Kazakh team triumphs at FIRST World Championship 2026
The OVERTIME team from Shymkent-Karatau Nazarbayev Intellectual School represented Kazakhstan at the FIRST World Championship 2026, which took place in Houston, the U.S., from April 29 to May 2, a Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
It drew the participation of the world’s 336 strongest teams. The students of NIS Shymkent-Karatau won the Reach Award Winner — 1st Place, becoming champions in one of the most significant categories of the global tournament.
The FIRST Championship is considered one of the most prestigious international competitions in robotics, engineering, and innovation. It evaluates not only technical preparation, robot quality, and programming solutions, but also project thinking, teamwork, leadership, contributions to STEM education, and societal impact.
The Reach Award recognized OVERTIME’s systematic work in promoting STEM and robotics, expanding community outreach, and implementing socially significant projects.
A distinctive feature of the team is that they do not limit themselves to competitive robotics. They strive to use engineering knowledge to solve real social challenges. Among their initiatives a tactile book in Braille for visually impaired people, distributed worldwide, and Smart Soyle glasses for people with hearing impairments. Besides, they developed educational books for preschool children.
All these projects aim to support people with special educational needs, improve access to knowledge, and create new opportunities through technology. The team’s work demonstrates that STEM can be not only a field of competition but also a tool for real societal benefit.
OVERTIME’s victory at the FIRST World Championship 2026 is a significant achievement not only for NIS Shymkent-Karatau but for Kazakhstan as a whole.
Noteworthy, Team Kazakhstan bags 12 awards at World Robotics Championship in Houston.
