The opening of IT FEST 2023 in Astana was a highlight of the NNEF Public Foundation's 25th anniversary, celebrated on November 27. The event was highlighted by the active participation of IITU, which first held IT FEST in 2011 and has been actively supporting and developing the IT industry in Kazakhstan ever since. IITU Rector, Askar Hikmetov, at a press conference before the opening, highlighted the university's contribution to the organization of the festival and emphasized the importance of the events for students and IT professionals.
The first day of the festival brought many exciting moments and interesting events. In the CyberSport section, the final Dota 2 match between the leading IT universities of the country, IITU and AITU, ended with a 2:1 victory for IITU.
The plenary sessions attracted the attention of the participants, providing an opportunity to listen to both international and local guest speakers. Within the IT FEST OPEN and CyberSecurity sections, participants were offered problems to solve, stimulating intellectual competition.
The "Film and Video" section provided a platform for the performance of last year's IT FEST winner, Begala Abylai, who shared his experience and analyzed his winning video. The Robotics section hosted workshops on Internet of Things and Demonstration of a chatbot to support startups in the field of blockchain.
This day was a busy one and set the tone for the rest of IT FEST 2023, promising even more interesting events, experience sharing and promoting the development of the IT community in Kazakhstan.
