Teams from Eight Countries to Take Part in First International Space Games in Moscow

The competition will take place from October 26 to November 1, bringing together students from leading engineering universities and academics from Russia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan. The Games are being held under the coordination of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Roscosmos State Corporation. HSE University is the operator of the International Space Games.

The initiative to hold the competition was previously supported by Sergei Kiriyenko, First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Russian Presidential Executive Office, and Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Russian Prime Minister. The Games are being held under the coordination of the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the Roscosmos State Corporation as part of the federal project ‘Personnel for Space’ under the national project ‘Space.’

Russian Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov noted that the main challenge facing higher engineering education today is the emergence of a new technological paradigm that is transforming the labour market.

Valery Falkov

‘The response to this challenge will be the transition to a new system of higher education based on making programmes more practice-oriented, flexible, and interdisciplinary. The International Space Games are a striking example of how the training of engineering professionals in the space sector can be improved: participants will learn to solve real-world problems and acquire practical skills in energy, robotics, artificial intelligence, life-support systems, and other areas,’ the minister said.

Teams from the participating countries will tackle various challenges in real time at a specially designed autonomous extraterrestrial settlement. To this end, high-tech modules—autonomous space settlements—will be built at the Skolkovo Innovation Centre. They will be connected to an international Mission Control Centre (MCC), which will be located at the SKOLKA Innovation School.

The ISG teams will demonstrate their skills in several key advanced fields, including energy, robotics, space data analysis, artificial intelligence, and others. Each team member will be assigned a specific role.

Dmitry Bakanov

‘The space industry has been set ambitious goals for 2030 and beyond. Roscosmos needs specialists right now who can think on a large scale and work at the intersection of IT and space exploration. We are absolutely certain that we cannot focus solely on development within the country, which is why international cooperation is also a priority for us. Above all, the ISG is a project with important practical benefits. Such formats can and should be used to train engineers who will be in demand on the labour market,’ said Dmitry Bakanov, General Director of Roscosmos.

Alongside the student teams working at the MCC and the stations, the Orbita International Space Tournament will be held as part of the ISG for school students aged 14–18 and university students. Tournament participants will develop space projects and satellite missions. School and university students will conduct experiments and prepare their designs for launch into the stratosphere. Orbita will feature teams from Belarus, India, Kazakhstan, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Russia.

Sergei Kravtsov

‘The participation of school students in engineering competitions of this kind is not only about practical skills and knowledge, but also about developing other equally important qualities: the ability to work together as a team on a common task, help a teammate in a difficult situation, and build strong partnerships. It is significant that the ISG will be held for the first time in the year marking the 65th anniversary of the first human spaceflight. For young participants, this is an example of how Russia is not simply maintaining its historic status as a leading space power, but is also inviting colleagues from other countries to engage in open dialogue and exchange experience,’ said Sergei Kravtsov, Minister of Education.

The Russian national team will consist of students from the country’s leading universities and winners of engineering competitions, including the National Technology Olympiad (NTO). The ISG will bring together around 250 participants in total. Nikita Anisimov, Co-Chair of the NTO Organising Committee and President of HSE University, noted that the university now has extensive expertise in training specialists for the space industry and has long-standing and productive cooperation with Roscosmos.

Nikita Anisimov

‘Our cooperation with Roscosmos has already gone beyond student training: we are actively developing opportunities for young people interested in space and introducing them to relevant technologies while they are still at school. For example, as part of the National Technology Olympiad, we and our colleagues offer three separate tracks in this area, and they remain highly popular year after year among students in Years 8–11. In addition, over the past five years, four satellites developed by HSE University staff and students have been launched into orbit. They are successfully helping to address important research and applied challenges,’ the president explained.

In addition, the League of Autonomous Systems—Kupol competition will be held as part of the ISG. Teams will design a human–agent control system for an autonomous station.