Kazakh Robotics Team Wins Top Judged Award at U.S. Tech Event
SHYMKENT — A school robotics team from southern Kazakhstan has won the Inspire Award in its division at a FIRST Tech Challenge Premier Event in the United States, giving Kazakhstan another international youth technology success. Atomic Heart, Team #33680 from NIS Shymkent Abai, won the Inspire Award at the Run for the Robots Premier Event - Man o' War Division, held May 28-30 at the Alltech Arena at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky. FIRST's official results list Atomic Heart as the division's Inspire Award winner, ahead of U.S. teams from Missouri and Pennsylvania. [video width="832" height="464" mp4="https://timesca.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/first_13_seconds_no_watermark.mp4"][/video] The Inspire Award is a judged prize rather than a match result. It recognizes a team that performs strongly across robot design, engineering documentation, presentation, outreach, and teamwork. For Atomic Heart, the result was notable because FIRST lists the team as a 2025 rookie team. "The first INSPIRE on Premier Event in KZ history," Asylbek Myrzakhmet, founder of Asylbek Robotics, said, describing the scale of the result for Kazakhstan's robotics community. Atomic Heart's route to Kentucky followed a difficult first season. The team competed in official events in Kazakhstan before reaching the U.S. event. Its early tournaments included technical failures and defeats, but those setbacks helped the students improve their robot and engineering process before the Premier Event. [caption id="attachment_50379" align="aligncenter" width="1774"] The robot ATOM[/caption] The competition also required the students to present their work in English to international judges, adding a public-speaking and project-defense challenge to the engineering task. Team member Alisultan Otan said the trip to Kentucky also brought an unexpected cultural connection. "When we arrived in Kentucky, I was surprised by how strong the horse culture is here," he said. "It immediately reminded me of Kazakhstan, where the horse is an integral part of our history and lifestyle. Despite the distance, it made us feel deeply connected to the place." FIRST Tech Challenge is a youth robotics program for students aged 12-18, in which teams design, build, and program robots for an annual game. FIRST says the program combines engineering, STEM skills, community outreach, and teamwork. Kazakhstan has placed growing emphasis on technical and digital skills in schools, including reforms focused on vocational education and digital technologies. Atomic Heart's result points to the value of school-level robotics programs that give students early exposure to engineering, programming, and international competition.
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