Adilya Bakambekova

She loves watching films not for the plot, but in order to rethink her beliefs. She is 22, she graduates from the School of Engineering in the capital. Adilya Bakambekova may seem ordinary: she loves walking in the park, powerlifting, taking care of her five-year-old wiener dog. The winner of the Shakhmardan Yessenov Foundation research internship program is grateful to her teachers, who helped her to show interest in logic. In a few years she plans to become a PhD.

When did your interest in electronic engineering arise?
It was as early as during my high school, in physics and mathematics classes. My teachers, Zhanna Kashkeyeva and Gulnara Apeyeva, cultivated a love of logical, consistent things in me. I believe both concepts ultimately bring great benefit to humanity. At the same time, I realized that I generally like everything that is “powered by electricity” (telephones, computers, televisions, etc.).

What was remarkable for you during the contest?
The group interview was a lot of fun, time passed quickly. Humor is something natural for me, I like good jokes, so I had a very exciting experience at that time. In addition, I was happy to meet such interesting people! The competition was easy: I simply answered the questions and tried enjoying the process. So I succeeded.

What was your internship all about, what are your achievements?
During the internship, I was involved in the hardware support of spiking neural networks – this is what is called. In simple terms, I tried to assemble a chip from various electronic devices that would process information based on the principles of the human brain. In the research group at Duke University, I saw people feeling happy with their work. They enjoy spending time in the laboratory. The project is not finished, I continued it in my thesis. I think this year a scientific article will be published.

What is your further outlook?
I have already passed all exams and defended my bachelor’s degree. I plan to continue my academic career under the direction of Professor Salama at KAUST, where I was enrolled for the PhD course.

Congratulations! What can you say to young people who do not risk participating in competitions, choose the profession that their parents insist on, do not believe in themselves, etc.?
There is such a philosophy: do not worry about what is not beyond your control domain. My advice to the young guys is to understand what exactly is under their control and take advantage of it.