As NU marks the graduation of the Class of 2025, the university reflects on a year defined by academic excellence, groundbreaking research, and growing global impact.
Academic Excellence and Global Recognition
In 2025, NU reaffirmed its place among Asia’s top 150 universities, maintaining its leadership position in Central Asia. The university advanced in key subject rankings by Times Higher Education, entering the top 200 globally in the field of education. Research output continues to accelerate — with over 10,000 peer-reviewed articles indexed in Scopus, NU is solidifying its reputation as a research powerhouse. Further testament to this trajectory: 35 NU faculty members were recognized among the top 2% most-cited scientists worldwide, according to the Stanford University database (August 2024 edition).
Strategic Global Partnerships
Strengthening its international outlook, NU forged a new strategic alliance with the University of Leeds and secured a $3.2 million grant from the Japanese government for a joint research initiative with Hokkaido University. These collaborations underscore NU’s role as a key player in global science diplomacy and research co-creation.
Faculty and Student Milestones
Notable accolades include Professor Zhumabay Bakenov and his team receiving the Kanysh Satbayev Award, one of Kazakhstan’s highest honors in science. Meanwhile, an NU student team won Best Oncology Project at the iGEM 2024 competition, highlighting the university’s ability to nurture world-class student innovators. NU continues to serve as a hub for research talent across the country, now supporting a network of 2,000 young scientists from across Kazakhstan.
Breakthroughs in Science and Technology
In a landmark milestone for national healthcare, NU researchers, in partnership with the National Research Cardiac Surgery Center (UMC), completed Kazakhstan’s 100th heart transplant. NU also made a bold statement on the world stage at Expo 2025 in Osaka, unveiling ALEM, a next-generation organ preservation system. Further advances include the development of the first Kazakh large language model (ISSAI KAZ-LLM), breakthroughs in anti-melanoma drug development, and the creation of Kazakhstan’s first domestically produced microchip.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship
NU’s commitment to commercialization and startup development was on full display this year. Through support from the NU Social Development Fund, three student-led ventures — Parqour, Aidentis, and TrustExam.ai — were accepted into the prestigious StartX accelerator, affiliated with Stanford University.
These accomplishments are more than individual milestones — they represent NU’s enduring commitment to academic excellence, scientific innovation, and global engagement.
