NUCLEAR EDUCATION IN RUSSIA
2025-06-24 00:00

National Stage of the Global HackAtom Student Championship Held in Rwanda with the Support of "Rosatom"

In Rwanda, with the support of "Rosatom," the national stage of the student championship Global HackAtom took place. Young engineers fr om Rwanda competed in developing innovative ideas for the nuclear industry. From June 19 to 20, at the University of Rwanda (UR, Kigali, Rwanda), the national stage of Global HackAtom was held—an international competition for the best solution to a nuclear sector case within 24 hours. The championship aims to promote engineering specialties among youth, opportunities for Russian nuclear education, and familiarize participants with Russian atomic technologies. The championship featured 8 teams from three different institutes within the University of Rwanda. Over two days, 40 participants worked on solving a case focused on developing an interactive application to address economic issues related to the non-energy use of nuclear technologies. On the first day, scientific and educational lectures were organized with experts from the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (one of "Rosatom"'s key partner universities), along with meetings with university professors. On the second day, project defenses took place before the expert jury of the student championship.
Addressing the participants, Tatyana Osipova, Deputy Director General of the Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering (IATE NRNU MEPhI) and Director of the "Obninsk Tech" project office at NRNU MEPhI, noted: “The HackAtom in Rwanda revealed very motivated young people. The teams managed to do a lot in a short time! The winning team not only created their website but also presented analytics on the chosen issue—water purification, studied market players, and proposed solutions. The team is aiming to win the Global HackAtom final in September in Moscow !”
As a result of the project defenses, three teams became prize-winners and received valuable prizes and commemorative souvenirs from the state corporation "Rosatom," and all students received certificates. The award ceremony was attended by a representative of the Russian Federation Embassy in Rwanda, UR professors, and the head of the joint bachelor’s program (UR and NRNU MEPhI), Christian Kwisanga. The team "Atomic Frontiers", which took first place, received a unique opportunity to participate in the Global HackAtom final, which will be held in Russia from September 24 to 29, 2025, as part of the key event celebrating the 80th anniversary of the nuclear industry—the international forum World Atomic Week. The team will compete for the championship title against winners of other national stages, which this year will take place in nine "Rosatom" partner countries.
HackAtom is an international competition wh ere teams try to find the best solution to a nuclear industry challenge within 24 hours. Over three years, HackAtom has been held in more than 12 countries worldwide, with over 800 participants in total.
As part of the 80th anniversary of the Russian nuclear industry, this year HackAtom is being held in a new format—Global HackAtom—with national selection stages in nine "Rosatom" partner countries and a final in Russia from September 24 to 29, 2025, featuring a scientific, educational, and cultural program dedicated to the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Russian nuclear industry.
AR EN ES FR