Login
Register

Tag: Kazakhstan

Shaping an Internationally-Oriented Generation at IITU

Posted on by International Information Technology University

In today’s world, international activities within universities play a pivotal role in nurturing an educated and globally conscious generation of students. These endeavors foster traditions of tolerance, intercultural understanding, and the ability to address complex global challenges.

At IITU, our commitment to international cooperation aligns with our development strategy, aimed at elevating the university’s standing in the global academic sphere. Our primary objectives include securing positions in international university rankings, fostering collaborative projects with leading foreign institutions, expanding the presence of foreign faculty and students, and developing joint educational programs resulting in dual diplomas.

Our efforts to cultivate partnerships span continents, covering Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa, with a primary focus on enhancing academic mobility and facilitating joint educational programs. These dual degree programs allow students to study at two institutions, enriching their knowledge and skills across diverse cultural and educational environments. Graduates of such programs possess unique and highly attractive qualifications for the global job market.

Currently, IITU offers dual degree programs in collaboration with esteemed universities in Germany, South Korea, Malaysia, and Poland for both undergraduate and graduate students. Additionally, our academic mobility program provides students with the opportunity to study at top-tier institutions across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

In pursuit of an internationally oriented and educated society, IITU has attracted renowned foreign educators. This not only enhances the quality of education but also nurtures students’ development, making them well-prepared to tackle the challenges of globalization and engage with the global educational community.

Our commitment to knowledge exchange, technology sharing, and experiential learning is evident through international projects with organizations such as UNICEF, Erasmus, and collaboration with American and British consulates. These endeavors bring together experts from various countries to address complex issues and drive groundbreaking discoveries.

Moreover, our adoption of the educational platform Coursera for Campus has revolutionized learning at IITU. It allows our students access to unique courses from leading global institutions and technology companies, complete with the opportunity for free certification. IITU proudly became the first university in Kazakhstan and Central Asia to collaborate with Coursera for Campus, integrating their content seamlessly into our educational ecosystem. We’ve expanded our course offerings significantly to provide our students with a broad international perspective and practical skills.

In a historic moment for Kazakhstan, our top-performing students received diplomas directly from Coursera CEO, Jeff Maggioncalda, recognizing their exceptional dedication to global learning.

IITU remains committed to strengthening cooperation with the global scientific and academic community, universities, and public organizations. Our doors are open to foreign applicants, students, interns, and teaching staff, embodying our dedication to fostering international understanding and collaboration.

In conclusion, IITU’s relentless pursuit of internationalization is not just a vision but a tangible reality. It empowers our students with the skills, knowledge, and global perspective necessary for success in a rapidly evolving world. Together, we are shaping a future generation that is truly internationally oriented.

India Professor Explains Smart Agribusiness, Recommends Adoption of Agriculture 4.0

Posted on by Muhammad Sheraz

India’s top Agriculture Informatics Professor Moni Madaswamy says that the use of digital technologies such as blockchain, IoT, Artificial Intelligence (ML & DL), data analytics, GIS, smartphones, Internet, Cloud Computing, and Language computing in agriculture will help farmers, increase productivity, and strengthen national and global economies.

Professor M. Moni is Professor Emeritus and Chairman of the Centre for Agricultural Informatics and e-Governance Research Studies (CAIRS) & Centre for Agribusiness and Disaster Management Studies (CADMS), Shobhit Institute of Engineering and Technology Meerut, India.

His thought-provoking talk on the use of informatics and new IT technologies in Agriculture at the International Food Safety and Food Quality Conference at the Kazakh Agrotechnical Research University (KATRU) in Astana provided a new perspective on the relationship between IT and agriculture.

The topic of Professor M. Moni’s talk was: Food Security in a Digital Economy: Need for Strategic Agricultural Informatics Research and Development in Higher Educational Institutions.”

The Indian Professor praised Kazakhstan’s strides in the digitalization of its economy and the wide use of technologies in Kazakh society.

He said Kazakhstan has tremendous potential in agriculture and it should start using new information technologies in the agricultural sector.

Professor M. Moni gave examples of different projects in India where farmers in 100,000 villages were trained to use IT in agriculture. He said India would facilitate the farming community by progressively empowering them through the newly evolving Agricultural Informatics discipline.

Professor M. Moni said that collaborative farming is defined as “two or more farmers working together” in a formal arrangement for their mutual benefit.

He said that the “Future of Farming” will be mostly based on extensive research and development in the areas of Genomics, Robotics, Informatics, and Nanotechnology (GRIN), and such intensification is being witnessed now.

