Nurai Erkinbek, a second-year student of the CMDA (Content Marketing and Data Analysis) program at Almaty Management University, has developed three mobile applications and successfully published them on the App Store. The projects cover various areas – from artificial intelligence and education to mobile gaming.
Nurai chose the CMDA program because it combines marketing, data analytics, and technology. This interdisciplinary approach allows students to explore different fields and identify their own professional trajectory. For the modern generation, flexibility is essential – the ability to work at the intersection of technology, analytics, and marketing.
Admission to AlmaU became an important milestone for Nurai. She won the AlmaU Open Cup competition and received a three-year educational grant to study at the university in any program of her choice.
Her interest in application development emerged toward the end of her first year.
«I had ideas before, but creating mobile applications seemed extremely complicated at that time. As I started learning more about technology and startups, I realized it was actually possible. I began gradually – first by creating Telegram bots and chatbots. For example, I developed a Telegram chatbot for one of the conferences at Almaty Management University. Later, I started building websites and eventually moved on to mobile applications. This gradual path helped me believe that creating my own technological products was truly achievable», Nurai Erkinbek explained.
Currently, the student is working on three projects: Overfit, Go.com, and Chess Royal.
Overfit is an AI-powered application designed to track calories and monitor nutrition. Users can take a photo of their meal, and artificial intelligence will identify the ingredients and estimate the number of calories. The app also includes an AI chat assistant, goal-setting tools, progress tracking, and the ability to add friends for mutual motivation. The app is available on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/kz/app/overfit-social-calorie-tracker/id6747725330
Go.com is an AI-powered platform designed to help users learn how to play Go. The idea emerged from the observation that there are very few modern applications that help beginners learn the game from scratch. Download the application: https://apps.apple.com/kz/app/go-com-play-learn-online/id6752888288
Chess Royal is a fantasy-style mobile chess game featuring 3D animated chess pieces and a unique immersive game environment. The application is available at: https://apps.apple.com/kz/app/chess-royal-arcane-war/id6758046147
According to Nurai, the development process involved several technical challenges.
«One of the main challenges while creating Go.com was that artificial intelligence initially does not know how to play Go. Therefore, I had to find specialized game engines already trained for this game and integrate them into the application. During the development of Chess Royal, the main challenge was related to 3D graphics. I had to learn modeling tools such as Blender and create 3D models and animations for the chess pieces almost from scratch», shared Nurai.
Nurai develops all projects independently. She manages the entire product cycle – from product concept and development to marketing, strategy, and promotion. Creating each application took between one and three months. For instance, Go.com required around three months due to its more complex technical architecture. All three projects were successfully approved and published on the App Store.
Following its release, Go.com received around 100 downloads in the first week and later reached approximately 200 installations. The app has users from different countries, including China, the United States, and Kazakhstan.
«Almaty Management University helps students develop technological ideas through its interdisciplinary CMDA program. It combines technology, analytics, marketing, and content creation – skills that are essential for launching technology startups», she noted.
The story of Nurai Erkinbek demonstrates that technological startups can emerge even within a student environment. By combining knowledge in technology, analytics, and marketing, students gain the opportunity to create their own products and launch them on global platforms.