Interdisciplinary Research

Measures of interdisciplinary research success

Nazarbayev University measures the success of interdisciplinary research through a combination of collaborative grants, which assess funding secured for cross-disciplinary projects and the outcomes of these projects. It includes numbers of funded projects (grants) and numbers of publications, as well as the degree of collaboration across different disciplines involved. Annually we announce `The Collaborative Research Program (CRP)` which is a major research funding instrument of Nazarbayev University (NU) designed to advance its research excellence, share expertise, and contribute to the development of the Kazakhstan Knowledge Economy and the well-being of its citizens.  The CRP specifically supports strategic interdisciplinary research collaborations of high intellectual merit required to holistically solve complex problems that deliver evidenced innovation and socioeconomic improvement to Kazakhstan. NU researchers actively are doing research within grant and program-targeted funding sponsored by the Ministry of Science and Higher education and other external funds based on an interdisciplinary approach. The primary research outputs include publications in high-ranked journals. Publication authorship reflects interdisciplinarity appropriate to call requirements within cross-functional teams. The following table presents a summary of interdisciplinary research achievements at the university, tracking the number of grants awarded and publications produced over the past several years. It highlights the annual progression of research activity, showing trends in funding and scholarly output from 2020 to 2024. The data reflects the university’s ongoing commitment to fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration, with a focus on increasing both grant funding and academic contributions.

# Grants and Publications Involving Interdisciplinary Research

Year	# of grants*	# of publications (as of Jan 29, 2025)
2020	70	489
2021	104	498
2022	146	542
2023	171	525
2024	203	578

 *CRP, Ministry of Higher Education and Science (MHES) grants and Program Targeted Funding (PTF), and International

NU faculty members successfully build international research partners and cross-institutional research networks supporting interdisciplinary projects. Purpose designed interdisciplinary collaboration is a key success strategy that brings diverse perspectives together to share partner resources necessary to solve complex global issues.   Interdisciplinary collaboration with top universities expands NU’s professional networks, fosters global partnerships, and grows our international research footprint.

During the period from 2019 – 2025, NU demonstrated a significant commitment to international collaboration, as evidenced by the production of 4,634 research papers (after accounting for publications with co-authors from multiple countries) in partnership with 3,577 organizations from 131 different countries. These interdisciplinary collaborative efforts accounted for 64.5% of the total number of publications indexed by Scopus.  The map illustrates how these collaborations are spread throughout the world. The overall Field-Weighted Citation Impact of these co-authored papers is 2.42, meaning that these papers are cited more than twice as often as the global average for similar publications.

          Source: SciVal, 14 Feb 2025

Facilities for interdisciplinary research teams

The Interdisciplinary Research Building (IRB) and the Core Facilities (instrumentation & staff) it houses are dedicated to support interdisciplinary research at Nazarbayev University.

Nazarbayev University Core Facilities.

The six story Interdisciplinary Research Building (IRB) provides researchers with 18,400 m² of on-campus research space housing major scientific research instrumentation, 120 research laboratories, and offices supporting a wide range of research projects spanning biotechnology, physics, math, materials science, and analytical chemistry. The facility fosters diverse STEM research, enabling interdisciplinary collaborations both within Nazarbayev University and with Kazakhstani universities, as well as international scientific centers.

The Research Core Facilities encompass 24 laboratories within the IRB, which provide state-of-the-art equipment for interdisciplinary research. The Core Facility houses over 80 primary instruments and more than 300 auxiliary and sample preparation tools. A dedicated team of 20 highly qualified core staff technicians supports research activities to deliver research grade measurements for publication.

Biomedical Research Center (Vivarium)

The Vivarium, a separate main campus located two storey building, provides researchers with 5613 m² of research space.  It includes offices, technical space, an experimental surgery laboratory, as well as dedicated and provisioned space for keeping large animals (sheep, pigs, dogs, calves). The Vivarium also offers specialized space for housing animal models (mice, rats, non-immune mice, and rabbits) essential for research of various diseases (AD, PD, Epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, etc.) studied by Nazarbayev University researchers and its partners.

Vivarium staff provide quality care to international standards for all animal subjects, assist and support faculty, staff and students in their mission to conduct high quality in vivo interdisciplinary research.  They are a resource for training faculty, student and staff on all issues related to laboratory animals and ensure that the University meets its goal of humane treatment of laboratory animals according to international standards.

NU’s strategy for research impact emphasizes the development of existing and the creation of new base-funded research centers of excellence which deliver the core research expertise needed to underpin horizontal interdisciplinary collaboration across the university.  To date, we have successfully launched the NLA: NLA Center for Life Sciences, the NLA Center for Energy and Science of New Materials, the Institute for Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI), the Energetic Cosmos Lab (ECL), and the Central Asian Research Center for Education Innovation and Transformation (CARCEIT).