During his talk, Professor M. Moni also explained the term ‘Smart Agribusiness’ saying it meant the applications of digital technologies to improve the efficiency of all the stakeholders in the interrelated and interdependent value chains in agriculture.

The goal of Smart Agribusiness is to leverage the recent surge in technologies (such as blockchain, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, remote sensing technologies, cloud computing, and mobile internet) to reduce information and financial asymmetry across the agricultural value chain. Through the use of these technologies, Smart Agribusiness can increase farmers’ access to inputs, information, finance, and knowledge.

Smart Agribusinesses can have a democratizing effect across the agricultural sector. They have the potential to positively impact the livelihoods of all those involved in the agriculture sector, irrespective of societal divides (e.g. gender, age, and economic status among others).

Professor Moni said that it is professed that an Agricultural System (Research System, Input System, Production System, and Output System) built-in with effective ICT-enabled “Information Systems”, is capable of delivering services in Indian local languages, for enhancing agricultural production, productivity, and income rise.

He recommended the adoption of Industry 4.0 in Agriculture (Agriculture 4.0) and said that it paves the way forward for collaborative farming.

Grand opening of first University Center for Sustainable Development takes place at Satbayev University

Posted on by Satbayev University

On September 6, 2023, the opening ceremony of Center for Sustainable Development, the first such center in Kazakhstan opened at University, took place at Satbayev University within the framework of International Round Table “UN Sustainable Development Goals: Principles of Environmental Safety”. The event also included the adoption of the University’s strategy for Sustainable Development Goals.

The event was attended by Gulzat Kobenova, Chairperson of Higher and Postgraduate Education Committee at RK MSHE (online), Mikaela Friberg-Storey, UN Resident Coordinator in Kazakhstan, Assel Nurbekova, Director of Ecology and Energy Department at UNDP in Kazakhstan, Zhang Wei, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Almaty, and other officials.

UN Sustainable Development Goals are a set of ambitious goals aimed at the prosperity of countries. As Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted in his message, the key tasks of Kazakhstan’s development include ensuring the country’s water security and education quality. The work within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals is designed primarily to address the given issues.

Satbayev University has become the first and so far the only University in the Republic of Kazakhstan to be included in the UN Global Compact. This enables University to actively implement the 17 Sustainable Development Goals at the national and global levels. Among them: poverty eradication, hunger eradication, good health and well-being, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation etc.

The initiative force of change will be Center for Sustainable Development opened at University, designed to develop practical solutions for the sustainable development of society. Center will develop new technologies and methods that help reduce the negative human impact on the environment and help raise people’s awareness of sustainable development issues and ways to solve them.

The participants highly appreciated the fact of the opening of such an important center, which will play a key role in economy growth and improving the society’s living conditions. To support University on the way to building a “green university” and in honor of the opening of Center, University’s business partner Dauren Askarovich Sabdenov donated two HONDA 1st generation electric crossover cars to Satbayev University.

– In order not to lose our way, we must all move in the same direction. Here we will work together to work out ways to solve problems that affect each of us in one way or another,” Rector of Satbayev University Meiram Begentayev said at the opening of Center.

The first step was the international round table “UN Sustainable Development Goals: Principles of Environmental Safety”. The purpose of the round table was to unite the ecological community of Kazakhstan under the auspices of Satbayev University, as well as accelerate and coordinate research to develop and promote reliable and effective solutions to environmental protection issues faced by humanity.

Kazakh government transfers 13 research institutes to KATRU

Posted on by Muhammad Sheraz

Food security and food self-sufficiency, modernization of agriculture, adoption of environment-friendly policies, and the development of renewable energy sources are top priorities of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s government.

Kazakhstan is the world’s ninth-largest country with an area of 2,700,000 square kilometers making it equal to the entire western Europe in terms of area. The country is home to nearly 20 million people 45 percent of whom live in rural areas and two million work in the agriculture sector.

Nearly 75 percent of Kazakhstan’s land is suitable for agriculture, however, only 30 percent of its land is used for agriculture, still, Kazakhstan is among the top 10 producers of wheat in the world.

Now the Government wants to further develop the agriculture sector turning it into the major driver of the national economy. The goal is to transform Kazakhstan into a leading food-exporting country. Therefore, the focus is on technological innovations and applied research with the aim to bridge gaps between academia and business & industry. Universities are key players in the Kazakh government’s modernization strategy.

