Freshman Research Institute

💡 Introducing Central Asian Youth Health Innovation Conference 2026 This September, we're launching the CAYHIC 2026: a free, fully online conference connecting students across Central Asia with international researchers and healthcare professionals. Running September 28–October 7, CAYHIC is open to university students and high schoolers (grades 10–11) from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan studying medicine, public health, and related health sciences. The program includes expert-led sessions, live Q&A, a Health Innovation Challenge, and a certificate for participants, conducted in English (~IELTS 6.0 or equivalent). In collaboration with Central Asian University, CANA School, and Freshman Research Institute. ⚡️We can't wait to bring Central Asia's future health leaders together. Registration closes on September 27. Reserve your spot on the website: cayhic.com @freshmanresearch x @Cana_School x @centralasianuni x @cayhic x @freshmanblog

🧠 Fireside Chat Takeaways: The Neuroscience of Digital Engagement Recently, we welcomed Sherzod Khoshimov, Head of Korzinka B2B, to have a fascinating conversation about how digital platforms attract our attention scientifically.  💡Sherzod’s expertise in neuroeconomics and innovation opened up the interesting mechanisms behind digital engagement. Sherzod and our students explored what happens in our brains when we interact with social platforms and why they’re designed to be so addictive. Huge thanks to our guest for bringing his academic experience to Freshman! @freshmanblog

🎉 Congratulations Nodira Tillayeva! Nodira, one of our senior STEM mentors at the Freshman Research Institute, has been recognized as a finalist in the Women In Tech Awards, which is active across 65 countries, under the Global Leadership category. Placing her among the top 5 in the Caucasus and Central Asian region! She recently completed her master's degree in electrical engineering at Nagoya University and now works as a researcher at the Ubiquitous Computing lab. At Nagoya, she developed a BIES, which is a satellite foundation model that fuses remote sensing imagery with human mobility data. As a researcher, she has published as a first author in Infectious Disease Modelling on mobility datasets for population health modelling, in ACM Transactions on Spatial Algorithms and Systems on urban embeddings, and with Uzbek colleagues in Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics on long-term meteorological statistics at the Maidanak Astronomical Observatory. Nodira’s work spans across space technologies, where she worked at the Space Agency of Uzbekistan and the Research Institute of Astronomy. Outside of research, she is involved in community projects such as UNISAT, Technovation, and Google Developer groups, where she brings the same energy of leadership to our students at Freshman! 🌟 We are inspired by Nodira’s progress and can’t wait to see the impact she’ll continue to make in the global tech industry! @freshmanblog x @freshmanresearch

Happening tomorrow! No registration needed!

🎓 Seminar on Computer Science and Neural Networks We are delighted to invite and welcome Dr. Viot Augustin who is going to be conducting an exclusive seminar. During the seminar, Dr. Augustin will share an overview of his professional journey and we will dive deeper into the fields of computer science and AI (neural networks specifically). Dr. Viot Augustin holds three master's degrees and a double PhD in Information and Systems Sciences and Technology and Computer Science from the University of Sorbonne (Paris, France) and the University of Genoa (Genoa, Italy), and was a lab assistant at the LBNL (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley Lab). 📍 Freshman Academy, Nest One, Block C 15th floor, 117th office 📅 Saturday, September 12th 🕑 1PM UZT 🚀 Register through the following bot: @freshmanacademy_bot @interstemcommunitychannel x @freshmanresearch

Today the Freshman Research Institute leadership team visited UzAtom to explore areas of potential partnership including internships, summer schools, conferences, and site visits for Freshman students. This furthers our mission to raise Uzbekistan’s and Central Asia’s Nuclear IQ amidst of our global nuclear renaissance. The future is nuclear and the Freshman Research Institute is paving way. - Nigel Li

🧠 Fireside Chat on the Neuroscience of Digital Engagment 🧪 Join us for a seminar on the addiction of social media hosted by Sherzod Khoshimov, Head of Korzinka B2B. 📚 With academic degrees and experience in neuroeconomics, innovation, technology and education. He is a graduate of University of Amsterdam, University of Groningen and is pursuing higher education at MIT Sloan School of Management. Together, we will explore why social media and digital platforms can become so engaging, and what happens in our brains when we interact with them. We will also discuss the intersection of neuroscience, business, and innovation, and what students can learn from these fields as they begin developing their own academic and professional interests. 📅 13th September ⏰ 1 pm Tashkent time 📍 Offline at Freshman Academy Office ✍🏼 Register through our bot: @freshmanacademy_bot @freshmanblog x @freshmanresearch

💭 Fireside Chat on Nuclear Justice & Policy ☢️ What role can Central Asians play in the global nuclear order? ⚛️ Join the Freshman Research Institute for a discussion with Yerdaulet Rakhmatulla who has a wealth of experience in nuclear activism and policy making from the United Nations to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). 🗓 September 9 (Wednesday) 🕓 5 PM UZT (Online) Register through @FreshmanAcademy_Bot A link will be sent to participants

Happening now! https://meet.google.com/vrx-ccrh-hit

🧠 Fireside Chat on Culture & Psyche 👨🏼‍🏫 An Introduction to Psychology & Anthropology hosted by Faraaz Quazi, a humanities Mentor at the Freshman Research Institute. 📚 With academic and clinical experience in psychology. He is a graduate of UT Austin, UChicago, and is pursuing his Master's at Columbia University. September 3, 6 PM UZT (Online) Link will be sent to registered participants. ✍🏼 Register through our bot: @freshmanacademy_bot

