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Uzbek girls lead AI-powered social innovation at Technovation contest
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Over 1,500 girls trained in coding, entrepreneurship, and AI as Uzbekistan concludes season of Technovation Girls challenge
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (MNTV) — The 2025 season of Technovation Girls Uzbekistan, the country’s largest STEM initiative for girls, concluded over the weekend with an exhibition of innovative, AI-powered tech projects aimed at tackling real-world challenges.
The final event, “Girls in STEM Day,” held in Tashkent, marked the culmination of a four-month program designed to equip young girls with critical digital and entrepreneurial skills. It took place as part of Uzbekistan’s annual Women in Science and Technology Week and celebrated the contributions of over 1,500 girls from eight regions.
According to UzDaily, this year’s competition focused on integrating artificial intelligence in socially impactful apps and platforms. Participants developed tools to address a wide array of challenges—from women’s safety and child exploitation to pollution control, inclusive education, and accessibility for people with disabilities.
One participant from Tashkent described her team’s project supporting people with hearing impairments: “We created an app with features like sound recognition, text-to-speech, and emergency signals. We learned how to design with empathy and build solutions that genuinely help people.”
Organized by Tech4Impact, a non-profit focused on digital empowerment, the program is supported by the Ministry of Digital Technologies, the Center for the Development of Digital Education, and Yandex Uzbekistan. In 2025, over 300 original projects were submitted, mentored by professionals including 31 Yandex employees.
Technovation Girls is part of a global initiative held in more than 100 countries, aiming to build leadership and tech skills among girls aged 10–18. In Uzbekistan, participants underwent a 12-week training covering programming, business planning, marketing, and public speaking—all aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Anvarhodzha Kadirov, Director of the Research Institute of Digital Technologies and Artificial Intelligence, emphasized the importance of such programs: “Digital skills are a gateway to global careers and entrepreneurship. Technovation Girls shows how educational support can transform ideas into solutions that improve lives.”
Regional collaboration also featured prominently. Mentors and coordinators from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan joined the final event to share experiences and promote cross-border STEM education for girls in Central Asia.
Fifteen standout teams received awards in categories such as AI use, environmental sustainability, gender equality, and digital inclusivity. All participants and mentors were recognized with certificates and gifts.
Uzbekistan’s top-performing teams now await the international jury’s decision on June 3, which will determine who advances to the global stage.
In 2023, the country’s Tecnas team reached the global finals in Silicon Valley, winning the Social Impact Award for a Virtual Reality–based educational lab.
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