Questions and Answers
These answers are provided for convenience and do not replace the Rules; in case of any discrepancy, the Rules prevail. Questions not answered here can be asked in GitHub Discussions.
Participation
Who runs the contest?
The Organizer is Gulshat Amanzholovna Amirkhanova; she holds the contest in her own name and pays the prize from her personal funds. The contest is held with the support of the DigitalEgiz lab of al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU). Rules, clause 1.2.
Who can take part?
Any individual; a person under 18 takes part with the consent of their legal representative. Rules, clause 4.1.
Can I take part alone?
Yes. A Team may have one to four Participants. Rules, section 2.
Can I be in two teams?
No. A Participant may be a member of only one Team. If the same GitHub account or email address is listed in two Teams, the person is included in the Team that registered first. Rules, clauses 4.2 and 5.4.
How do I change the team's membership?
Use the "Edit response" link shown after you submit the registration form; changes are possible until Registration closes on 25 October at 23:59. New Participants receive an invitation to the Team Repository; removed Participants lose access. Rules, clause 5.4.
Submission
What do we need to build?
Your own digital mine on the OpenEgiz platform. The Team chooses its Modules itself, using the Mine Map as a guide; Modules not on the Map are evaluated on an equal footing. Depth of development matters more than the number of Modules. Rules, clause 6.1.
What is the Concept?
The first section of SUBMISSION.md, written by the Team before the code: which enterprise or which part of it the Submission represents, who uses the twin, which decision it helps to make and why this choice was made. The object may be real or fictional; for a fictional object, the Concept states what it resembles and where the numbers come from. The Concept is scored under the "Concept and Presentation" criterion; a real object with sourced numbers scores higher. Rules, clauses 6.13 and 9.1.
What is the Default Solution?
The Submission that AI agents build from the Template given one sentence, with no Concept and no edits. The Organizer will publish it on the contest website as the low bar; the Judges use it as the reference point. A Submission that does not go beyond the Default Solution receives low levels for the criteria "Mine Model", "Mine Visualization" and "Concept and Presentation". Rules, clause 9.4.
Do we need to build on the Example Mine?
No. The Example Mine shows how a digital mine is structured on the platform and is not the basis for a Submission. Only what the Team has created is evaluated; the unchanged Example Mine earns no points. Rules, clauses 6.3 and 9.1.
What does "built on OpenEgiz" mean?
Mine objects are represented by twins in Eclipse Ditto, data flows through the platform (MQTT → Ditto), and the user interface gets its data from the platform. A Submission not built on OpenEgiz receives no more than 40 points and cannot become the Winner. Rules, clauses 6.2 and 9.3.
Can we modify the platform core?
Yes, any part may be modified. Rules, clause 6.3.
Can we use AI during development?
Yes, any tools may be used. Rules, clause 4.3.
What does a Submission include?
In the root of the main branch: README.md — instructions for installing and running from scratch; SUBMISSION.md — a description of the Submission in the form provided in the Template, starting with the Concept; presentation.pdf — the presentation. A video is optional, as a link in SUBMISSION.md. Rules, clause 6.5.
Is 3D visualization required?
No. The mine must be shown as a spatial object: a 2D map with moving equipment, an animated diagram or a 3D scene. The technology is not restricted. Rules, clause 9.1.
In what language should the Submission be written?
Kazakh, Russian or English. Rules, clause 6.7.
Can we use real data?
Yes, open datasets with a license that permits the distribution of copies. Confidential data of organizations and personal data are prohibited. Checked datasets are listed on the Data page. Rules, clauses 6.8–6.11.
Under what license is the Submission distributed?
MIT. The copyright belongs to the Team. Third-party software and data included in the Submission are distributed under their own licenses. Rules, clause 6.6.
Running and Evaluation
Can we develop on Windows or macOS?
Yes. OpenEgiz runs on Linux, macOS and Windows (via WSL2); instructions are in OPENEGIZ.md in the Team Repository. Evaluation takes place in the Judge Environment, Ubuntu 24.04 amd64 with Docker; it is recommended to test the README.md instructions in such an environment.
What happens if the Submission does not start?
An instruction step that fails is repeated once without changes. A Submission that does not start by following README.md receives no more than 40 points and cannot become the Winner. Rules, clauses 6.4 and 9.3.
Must the instructions be a single command?
No. The instructions may contain several commands; they are run in order and literally, without manual intervention. Rules, clause 6.4.
Can we make changes after 25 October?
No. At the Freeze (25 October, 23:59 Astana time), write access is revoked; the Submission is the last commit on the main branch. Rules, clause 7.1.
Who evaluates the Submissions?
The AI Jury: artificial intelligence models working under the Rubric and the pipeline fixed before the Freeze. The Rubric is part of the Rules; the pipeline checksum is published before the Freeze; the Judges' prompts, the pipeline code and the reports and scores for each Submission are published after the Qualifying Round. Rules, clauses 1.3 and 8.5.
Can a score be appealed?
An Appeal may be filed within 48 hours after the reports are published (the reports are published no later than 28 October, 12:00), and only regarding a factual error in the Build Report or a finding on an attempt to influence the AI Jury. Disagreement with the scores is not grounds for an Appeal; an upheld Appeal cannot lower a score. Rules, section 12.
What counts as an attempt to influence the AI Jury?
Placing in the instructions, code, data, presentation or interface hidden or explicit instructions addressed to the Builder or the Judges and aimed at changing their work or scores (prompt injection). Such a Submission is disqualified. Prompts of the Submission's functions addressed to its own AI models do not count. Rules, section 11.
Prize
How is the prize distributed?
The prize of 1,000,000 tenge is awarded only to the Winner. If the Team has several Participants, the prize is divided equally among the Participants who are members of the Team when Registration closes. The prize is paid without tax withholding; each Participant pays the tax on their share themselves. Rules, clauses 3.1–3.3 and 3.6.
What do the Runners-up receive?
Diplomas and an offer of an internship or a job at the DigitalEgiz lab; the Submissions of the Runners-up are published on the OpenEgiz website. No cash prize is paid. Rules, clause 3.4.
What are the Winner's obligations?
To confirm participation within 72 hours after the results are announced and, no later than 30 November 2026, to give a talk in person at al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) or online. The talk is a condition for receiving the prize and does not affect the allocation of places. The prize is paid no later than 30 days after the talk. Rules, section 13.