From 1 to 3 November 2025, the Qostanai AI-Sana Industry Hackathon: Allur Challenge was successfully held in Kostanay, organized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Qostanai Hub, and the Kostanay Engineering and Economics University named after M. Dulatov Kostanay(KINEU). The challenge was provided by Allur, a Kazakhstani automotive industry company.
Thirteen teams — comprising university and college students, as well as high school learners from across Kazakhstan — tackled Allur’s real-world industrial problem using machine learning and computer vision techniques. Participants developed an AI-powered system capable of real-time analysis of car part images to detect painting defects, including skips, stains, drips, and excessive coating layers. The solution aims to accelerate quality control and reduce production waste.
Winning Teams:
1st Place: team «Lkpat» (Kostanay Regional University);
2nd Place: team «NextGenDeys» (Kostanay Engineering and Economics University);
3rd Place: team «Сығанақ» (Nazarbayev Intellectual School). This team also received a special prize from Arujan Mede, founder of Aman Online and co-founder of Impro.
Farid Nahli, ITU Programme Coordinator, stated:
“KINEU is a long-standing partner and an Academic Member of ITU. We are delighted to once again join forces to foster talent and drive innovation in the region.”.
Azamat Kashiev, Head of the Digitalisation, Public Services and Archives Department of the Kostanay Regional Administration, added:
“It is precisely through collaboration between industry and academia that new ideas and technologies emerge. Hosting such a significant event as this hackathon exemplifies effective partnership among business, education, and government.”.
Over two intense days, teams developed their solutions with continuous guidance from expert mentors, including:
- Imangali Kerimbek (Director, Smart Data Management Dept., NITEC) — data analytics & technical architecture
- Artur Panchenko (Team Lead, Video Analytics, Wildberries & Russ) — computer vision & data pipelines
- Arujan Mede (Founder, Aman Online; Co-founder, Impro) — product development & pitching
- Anastasia Lagutik (Project Coordinator, Startup Central Eurasia; ITU Expert) — MVP design & pitch deck preparation
- Evgeny Merenkov (Allur Expert) — domain-specific consultation.
The hackathon was held under ITU’s AI-Sana Initiative, aimed at building AI capacity and nurturing the next generation of AI specialists in Central Eurasia. It was supported by the Kostanay Regional Administration.
In March 2025, the
AI CHALLENGE 2025 hackathon featured cases from leading Kazakh companies (Aitomaton, NITEC), with winning solutions in EdTech, MediaTech, and customer service automation.
In 2023, ITU conducted a startup bootcamp for students and faculty, introducing core concepts of startup ideation, validation, and scaling.