Administrative support for interdisciplinary research

Nazarbayev University recognizes the unique administrative support needs of interdisciplinary research teams. The Office of Research Policy and Analysis, Nazarbayev University Research Administration (NURA), NLA and ISSAI provide administrative resources through pre- and post-award services:

• identifying funding opportunities (evaluating potential research funding opportunities from national, foreign, government, and private funding agencies based on research goals, project needs and university priorities using a research funding opportunities database “Pivot” as well as other sources);
• developing research proposals (assisting researchers in preparing compelling grant proposals, research objectives, expected outcomes, and preparing all necessary documents);
• budget preparation (ensuring that all costs related to the project are properly accounted for and that the budget is in line with both the sponsor’s guidelines and institutional policies);
• ensuring regulatory compliance with institutional and funder requirements (Office of Research Compliance and Integrity);  
• submission of research proposals; monitoring funder’s reply on award; negotiating award terms (reviewing and adjusting clauses to ensure that the project can proceed within the agreed parameters);
• ensuring proper fund utilization (ensuring that the awarded funds are used efficiently and in accordance with the approved budget) and budget amendments, managing financial reconciliations (tracking of funds and adherence to funding guidelines);
• providing final reports to ensure compliance requirements and close-out requirements are met.

Several specialized autonomous or semi-autonomous interdisciplinary collaboration hubs focus expertise, creating the critical mass needed to drive research across traditional disciplines:  

• NLA, the National Lab Astana’s achieves its mission “to develop interdisciplinary fundamental, and applied research that addresses the nation’s most pressing science and technological challenges in order to discover a new knowledge to promote the Kazakhstan’s green economic and technological development, diversification of economy and to become a world-class institution” by conducting state of the art research in the NLA Center for Life Sciences (CLS) and the NLA Center for Energy and Advanced Materials Science (EAMS);

• ISSAI, the Institute for Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence conducts interdisciplinary research on machine intelligence for solving real-world problems of industry and society. ISSAI aims to develop a national capacity for research in Artificial Intelligence incorporating the experience of exemplars from Asia, Europe and the United States;
• ECL, the Energetic Cosmos Laboratory explores fundamental problems in physics and astrophysics, contributing to the technical know-how and innovation ecosystem of Nazarbayev University;
• CARCEIT, the Central Asian Research Center for Education Innovation and Transformation focus on stimulating innovative transformations in educational policy and practice. CARSEIT aims to initiate changes in educational approaches, both in Kazakhstan and throughout the Central Asia region.

Nazarbayev University also supports several developing research grant-funded research centers that are building expertise to leverage interdisciplinary research innovation.  These developing, niche research centers concentrate research expertise and know-how to stimulate interdisciplinary collaboration and work in conjunction with NURA which provide the complete range of research administrative services. Research Centers at this stage of development include: the Nazarbayev Research Center for Entrepreneurship (NURCE), a catalyst for social and economic innovation in Central Asia; the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), sustainability policy development and governance innovation); Center of Excellence in Medical Robotics & Research (CEMRR), a platform to conduct research and development for innovation and eventually commercialization of Robots for Surgery & Rehabilitation.  Additional centers are planned to include the Center for Eurasian Studies and Research (CESAR), the Astana Medical Pharmaceutical Cluster (AMPC) in the School of Medicine, and the Humanities Research Center (HRC).

Nazarbayev University Research Council (NU RC) is the main body for development of research policy at the University and its Research Centers.  Its voting members include academic administrators, faculty, and students.  NU RC approves regulations and oversees research at the University-level by providing operational oversight of Nazarbayev University internal research grants, development of standards and procedures for the award of internal research support and research awards at the University level, management of the external peer review process, and approval of grant closeouts.

Pre-award compliance with the Nazarbayev University institutional requirements is essential to ensure that research proposals meet both internal and external funding criteria before submission. Research involving human or animal subjects or materials must demonstrate in compliance with ethical standards determines by the Institutional Research Ethics Committee (IREC) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) prior to project commencement. The research environment for all projects must be compliant with standards set by as applicable.

The NU Research Council operates several subcommittees are to assist in fulfilling its mission:

1. The Nazarbayev University Institutional Research Ethics Committee (NU IREC) is a subcommittee of the Research Council established to protect the welfare, rights, and privacy of human subjects recruited to participate in research activities conducted by Nazarbayev University (NU) faculty members, staff, and students.
2. The Nazarbayev University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (NU IACUC) is a subcommittee of the Research Council established to protect the welfare of animal subjects involved in research activities conducted by Nazarbayev University (NU) faculty members, staff, and students.
3. The Biological and Chemical Safety Committee (NU BCSC) is a subcommittee of the Nazarbayev University Research Council established to monitor and assess the university’s generation, use, and disposal of any materials that are considered a real or potential biological or chemical hazard to human, ecological and environmental health. It is responsible for disseminating and recognizing best practices.

Effective research space management and scientific instrument selection are critical enablers for competitive interdisciplinary scientific research. NU utilizes two Research Council subcommittees with majority researcher membership.

1. The Research Space Allocation Committee (RSAC) is a subcommittee of the Research Council responsible for evaluating, allocating, and managing research space based on institutional priorities, research needs, and efficient utilization. It establishes policies, reviews space usage, and ensures alignment with the university’s strategic goals.
2. The Equipment Committee is a subcommittee of the Research Council responsible for overseeing the acquisition, management, and strategic planning of research equipment across the university. It evaluates equipment proposals, ensures efficient resource utilization, and facilitates access to shared research infrastructure to support the university’s scientific and technological advancements.