Published
09/18/2026, 14:15A team from Kyrgyzstan came third at the ‘Global HackAtom’ international student championship in Yekaterinburg. The participants presented a concept for an autonomous floating nuclear city equipped with a small modular reactor.
The final took place on 14–15 September. More than 80 students from 15 countries took part. Over the course of 20 hours, the teams had to develop and present a project for a future nuclear city with a development outlook extending to 2050.
The Kyrgyz team, ‘Nuclear Nomad’, proposed a city comprising five complexes, with an SMR – a small modular nuclear reactor – at its centre. According to the plan, the project is to be developed in stages from 2027 onwards.
“We had to devise its development from 2027 to 2050 – how it would evolve – and present this in full,” explained team captain Altynay Satyganova.
First place went to the Russian team ‘Beyond Reason’ with their ‘Elektromorsk’ nuclear city project. Second place went to a team from South Africa with a concept for a nuclear city in south-eastern Africa.
The Kyrgyz team qualified through the national stage of the championship in May. According to the participants, preparations for the final were intense: the team had to go without sleep for several days to finalise their project.
“This is a first for us. It was nerve-wracking because we’d heard it was a very major event,” noted team supervisor Otabek Bekmanov.
‘Global HackAtom’ is an international student championship in which participants develop solutions to challenges facing the nuclear industry. In 2026, national rounds were held in 15 countries, with the final taking place in Russia.
