JSC «SKMA» teams take part in the world-record-setting hackalem ai international hackathon!

On September 23, 2026, SKMA–MedMind and SKMA–Tamyr represented JSC «South Kazakhstan Medical Academy» at the HackAlem AI international hackathon, held at the EXPO International Exhibition Centre in Astana.

The event marked an outstanding achievement for Kazakhstan’s technology community: HackAlem AI set a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the most participants in an agentic AI hackathon! Official adjudicator Glenn Pollard confirmed that 2,415 participants had met the requirements to be counted towards the record. This surpassed the previous record of 2,089 participants, set at a hackathon organised by Google for Developers and Google Developer Groups Hyderabad in India, by 326 participants.

HackAlem AI received 6,586 applications and brought together around 2,500 participants from 21 countries in Astana.

Higher education institutions across Kazakhstan also showed strong interest in the initiative. According to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, around 5,000 applications were received from students at 129 higher education institutions across the country. Having two teams represent our academy at such a major international event is a source of great pride!

Five hours — new solutions to real-world challenges

Over five hours, participants developed AI solutions to practical challenges across ten areas: energy, finance, governance, telecommunications, logistics, education, innovation, communications, trade and the creative industries.

The hackathon’s international partners included OpenAI, NVIDIA, Arizona State University and Palo Alto Networks. According to the ministry, participants received access to technology and educational resources worth up to US$1.5 million in total. A US$200,000 prize pool was announced for the best projects, comprising US$100,000 in technology resources and a further US$100,000 provided by Astana Hub.  

The specialists who represented our academy

Team SKMA–MedMind:

1. Maksat Uksikbayev — Head of KTIC;

2. Aibek Nurpeissov — Digital Officer;

3. Nikita Voronin — Lead Software Development Specialist.

Team SKMA–Tamyr:

1. Sabyrzhan Arynbayev — Cybersecurity and Information Systems Protection Specialist;

2. Maksat Oralbayev — Lead Software Development Specialist

3. Yersultan Baikonysov — Lead Telecommunications and Communications Engineer;

During the hackathon, our academy’s specialists worked with advanced AI tools and strengthened their ability to turn ideas into technological solutions under tight deadlines. They also established professional connections with IT specialists from Kazakhstan and abroad, broadening their knowledge and practical experience.

Taking part in an international event that set a world record reflects our academy’s commitment to strengthening its digital capabilities and introducing innovative solutions in medicine and education.

Two teams. Six specialists. A shared source of pride for our academy!

We are proud of our colleagues’ professionalism, dedication to learning and passion for innovation! We wish them every success in their future projects and look forward to seeing their experience contribute to the continued development of our academy.

Our strength lies in knowledge, unity and innovation!