Kazakh Agrotechnical Research University (KATRU) is among Kazakhstan’s top three universities. It is located in Astana, one of the newest and most modern cities in the world, which is also the capital of Kazakhstan. KATRU is City’s oldest university. The University is also known as Seifullin University. Saken Seifullin was a national hero of Kazakhstan.

Established in 1957, KATRU now has 12000 students and 860 teaching staff in the University’s nine faculties and 16 research institutions. The University has been a distinguished and proven leader in solid fundamental and applied research since the 1960s in the fields of agricultural economics; crop production, agriculture, agro-chemistry and soil science, plant protection; microbiology, veterinary medicine, and animal husbandry; plant and animal biotechnology; land management, architecture and design, mechanization, and electrification of agriculture, as well as humanitarian areas.

KATRU scientists’ research and scientific and technological innovations played a key role in transforming the Soviet Union into a superpower and excelling in food production, agriculture engineering, energy and ecology, biotechnology, and other fields.

Since the independence of Kazakhstan in 1991, through its cutting-edge research solutions and technological innovations KATRU has been an engine behind the unprecedented economic growth, scientific innovations, and infrastructural developments in modern Kazakhstan, which is now the most advanced and developed state in Central Asia.

Astana is known the world over for its modern and unique architecture and city structures. KATRU Department of Architecture has a significant role and contributions to the engineering and designing of Astana’s major building structures and architecture.

Due to KATRU’s solid academic achievement and reputation, the government of Kazakhstan has transferred 13 national research institutes to KATRU. These institutes located in various parts of Kazakhstan were part of the Ministry of Agriculture and worked under the Kazakhstan National Agriculture Research and Education Center. That Center has been closed now and its constituent institutions have been transferred to different universities. The purpose of the move is to create a link between education, research, and production.

KATRU already had three research institutes, with the addition of 13 more by the government, KATRU now has 16 research institutes. This is a sign of huge trust in KATRU’s credibility and academic standing. Such an expansion in its research work and activities has transformed KATRU into a globally engaged modern Research University contributing to the creation of a “knowledge society” in Kazakhstan and building knowledge bridges in the Eurasian region and beyond through the creation, exchange, and transfer of knowledge & expertise in the fields of food, agriculture, and sustainable development using the work, achievements, and contributions of KATRU scientists, teachers, and students.

The University’s new Rector, Professor Kanat Maratovich Tireuov, plans to strengthen KATRU as a global hub of research, innovation, and technology connected with the rest of the world through collaborative and inter-disciplinary research, academic exchanges, and partnerships beneficial to local, and national, and global economies and societies.

“By 2030 KATRU will be among the world’s top entrepreneurial research universities offering global education, cutting-edge research, and scientific and technical solutions to global and national challenges,” vowed Rector Professor Tireuov.

Muhammad Sheraz is an adviser to the Rector KATRU on strategy, global engagement, and communication. He can be reached at: [email protected]

KATRU will create model ‘research cluster’ using forest resources, research facilities in Shchuchinsk

Posted on by Muhammad Sheraz

Kazakh Agrotechnical Research University (KATRU) is the only institute in Kazakhstan with vast and spectacular forest resources and research facilities in north Kazakhstan. The University has the Faculty of Forestry, Forest Research, Wildlife, and Environment in the Kazakh capital Astana and a research institute, ‘Alikhan Bukeikhanov Research Institute of Forestry’ located in Shchuchinsk, a small city in northern Kazakhstan 214 kilometers northwest of Astana.

Under its new Rector and Board Chairman, Professor Kanat Maratovich Tireuov, KATRU is transforming its teaching &learning and research practices and processes through strategies such as conducting research in real conditions, providing students and researchers with practice opportunities in the field, and learning by observing, experiencing, and doing.

KATRU’s forestry faculty students and researchers will now spend more time in the University’s newly developed research and study facilities in Shchuchinsk where they will test and process their observations and findings in newly established fully equipped modern research labs in and around KATRU’s forestlands.

KATRU is building new research laboratories, academic buildings, and student and staff residences in Shchuchinsk. There will be new themes & techno-parks on the forestland in cooperation with national and global partners. KATRU is looking for suitable partners in establishing a techno-park and more joint research centers in Shchuchinsk on forest, environment, and wildlife. The University is keen on developing ecotourism, also.

IITU on the way to meta university concept

Posted on by International Information Technology University

Currently, the development of digital technologies has changed the approach to learning and quality of the education. With the accelerated development of distance education in the world, universities are moving into a virtual or meta-space – i.e. a web platform that offers students and organizations a platform with virtual immersion capabilities for gaining and sharing knowledge to
achieve interdisciplinary academic goals. In this way, educational institutions come together to offer students the opportunity to access learning resources from any university/library they need, and students studying at one educational institution can take courses at other universities and colleges. All this makes education more accessible, perfect and independent.

