Five University of Namibia students have won a special prize at the Global HackAtom international student championship in Russia. The prize earns the team, NamHack Innovators, a place at the Obninsk Tech Summer School in 2027.
The team competed in the grand final in Ekaterinburg on 14 and 15 September 2026, held during the Rosatom-backed International Festival of Youth. More than 80 national-round winners from 15 countries made the final.
Finalists had just over 20 hours to design digital and energy-efficient solutions for future “atomic cities” and present them to judges. The Namibian concept ranked highly in the Obninsk Tech track, which secured the team direct entry to the 2027 summer programme without further qualifying rounds.
The team is made up of second-year Bachelor of Computing students Muhammad Garba (24), Lemmy Nyambe (21) and Tylan-Dre Murorua (23), second-year Bachelor of Science in Physics student Lazarus Ndango (23), and fourth-year Bachelor of Science in Computer Science student Catherine Beukes (22). They were mentored by Mr. Meinolf Simbenda of the Department of Computing, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences.
“Our students have proven that Namibian youth are fully equipped to drive global technological breakthroughs,” said Simbenda. “Securing direct entry into the Obninsk Tech Summer Institute highlights the immense potential of our institutions to address real-world energy and digital challenges through interdisciplinary innovation.”
He invited ministries, industry and business to put that talent to work. “If you have a problem, approach the department and present your case study. This team built a concept for a city of the future in 20 hours. Our students are hungry for real challenges, and together we can solve them.”
For Beukes, the competition confirmed what Namibian students can do. “We came from different programmes, and that was our strength. Standing next to teams from 15 countries, we realised we belong there.”
Ndango sees a direct link back home. “Energy is a Namibian question, not only a global one. I want to bring what we learn in Obninsk back to solve problems here.”
Nyambe, who led the team, said the journey showed the value of working across disciplines. “Leading this team from the national round to Ekaterinburg showed me what we can achieve when Computing and Physics work together. We delivered under pressure against the best in the world, and we’re ready to take that experience to Obninsk in 2027.”
The summer school is run by the Obninsk Institute for Nuclear Power Engineering at the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. It offers participants deeper study of nuclear science and technology alongside industry experts.
The team’s road to Ekaterinburg began on 04 April 2026, when it beat 20 groups at the Namibian national round. Experts from MEPhI, the Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University named after R. E. Alekseev, and UNAM judged the round together.