🇸🇬 Singaporean TV Channel News Asia Interviews Freshman Academy @freshmanblog x @freshmanresearch

🎓Freshman Research Program Fair x Research Competition The Freshman Research Institute will be hosting its program fair on the 28th of August where you can meet and interact with the Institute's various mentors who specialize in fields from Engineering to History. The science club InterSTEM will also be holding its first Research Proposal Competition! Students will have the chance to present their research proposals to a panel of judges and compete for special prizes. The event will also have a special guest speaker from the university of Manchester. This will be a great opportunity to better understand how research can elevate your university application and deepen your knowledge in your field. 📅 Friday, August 28th, 10AM (UTC +5) 🥇1st place - 100$ 💰2nd place - 75$ 💵3rd place - 50$ Agenda: 🏆 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM — Research Proposal Competition 🎓 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM — Research Program Fair 📲 Get the event link via @FreshmanAcademy_Bot @freshmanresearch x @freshmanblog x @interstemcommunitychannel

🔥Meet Faraaz Quazi our new humanities mentor! With academic and clinical experiences in psychology, Faraaz joins the Freshman Research Institute. He is a graduate of UT Austin, UChicago, and is heading to Columbia University for his Master's in psychology. 📌 Register for our Research Program! @freshmanresearch x @freshmanblog

🎓Freshman Research Program Fair x Research Competition Don't leave your university application incomplete without a research project! With admissions season right around the corner, now is the time to get started on your research project. 🚀 The Freshman Research Institute will be hosting its program fair on the 28th of August where you can meet and interact with the Institute's various mentors who specialize in fields from Engineering to History. The science club InterSTEM will also be holding its first Research Proposal Competition! Students will have the chance to present their research proposals to a panel of judges and compete for special prizes. The event will also have a special guest speaker from the university of Manchester. This will be a great opportunity to better understand how research can elevate your university application and deepen your knowledge in your field. 📅 Friday, August 28th, 10AM (UTC +5) 🥇1st place - 100$ 💰2nd place - 75$ 💵3rd place - 50$ Agenda: 🏆 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM — Research Proposal Competition 🎓 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM — Research Program Fair 📲 Get the event link via @FreshmanAcademy_Bot @freshmanresearch x @freshmanblog x @interstemcommunitychannel

📈 Following our mission of building an intellectually enriching community. Yesterday, we welcomed Dr. Han Shih Toh, author of Is China an Empire? and editor of Asia Bio Inc., for an open conversation at the Freshman Academy office. 💡 Dr. Toh and our students discussed China’s strategic interests in Central Asia, investment projects across the region, and the long-term outlook for Central Asia. Our students also shared their own experiences growing up in the region, bringing local perspectives into the conversation. Big thanks to Dr. Toh for joining us and engaging so openly with the Freshman community. @freshmanblog x @freshmanresearch

💊 Can data uncover how pharmaceutical reforms affect access to medicine? Meet Ismoil Makhamadjonov, a recent Singapore Math Olympiad (SIMOC) Gold Medalist and student in the Freshman Research Institute. Together with Nigel Li, Amirbek Baxshilloyev, and Kiril Ilin, he is using data analysis to investigate how pharmaceutical reforms have shaped medication accessibility in Uzbekistan, combining personal experience with statistical research. 📝 During the program, Ismoil learned the importance of note-taking, methodology, and building a strong research question. He has now collected his dataset and is working on a statistical analysis. Inspired to change the world through a meaningful research? Join the Freshman Research Institute and be surrounded by like-minded peers and experienced mentors who will help you explore meaningful research questions and develop valuable research skills. 📌 Register for our Research Program! @freshmanresearch x @freshmanblog

🎓Freshman Research Institute Fireside Chat Join us for a Fireside Chat with veteran journalist and author Hanshih Toh on US-China competition in Central Asia. This will be a great opportunity to learn more about current events, international relations, and Central Asian geopolitics. Toh is an author of two books on China, Is China an Empire (2016) and Is China a Menacing Empire (2024). He is currently working on his third book and will be conducting field research in Central Asia. The event will be hosted by Nigel Li, the Director of the Freshman Research Institute and a specialist in international relations. 📍 Freshman Academy, Nest One 📅 August 18 🕡 6:00 PM—7:30 PM Register for free through our bot: @FreshmanAcademy_Bot

🔥Freshman Research Institute x NeuronAI The Freshman Research Institute is excited to share that it is partnering with NeuronAI, a leading AI and robotics company in Uzbekistan. Students of the Research Institute will now have access to NeuronAI's workshop and experts with a wealth of experience in engineering, robotics, and AI development. 📌To learn more about opportunities with NeuronAI sign up for our programs today! @freshmanresearch x @freshmanblog

🔥Meet Nodira Tillayeva! A new STEM research mentor at the Freshman Research Institute 📌 Register for our Research Program! @freshmanresearch

🎓Art Seminar by Baxshillo Djumaev! Join us for an offline seminar by Baxshillo Djumaev, sixth generation golden embroidery master craftsperson. He will share more about his fifty years of experience in Uzbek traditional golden embroidery. 📍 Freshman Academy, Nest One 📅 August 11th 🕡 5:30 PM—7:00 PM Register for free through our bot: @FreshmanAcademy_Bot