European Union supports space agency competition in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for 200 young STEM entrepreneurs through the EU Connectivity for Central Asia Program
From Friday and Saturday, the 30 - 31st of January 2026, over 200 participants in the STEM field – 100 in each country – participated in a mentored event called the Act in Space Hackathon. This year for the first time in Central Asia, the European Union (EU) through the Connectivity for Central Asia (C4CA) program organised the national editions in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as a Team Europe Initiative (TEI) on Digital Connectivity in Central Asia.
Digital government agencies and academia in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan also supported the competition: namely, in Kazakhstan the Aerospace Committee of the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Republican Centre for Space Communication and Satbayev University, while from Uzbekistan the Space Research and Technology Agency under the Ministry of Digital Technologies of the Republic of Uzbekistan and Tashkent University of Information Technologies named after Muhammad al-Khwarizmi.
For two days participants worked for 24 hours non-stop, forming teams. European Space Agency (ESA) and Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) supported remotely, proposing challenges to participants. The teams developed a business plan and prototype, with mentoring by experts from national partners as well as through digital access to CNES and ESA experts.
At the end of the 24-hour competition, a jury selected the first-place finalist teams in each country out of three finalists. In Kazakhstan, SUniverse, a team of five, won out of 19 teams, while NazarX, also a five-person team in Uzbekistan won, out of 13 teams competing.
SUniverse’s project focused on developing a machine learning–based classification system for data analysis and decision support to extend a satellite’s lifetime. It aims detect patterns in input data and to accurately classify outcomes into predefined categories.
NazarX’s project is a modular platform for designing satellites using snap-together components with magnetic connectors. It can be used to build, upgrade, or repair satellites on Earth or in orbit—just like LEGO blocks, making satellite technology affordable and accessible for everyone. The second and third place winners in each country.
Next, in the grand finale, the winning teams will have the opportunity to present their ideas in Bordeaux France among other countries’ winning teams.
“This event is key to both EU Global Gateway and to the entire Central Asian region as it develops innovative solutions in the space domain and supports youth, businesses, and more, while also strengthening EU - Central Asian cooperation. It represents a successful collaboration and partnership between the EU and Central Asia through government agencies and the private sector”, –– Johannes Bauer, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan, the EU Delegation to Kazakhstan
“We are excited about this collaboration and look forward to the contributions to creating talented workforce pipelines for the space sector and inspire continued engagement in space innovation between our Central Asian partners and EU institutions,” – Olivier Stemler, Deputy Head of Mission to the Embassy of France in Uzbekistan
Background: The EU Global Gateway’s Team Europe Initiative on Digital Connectivity in Central Asia soft pillar is implemented by a consortium of five EU cooperation agencies, coordinated by Expertise France (France) with Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania partners. Overall, it is aimed at fostering safe and inclusive satellite connectivity access and use across Central Asian countries, in particular for women, youth and marginalised groups, with the aim to support digitally-driven socio-economic inclusion. The TEI on Digital Connectivity in Central Asia is one of the Global Gateway flagship projects between the EU and Central Asia.
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