounted to 5,000 euros, provided by the Laboratory of Electrochemical Production Technologies, WTC Group, Labtex, ALEMTRADE COMPANY, the Kazakh-American Free University, and CIQTEK. A total of 12 teams participated in the competition, representing 13 universities from 8 countries.
Special recognition was awarded to the SPARK team from the National Nuclear Center of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which includes employees of the Center for Technological Competencies in Hydrogen Energy: Oken Ospan, Zhakiya Riza, Kulbedin Danil, and Kaiyrbekovа Asel. The team received a special certificate “for a creative approach to instrumental,” meaning “for a creative approach to working with measurement and analytical equipment,” as well as a monetary award of 100,000 tenge. The team’s high level of preparation, professionalism, and research culture allowed them to represent Kazakhstan with dignity at this prestigious international scientific platform.