What do the founder of an education startup, the head of a non-profit foundation, a researcher, a university administrator, and a career guidance expert have in common? They are all graduates of Nazarbayev University who are shaping the future of education in Kazakhstan through practical solutions rather than bold promises.
From supporting teachers in rural communities and helping school students make informed career choices to advancing digital literacy, strengthening universities, and developing innovative educational technologies, NU alumni are creating meaningful impact across the country’s education system. Here are some of the graduates who are helping transform education—from local schools to national initiatives.
Shyngys Nurlanov: Advancing Education Policy
Shyngys Nurlanov earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Washington and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Nazarbayev University. Fluent in Kazakh, Russian, English, Turkish, and Arabic, he currently serves as Deputy Director of the National Center for Education Development under the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Throughout his career, he has held leadership and analytical positions across Kazakhstan’s education sector, including heading the Astana branch of the Republican Physics and Mathematics School, serving as a consultant at the NU Graduate School of Business, working as a senior education management researcher at the Information and Analytical Center of the Ministry of Education, managing programs at the Bolashak International Scholarship Center, and teaching at the university level.
Gulnara Salmen: Bringing Educational Equity to Regional Schools
After completing her master’s degree in Educational Leadership at the NU Graduate School of Education, Gulnara Salmen dedicated her career to addressing educational inequality in Kazakhstan.
Today, she leads Teach for Qazaqstan, a non-profit organization that recruits, trains, and supports young professionals committed to teaching in underserved regions of the country. Under her leadership, the initiative has become an example of how university-developed leadership skills can evolve into sustainable social impact, expanding educational opportunities far beyond Kazakhstan’s major cities.
Aigerim Pazylbekova: Preparing Society for the Digital Age
NU graduate Aigerim Pazylbekova has built her career around advancing digital literacy and exploring its role in modern society.
For three years, she led digital literacy initiatives at Connect-ED, where she helped develop educational programs for both schoolchildren and senior citizens, expanding digital inclusion across generations. Today, she combines teaching with research in education, contributing to the development of the knowledge and skills Kazakhstan’s citizens need to thrive in an increasingly digital world.
Baglan Kuturbayev: Making STEM Education More Accessible
After graduating from NU with a degree in Robotics and Mechatronics, Baglan Kuturbayev set out to rethink engineering education for school students.
While teaching robotics, he observed that even well-equipped school laboratories often remained underutilized due to a shortage of qualified instructors, while many high-performing competition students lacked a solid understanding of engineering fundamentals. These insights inspired the creation of Artisan Education, an educational platform that teaches programming, robotics, artificial intelligence, and 3D modeling through hands-on, project-based learning.
In just two years, a team of NU alumni has partnered with more than 90 public schools across Kazakhstan, trained over 240 teachers, and developed its own technology platform that enables students to build engineering skills even without access to expensive laboratory equipment.
Madi Hanafiya: Expanding Access to Career Guidance
NU graduate Madi Hanafiya serves as Director of College Counseling at Quantum STEM School, where he believes that quality education and effective career guidance should be accessible to every child.
His professional interests span education, public policy, and human rights, reflecting his conviction that thoughtful policymaking and effective governance can directly improve people’s lives. Today, his work focuses on strengthening school counseling services, helping students navigate educational pathways, and contributing to the development of national career guidance policies.
Aigerim Kazhigaliyeva: Driving Innovation in Higher Education
Aigerim Kazhigaliyeva, a graduate of the NU Graduate School of Education, earned both a master’s degree in Multilingual Education and a PhD in Education.
She currently serves as Vice Dean of the School of Arts and Humanities at Astana International University. In 2020, she founded University Bridge, a volunteer initiative that has connected nearly 1,000 early-career researchers from 15 universities in Kazakhstan and abroad through multilingual academic sessions promoting research exchange, mentorship, and international collaboration.
Amirkhan Saulembekov: Supporting Teachers and Rural Schools
After completing the Educational Leadership program at the NU Graduate School of Education, Amirkhan Saulembekov focused his research on the professional development of rural teachers.
He began his career as a physics teacher before serving as an academic competition coordinator and deputy school principal. Today, he leads the Project Department at the Bilim-Innovation International Public Foundation, where he oversees initiatives aimed at scaling successful educational practices across Kazakhstan.
Over the past three years, projects under his leadership have provided professional development opportunities to nearly 20,000 teachers from more than 350 schools—primarily in rural communities—while 137 schools have been equipped with modern physics, chemistry, and biology laboratories.
