National
Engineering
Science
Olympiad

An innovative competition developing analytical thinking, teamwork, and an interdisciplinary approach — solving real engineering challenges in conditions that mirror actual scientific and industrial environments.

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554

Participants

Cities

Stages

Partners

$80K+

in Prizes

About NEScO

Science meets
real engineering

Unlike traditional olympiads, NEScO offers participants the opportunity to solve real engineering challenges in conditions that closely resemble actual scientific and industrial environments. Teams work across disciplines — math, physics, chemistry, biology — to build genuine problem-solving competencies.

In NEScO 2025, teams created and presented research on cancer drugs, antineutrino detection for nuclear power plants, and water filtration systems — all during the final round.

Gold Medal Grant

4 full bachelor's grants totaling $80,000+ from KBTU

Prize Fund

$1,000 cash prize + $500 merch for tournament winners

Expert Team

10+ IPhO, IChO, IBO, EuPhO prize-winners + 5 professors

Research Internships

Science internship opportunities with partner companies

Competition Format

How it works

First Stage

Online · 2 Rounds

Round 1 — 6–7 problems across math, physics, chemistry, and biology. 3 hours, captain submits. Round 2 — a case study received 2 days in advance, submitted as PDF or DOCX.

Second Stage

In-person · KBTU, Almaty

Round 1 — 8 interdisciplinary problems over 4–5 hours. Round 2 — case study with jury presentation. Appeals allowed within 5 hours of results.

Case Study

Both Stages

Two cases: scientific and engineering. Written report up to 40 pages in APA 7 format. Originality ≥ 70%, AI content ≤ 20%. Plus a live presentation to the jury.

Full competition rules→

NEScO 2025