Juliana and Alnur kicked off the morning bright and early at the CARN workshop hosted at Narxoz University, joining fellow GSIF teams for a day of learning, idea-sharing, and inspiration. The conversations were rich with insights, and it was energizing to hear how other student-led projects are driving real change across the region (and to also learn from fellow peers!).

From there, Juliana and Alnur headed straight to Akibat, where they had the opportunity to present Save Tuba to a room full of public school principals. It was an amazing chance to get direct feedback from educational leaders on how the app could support classroom learning. Even more exciting, they connected with the Almaty Department of Education to explore next steps for approval and piloting Save Tuba in public schools. A huge milestone for our team!

Meanwhile, back at our home base at AlmaU, the rest of the team was deep in the zone. We spent the day tightening up our business model, polishing slides post-sparring, and preparing for our final presentation this Thursday. Every bullet point and graph is now sharper than ever.

After a quick team lunch, we hit the ground running again. Some of us dove into finalizing documents, while others branched out to conduct market research on Kazakhstan’s after-school program landscape. We even reached out to a nearby extracurricular center, pitching Save Tuba as a potential after-school activity—and the response was incredibly enthusiastic!

In the late afternoon, we had a chance to call with Pawel, a talented programmer who shared valuable feedback on the technical development of our app. His advice was thoughtful and actionable, and we’re already looking forward to connecting with him again soon as we continue to refine our platform.

To wrap up the day, Alnur visited the extracurricular center in person, giving a live walkthrough of Save Tuba. The educators loved it—and even better, they expressed strong interest in integrating it into their programming. It was the perfect reminder of why we’re here: to create tools that excite, engage, and educate young learners.

As we edge closer to our final presentations, days like this remind us how far Save Tuba has come—and how much potential it still holds. From public school partnerships to after-school pilots and backend upgrades, every piece is falling into place. 

Stay tuned for more updates from the front lines of sustainability education in Kazakhstan!