Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Recently, the 5th International Engineering Case Championship “BELAZ CHALLENGE 2025” was held in Zhodino, Republic of Belarus, hosted by BELAZ OJSC. The competition brought together students from leading technical universities across the CIS.

BELAZ CHALLENGE is an international educational initiative that offers top students from technical universities across the CIS a unique opportunity to present innovative solutions to real-world challenges in the mining industry.

Ten teams participated in the intellectual showdown, including a team from the Almalyk Branch of the National University of Science and Technology MISIS (NITU MISIS), representing Uzbekistan.

Uzbekistan was proudly represented by students from the Department of Mining at the Almalyk Branch of NITU MISIS, who demonstrated a high level of training, engineering thinking, and strong team spirit.

After a fierce competition, the Uzbek team secured an honorable third place, scoring 51 points and outperforming top competitors such as Ural State Mining University, Siberian Federal University, and others.

The team consisted of Mukhriddin Jumakulov, Doniyor Elerov, and Kirill Ivanov.

They spent over two and a half months preparing for the championship under the guidance of faculty members at the Almalyk Branch of NITU MISIS.

Thanks to their systematic and intensive preparation, the team earned an impressive number of special nominations, including:

Most Creative Video Introduction

Most Innovative Approach to Solving the Case on “Thermal Conditions of Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs)”

Student League Recognition

Winner of the BELAZ Photo Contest

In the final ranking, the Almalyk team was narrowly edged out by St. Petersburg Mining University (1st place with 57 points) and Kuzbass Technical University (2nd place with 56 points).

The victory of the Almalyk Branch team is not only a personal achievement for the students but also a significant contribution to the international reputation of Uzbekistan’s technical education.

The branch was established in 2018 as a joint initiative of Presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Vladimir Putin.