2025, March 12
Share this articleNazarbayev University (NU), Central Asia’s leading higher education institution, marks its 15th anniversary, celebrating a decade and a half of academic excellence, research breakthroughs, and talent development and retention.
Over 10,500 specialists have graduated from NU, with 92 percent of alumni staying in Kazakhstan, contributing to its development across various fields.
From its foundation, NU has played a key role in strengthening Kazakhstan’s human capital and reversing the brain drain by attracting top researchers and creating an environment that fosters innovation. While international scientists initially helped shape the university’s academic and research landscape, our efforts and investment have resulted in Kazakh nationals now making a major contribution across all areas of our work. The university currently employs over 2,000 young Kazakhstani researchers. As a result of a scheme aimed at attracting Kazakh doctoral graduates from the best universities across the globe and using networks to attract senior Kazakh academics, 35 percent of our faculty members are now local. We are also delighted to have Kazakh nationals in senior leadership positions. For example, most members of the University’s Managing Council, half of the Vice Provosts and a Dean are of Kazakh origin. Our President has set a target of 40% for Kazakh origin faculty by 2030. Through our Deans’ School, we are also contributing to the development of Kazakh origin higher education leadership.
NU’s National Laboratory Astana is a prime example of this transformation, with Kazakhstani scientists leading groundbreaking research. Among them are Dos Sarbassov (hired from the US), who developed an effective cancer treatment; Nurxat Nuraje, working on enhancing solar energy efficiency for hydrogen production; Zhumabay Bakenov, specializing in lithium-ion battery technology; Akhan Almagambetov, an expert in electrical engineering; Askhat Jumabekov, developing perovskite solar cells; and Anara Sandygulova, advancing robotics technologies.
NU is also pioneering AI-driven language technologies to support the Kazakh language in digital transformation. The Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence, where more than 98 percent of the staff are Kazakhstanis, is leading the development of AI solutions such as the multilingual translator Soyle App, the language vision system Oylan, the bidirectional machine translation tool Tilmash, the virtual assistant Umai, and the Kazakh language model KazLLM. These innovations demonstrate how NU-trained scientists are driving technological progress and enhancing Kazakhstan’s digital sovereignty.
As NU looks toward the future, it remains committed to sharing its expertise with Kazakhstani universities and building the intellectual core of the region. By providing an environment for world class teaching and research, NU continues to attract the brightest minds and contributes to Kazakhstan’s status as a regional hub for science, technology, and innovation.
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