YESSENOV FOUNDATION SPONSORS KAZAKHSTAN’S TEAM AT IESO 2025

Aigerym, where will the IESO Olympiad be held this year?
It will be held in the Chinese city of Jining, known for its science and technology, at the Jining Confucius School in August. IESO traditionally covers disciplines such as geology, geophysics, meteorology, oceanography, and astronomy.

Zhanat Kabiyevna, when does your Foundation conduct the national selection for the team?
We accept applications for participation in the national selection until February 15. The selection process will start on February 22. The selection provisions and application form are available on our website.

How will the schools across the country learn about the selection for the Olympiad?
We have distributed all the information about the selection to the NIS (Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools) and the BIL (Bilim-Innovation Lyceums, formerly the Kazakh-Turkish Lyceums) networks, the Young Geologist clubs, and secondary schools in Kazakhstan.

How will the selection process be conducted?
The first stage is an online test which will take place on February 22 on the Nazarbayev University platform. The test will be held in the English language. The participants must be proficient in the language and its terminology to compete on equal terms with their foreign peers at the IESO. The second stage will be held on the eve of Nauryz at the School of Mining at the same university. The selection will be conducted by a competition commission,with the participation of employees from the Zhas Geolog and Yessenov Foundations, the Geology Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan, and Nazarbayev University. The questions for the written test and the speaking part of the second round are being prepared by professors at Nazarbayev University. The test tasks cover all the traditional disciplines of the International Earth Science Olympiad. The assignments will be similar to those used in previous IESO competitions. We will announce the names of the four winners of the selection on March 22.

Aigerym, I have another question for you. Could you tell us how the Yessenov Foundation provides sponsorship of Kazakhstan’s schoolchildren team for IESO 2025.
We participate in the selection process and fully cover the travel, accommodation, and food expenses for the entire national team, which includes one adult supervisor and four high school students who successfully passed the national selection. According to the rules of the Olympiad, since almost all participants are children, minors, the team is accompanied by adults – in our case, representatives of the Zhas Geolog Foundation. The Yessenov Foundation also covers Kazakhstan’s IESO participation fee. This is the fifth time we have been sponsoring the country’s school team at this international competition.