From an eco-quest to an AI platform: KBSU students presented innovative projects at the «Our Caucasus» festival

As part of the «Our Caucasus» festival, students from the Institute of Management, Tourism, and Hospitality Industry of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University named after Kh.M. Berbekov presented their ideas. The young researchers presented seven diverse projects, each offering a fresh perspective on tourism development, environmental education, digitalization, and the promotion of Kabardino-Balkaria.

Danaya Shibileva’s startup is called «Green Labyrinth.» It’s a concept for a unique urban quest made of living plants in Nalchik that combines interactive experiences with the region’s nature and culture. Visitors navigate green corridors, complete themed tasks, and learn about the principles of sustainable development. According to the developer, the «Green Labyrinth» will not only become a new attraction but also strengthen the KBR’s image as an ecotourism hub.

The «Biom-Elbrus» project by Saida Slonova and Lana Kuchmazokova has become a large-scale ecological concept. The authors propose creating a unique botanical garden in the form of enormous geodesic domes, stylized as Mount Elbrus. The planet’s climate zones will be recreated within these vaults: from equatorial forests with fruiting bananas and giant bamboo to Mediterranean greenhouses with olive groves and temperate zones. A special highlight will be a desert oasis with its own lake.

The focus of future developments is shifting to digital reality. Akhmed Dzamikhov presented «PoketoOffice»—a cloud platform with AI employees.

«The idea is that we give people the opportunity to automate all their boring and routine tasks simply on demand. Without coding,» the author notes.
The project is aimed at digitalizing business and has enormous potential for scaling far beyond the North Caucasus.

Another high-tech solution is «Cherem-guide,» developed by KBSU Master’s students Eldar Mizov, Amirkhan Tlekhugov, and Zalina Psheunova. It’s a digital assistant for traveling around the Chegem District, powered by a chatbot and augmented reality (AR). The service addresses the lack of structured information by providing tourists with 24/7 access to routes, historical facts, and AR visualizations of landmarks such as waterfalls or the Balkarukov Tower. The team plans to launch AR quests and multilingual support for foreign visitors.

Omar Balayev’s project «Nalchik: Urban Adventures» fuses tourism, digital technology, and gaming mechanics. This interactive quest transforms an ordinary stroll through the republic’s capital into a captivating journey. Using a smartphone, participants solve riddles and learn about the history of the Atazhukinsky Garden, the resort lake, Concord Square, and the National Museum of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. In the future, the authors plan to implement augmented reality technologies and expand the experience to other cities in the region.

Projects aimed at popularizing the republic’s history and creating high-quality navigation tools occupy a prominent place in the exhibition.

Aslan Chigirov’s local history game «Journey through Kabardino-Balkaria,» built on the principle of «True or False,» offers a simple yet engaging format. Its small budget and potential for use as souvenirs make it an excellent tool for expanding knowledge about this unique region.

Ayat Tlakodugova and Amina Malkandueva proposed a comprehensive approach to navigation with their project «Guide to the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic.» The team is creating a multi-format tool, including a printed guide and an interactive «tourist passport» with a system of unique stamps (they plan to produce 30 thematic stamps symbolizing districts and cities).

«The project’s relevance stems from the rapid growth of tourism to the republic: over the past 10 years, it has increased more than fivefold, reaching 2 million people by 2025. The project is being developed with the participation of local residents through surveys, which helps unlock the potential of their native land, generating sustainable interest in the region for the long term,» explained Ayat Tlakodugova.
From large-scale infrastructure concepts to neural network assistants, the work of students from the Institute of Transport and Information Technologies of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University (IMTIIG) has demonstrated that the region’s future lies at the intersection of respect for nature and advanced technology.