THE FIFTH YDL SCHOOL RECRUITES STUDENTS

To begin with, who can submit an application to YDL?
The program of the Summer School for analysts will run for 4 weeks. Within the program we train the students in basic Big Data analysis skills to apply their knowledge to further work. Citizens of Kazakhstan who are over 18 years of age can submit an application. They could be current researchers, or students in technical and natural sciences – undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students of Kazakhstani higher education institutions.

Gregoriy, how many grants does the Yessenov Foundation allocate under this program, and how many winners will there be?
There will be 20 winners. The Expert Council will assign a score to each participant. The best 20 contestants with the highest scores will take part in the training course.

What are the requirements for contestants?
Everyone who wants to study at the YDL should be good at mathematics (basic knowledge of statistics and linear algebra), have strong analytical skills, interest and willingness to apply the acquired knowledge in practice, and show it to the experts of the Foundation. Of course, it is also important for the School participants to know the basics of programming. It doesn’t matter though which particular programming language the applicant knows. However, the School’s participant should have a good command of English, at least at the B1 level. If the contestant has any scientific papers published, it will be an advantage.

In 2018-2019 the YDL was held offline, then COVID happened, and the School was held online. What is the School’s format this year?
We decided to test the hybrid format. It will be three weeks of online training, then for the final fourth week – from July 8 to July 13 – we’ll invite all the students to Almaty. All the expenses – travel, accommodation (except students from Almaty) and meals – will be covered by the Foundation.

What characteristics the School student’s computer should have?
Each winner should have a personal laptop with characteristics sufficient for comfortable programming. Recommended parameters are as follows: CPU Intel Core Gen 7 and higher, Mac Silicon M1 and higher, RAM 6 GB and higher.

Gregoriy, when is the deadline for application submission?
Acceptance of applications closes on April 17 at 15.00. All the applications are accepted only online in the state or Russian languages. However, some of the documents attached to the application can be provided in their original languages (usually English, for example, a recommendation or an IELTS certificate).

What is the procedure of the contest and when will you announce the winners?
As usual, the contest will be held in 3 stages. At the first round, our employees and the invited experts will assess the received applications and select those that meet all the requirements of the Provisions. The second round – testing in mathematics and logic, and data analysis exam – will be held online. At the end of the contest there will be an interview with members of the Foundation’s Expert Council, which we will also conduct online. What will be assessed and taken into account during all the stages of the contest, is described in detail in the Program’s Provisions placed on the Foundation’s website. My contacts are there too. I will answer all the questions if there are any. We are planning to complete the selection and upload the list of winners – participants of the YDL 2024 Summer School for data analysts – no later than May 24, on the Foundation’s website too.

What does the YDL 2024 program consist of?
It has already been placed on the website along with the Program Provisions, where you can get answers to all questions. There is also an “Apply” button. The YDL classes will be held by our regular lecturers, theorists and practitioners: Timur Bakibayev, Ph.D. in Computer Science, Professor at AlmaU, and Kuanysh Abeshev, Ph.D. in Mathematics, Dean of the School of Digital Technologies at the same Kazakhstani University – AlmaU. They will teach courses on Python for Data and Data Classification, respectively. The invited lecturers who participate in the Summer School for the first time are: Kirill Yakunin, Ph.D. in Computing Systems and Software, ML Engineer at Metaculus (the U.S. company), Vladislav Yushchenko, M.Sc. Computer Science, Sr. Machine Learning Engineer at Cape Analytics (the U.S. company). Vladislav will also conduct the final, offline week of YDL training in Almaty.

We wish you a successful School’s contest and strong participants, Gregoriy!
Thank you.