CycleLab: Ecology of the Future - final of the student competition within the framework of the 30th anniversary of ENU

The final stage of the student project competition “CYCLELAB: Ecology of the Future,” timed to the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Eurasian National University, was held at ENU. The competition was organized by the Association of Recyclers of Secondary Raw Materials of Kazakhstan and JSC “Zhasyl Damu” with the co-organization of the ENU Sustainable Development Center and the support of the general sponsor - Bank CenterCredit.

Following the results of the first stage, the expert commission selected 10 best projects out of 31 applications that advanced to the final. Students of colleges and universities of Astana, Akmola and Karaganda regions aged 16 to 30 took part in the competition.

Participants presented projects in key areas of sustainable development, including waste recycling technologies, solutions for separate collection, smart sorting systems, eco-design of packaging, digital logistics tools and environmental education. Based on the evaluation of the expert jury, three winners will be determined from among the 10 finalists — the authors of the most promising and well-developed projects. In the final, participants present their initiatives, competing for the prize fund of the competition.

The evaluation of the конкурс works is carried out by a professional jury, which included representatives of the recycling industry, the public sector, business and the environmental community: Chairman of the Board of the Association of Recyclers of Secondary Raw Materials of Kazakhstan Batyrbek Aubakirov, Deputy Director of the branch for corporate business of Bank CenterCredit Asset Kusainbekov, Chief Manager of the Department for Waste Management Organization of JSC “Zhasyl Damu” Rustem Uskenbayev, ecologist Aidana Kydyrova, expert of the Municipal Waste Department of the Ministry of Ecology of the Republic of Kazakhstan Damigul Rakhmanberdieva, as well as an expert in the field of sustainable development Asyl Okapova.

“We see a high level of involvement of youth and the quality of the presented ideas. It is especially important that the projects are oriented toward practical application and are capable of making a real contribution to the development of the waste management system in Kazakhstan,” noted Chairman of the Association Batyrbek Aubakirov.

The competition “CYCLELAB: Ecology of the Future” within the framework of the anniversary events of ENU plays an important role in the formation of environmental culture and the support of young innovators. It contributes to the development of innovative solutions in the field of waste management, the promotion of the principles of sustainable development and the strengthening of interaction between the state, business and society.

The award ceremony of the winners with a total prize fund of 3,700,000 tenge will take place in April 2026. The organizers plan further development and scaling of the CYCLELAB platform as an effective tool for supporting environmental initiatives and training specialists for the “green” economy of Kazakhstan.