Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – This year, more than 1,300 talented girls from Uzbekistan took part in the competition, who presented their projects to solve pressing social problems with the help of technology and innovation. 

The Technovation Girls Uzbekistan competition is supported by the Ministry of Digital Technologies, Tech4Impact and Yandex.

As part of the competition, participants developed projects aimed at improving the urban environment, increasing transport safety, and solving social problems using artificial intelligence technologies. A total of 83 projects were submitted to the jury for evaluation. Among them, for example, an application against bullying among teenagers, online assistants for studying and checking homework, a voice assistant for the visually impaired and blind.

Throughout the competition, participants were accompanied by experienced mentors, among whom were managers and practicing IT specialists of Yandex. They helped the girls understand trends, as well as the peculiarities of the structure of projects and teams. In total, more than 133 mentors participated in the competition.

On 31 May 2024, an award ceremony will take place for the winners of the regional stage of the competition in all categories. The winners of the competition in Uzbekistan will take part in the finals, which are held annually in Silicon Valley in the USA. Yandex presented special nominations Smart City and AI For Good for the authors of the best projects using AI, as well as for solving problems of the urban environment and transport safety - the winners in these categories will receive valuable prizes from the company.

“Past Technovation participants report that the program has had a positive impact on their careers, leadership skills and job opportunities. Graduates often win other competitions and receive international grants for their studies. They enroll in leading local and international universities, pursue careers in information technology, science and engineering, and create their own startups,” said Saida Yusupova, director of the NGO Tech4Impact.

Previously, Yandex opened access to lectures held as part of Technovation for all schoolchildren in Uzbekistan. Lectures are adapted for school level and are available on the Technovation YouTube channel in Uzbek and Russian. Lectures are devoted to the use of technology in projects for the development of an inclusive environment, urban mobility, and ecology.

Also, thanks to the cooperation of the Center for the Development of Digital Education under the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan with the Yandex company, it became possible for 25 schoolchildren to participate in international sports programming camps under the guidance of world coach Andrei Stankevich. The training program included problem solving and online consultations for schoolchildren in Uzbekistan.

The event is designed to support and develop the talents of young programmers, promoting their professional growth. The initiative was made possible through a partnership with Yandex, which has been an active supporter of sports programming since 2007 and is a general partner of NERC ICPC.