Youth Affairs Agency of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The Olympiad was organized within the framework of the implementation of the Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated January 20, 2022, No. PQ–96, aimed at transforming the intellectual game “Zakovat” into a nationwide educational movement and promoting the development of other intellectual games.

This large-scale intellectual competition was conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, the Youth Affairs Agency, the NGO “Zakovat Intellectual Club,” and the Public Fund for the Support and Development of National Mass Media.

The Intellectual Olympiad is considered one of the most prestigious intellectual competitions among students of higher education institutions.

All higher education institutions across the republic participate in the Olympiad regardless of field of study, specialization, or academic discipline. The competition is held among bachelor’s and master’s degree students.

The Intellectual Olympiad was conducted in two stages:

• regional qualifying stage;

• republican stage.

On November 21, 2025, the regional qualifying stage took place across all regions of the country. A total of 132 university teams and 1,056 students participated. As a result, 50 university teams and 550 students advanced to the republican stage.

The Republican Stage of the Intellectual Olympiad was held from December 15 to 18, 2025, in Tashkent.

During the republican stage, university teams competed in six disciplines:
“Zakovat,” “Brain Ring,” “Erudit Quartet,” “Individual Game,” chess, and checkers.

Each higher education institution was represented by 11 students.
Competitions in “Zakovat,” “Brain Ring,” “Erudit Quartet,” and “Individual Game” were held at Tashkent State Medical University,
while chess and checkers tournaments took place at Tashkent State University of Economics.

The official award ceremony was held on December 18 at the Zakovat Arena.

The total prize fund of the tournament amounted to 5.4 billion Uzbek soums.

Of this amount, 4.5 billion soums were awarded as a Presidential Gift to higher education institutions that secured top positions in the overall team ranking:

• 1st place — National University of Uzbekistan;

• 2nd place — Tashkent State Medical University;

• 3rd place — University of Science and Technology.

Presidential Gift amounts:

• 1st place — 2 billion soums;

• 2nd place — 1.5 billion soums;

• 3rd place — 1 billion soums.

A total prize fund of 900 million soums was allocated for winners across the six competition categories.

In addition, winners of the republican stage of the “Zakovat” game are admitted to master’s degree programs on a basic tuition-fee contract basis without entrance examinations.

Furthermore, members of the winning “Zakovat” teams receive a monthly “Zakovat” scholarship for one academic year:

• 1st place — 5 times the Base Calculation Amount (2,060,000 soums);

• 2nd place — 4 times the Base Calculation Amount (1,648,000 soums);

• 3rd place — 3 times the Base Calculation Amount (1,236,000 soums).

According to the Presidential Decree, winners and prize-holders of the Intellectual Olympiad are also provided with the following opportunities:

• participation in international training programs, internships, and master’s or PhD studies abroad;

• inclusion in the personnel reserve by the Agency for the Development of Public Service.