AÑSA Foundation Supports International Artificial Intelligence Olympiad FAIO 2026
30.10.2026
The international Fizmat Artificial Intelligence Olympiad (FAIO 2026) was held at SDU University near Almaty from 27 to 29 October. Around 120 school students from 15 countries competed in the final round. The Olympiad was organised by the Republican Physics and Mathematics School and SDU University. Thanks to the support of AÑSA Foundation and other partners, participation in FAIO was free of charge for all students.
This is the third year FAIO has been held. In 2024, the Olympiad was a national competition. This year, it expanded to an international level, with around 1500 students from 28 countries taking part in the online qualifying round.
Participants competed in teams of up to three members. Over two five-hour rounds, they were required to solve eight problems covering mathematics, programming, data analysis and machine learning.
Murat Zhumanbay, Executive Director of AÑSA Foundation, addressed the participants in a video message:
«It is for ideas like these and young people like you that AÑSA Foundation supports this Olympiad. We believe in development and new technologies, but above all, we believe in people: in human capital and the tremendous potential of the people of Kazakhstan. That is why our philosophy is smart philanthropy: not one-time assistance, but opportunities that stay with people for the long term. Our mission is to open doors to the future. It is up to you to walk through them».
Murat Zhumanbay also pointed out that the President of Kazakhstan had declared 2026 the Year of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence and set the goal of transforming Kazakhstan into a fully digital country. He noted that this ambition directly concerns today's school students, who will be responsible for shaping the country's digital future.
On 29 October, the winners were honoured at SDU University. A total of 24 teams received cash prizes, with the overall prize pool amounting to 11 million tenge.
The Grand Prix and full scholarships to study at SDU University were awarded to the team from the Saint Petersburg Governor’s Physics and Mathematics Lyceum No. 30. One of the gold medals went to 17-year-old Artyom Gorokhov from Saint Petersburg, who travelled to the Olympiad alone, without a team or a mentor.
A team from Nazarbayev Intellectual School in Taldykorgan, made up of Zangar Sakenuly, Ayarys Kaliden and Didar Mukhametkan, won silver. They were only five points away from gold. All three aspire to study at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence in Abu Dhabi.
«AÑSA Foundation supports talented young people who are eager to learn, and the FAIO Olympiad is a natural extension of this work. It brought together students from different countries who see artificial intelligence as a field of discovery and technology as an opportunity to shape the world around them. Every participant had the chance to demonstrate their abilities, present their ideas and feel that their ambitions are valued. It is important to us that this experience serves as a foundation for their future journey, and that the knowledge they gain today eventually benefits the entire country,» said Tatyana Kim, a member of the Board of Trustees of AÑSA Foundation.
FAIO is not the Foundation’s first initiative aimed at introducing school students to artificial intelligence. In 2025, AÑSA Foundation took part in the pilot «Baquatty Audan» project, which focused on developing areas in the Tselinograd District of Akmola Region. As part of the initiative, artificial intelligence and robotics clubs were established in rural schools.
