On July 16-17, the University of Namibia (UNAM) in Windhoek welcomed students for the national round of the Global HackAtom 2025 engineering competition, organized with support from Rosatom. Thirteen teams from three of the country’s leading universities participated in the two-day event, tackling a case study on the economic efficiency of conventional uranium mining versus in-situ recovery (ISR). After presenting their solutions to a professional jury, the top three teams were awarded prizes by Rosatom, with the winning team ”Uranium X” earning a place in the Global HackAtom finals in Russia this September. The event also included expert lectures from the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN).
“We’re incredibly proud of our victory and the fantastic prizes, as well as the chance to represent Namibia at the 80th anniversary of the nuclear industry in Russia. Thank you to the organizers, Rosatom, and RUDN for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” – said Ndapanda Wanailonga, team leader of “Uranium X”.
“As Chair of the HackAtom Namibia 2025 jury, I was impressed by the students’ high level of preparation. They showed deep theoretical knowledge, strong practical skills, professionalism, and superb teamwork. The projects were innovative, relevant, and technically advanced – proof of the country’s universities’ ability to produce specialists who can contribute to the growth of Namibia’s uranium industry,” – noted Dr. Yulia Ivanova, Candidate of Technical Sciences and Associate Professor at RUDN.