The relevance and advantages of creating a specialized virtual university are as follows:

• high-quality presentation of lectures due to the support of multimedia and interactive;

• low cost of education;

• Providing an opportunity to enrol in higher education institutions for all who experience difficulties in a traditional university;

• the opportunity to enter prestigious universities, regardless of the location of the university;

• easy access to libraries and educational resources;

• time savings due to the absence of the need to attend a traditional university;

• Ensuring social justice through equal access to technology;

• the students control the path of academic learning, as learning in virtual classrooms is carried out in accordance with their request;

• creative teaching method;

• Creating an environment of real human presence in laboratories through meta-space

Also with the benefits, the most important reasons hindering the spread of virtual
universities in developing countries should also be noted:

• the virtual university is not yet popular all over the world;

• popular distrust in the level of the educational system of the virtual university;

• conservatism of the state policy of higher education;

• the traditional generation rejects the idea of modern teaching methods,
including virtual universities;

• continuous learning and technical support should be available to teachers and students of the virtual university.

The International Information Technologies University is the leading university in Central Asia in the training of IT specialists.The development of educational programs that consider immersive technologies, the creation of virtual laboratories and work on scientific projects funded by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan and international organizations such as UNICEF, led to the creation of a university meta-space. And the next stage of the university’s strategic development was the creation of a Meta-University. IITU defines a Meta-University as a new culture of learning in a virtual community

Of course, in order to create a meta-university, higher education institutions must have a reserve: a bank of technologies used, the presence of a digital university, a base of its own scientific knowledge, qualified personnel and scientists, a laboratory of immersive technologies that will
create digital twins, virtual objects, requires large financial investments and the availability of high-tech equipment.

Meta-education can provide a hybrid, formal and informal active approach to learning. In virtual 3D buildings, students are users of virtual spaces with their own individual curricula. Full immersion lets the learner know about unknown circumstances and events in remote locations.

Thus, IITU is developing its own concept and implementation of the META-university, which consists in the training of qualified personnel who can use immersive technologies, and the university itself teaches on the principle of “immersive learning”. We must be ready for future professions now and start working in the virtual space of various sectors of the economy.

How does Kazakhstan prepare digital journalists?

Posted on by International Information Technology University

The new model of journalism education at the International University of Information Technology is adapted to the multimedia information environment because all media is moving toward digitalization.

Journalism today is becoming super-mobile and high-tech. Therefore, the International Information Technology University is the first and only university in Kazakhstan to offer a completely new curriculum focused on digital media, social networks, blogging, and social media marketing. The innovation of the educational program “Digital Journalism” consists in combining the basic journalistic profession with other specializations. In digital journalism, you don’t just need to know how to write. You have to be a big data analyst, director, cameraman, sound engineer, editor, and designer and know the basics of programming and animation. It means to the standard duties of a journalist a wide range of special knowledge is added, such as website development and web – design, motion design, infographics, programming, mobile applications, SEO – promotion, usability, digital marketing, 3D – animation programs, data visualization, etc.

Traditionally journalists were “humanists”, but today such areas as big data analysis in the Internet space and mathematical modelling are relevant for journalism. It should be understood how to extract the necessary information from a big stream of fake news, build the image of any company or person, and build information flows more effectively, including in social networks, so that the consumer receives the information they need.

An obligatory professional requirement for the work of a journalist is the possession of digital equipment, the latest technologies for gathering and transmitting information, knowledge of the requirements of information security, and the ability to produce an information product on various media platforms.

It is important that the educational program “Digital Journalism” at the IITU was developed considering the wishes of the heads of the leading mass media in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The best foreign professors are involved in teaching it. The study is conducted in English, Kazakh, and Russian. Each student can study for a year or a semester at foreign partner universities of the IITU. Together, we have developed a clear list of skills a journalist must have to work in domestic and foreign media structures. This shows the real connection between our faculty and employers; therefore, our graduates are in demand both in the media and PR departments, marketing, and advertising structures.

The educational program “Digital Journalism” is new, relevant, and timely, demonstrating the training of highly qualified specialists in demand in the global media market.

KazNARU researchers develop vaccine for allergic rhinitis, bronchial asthma

Posted on by Muhammad Sheraz

The International Center for Vaccinology (ICV) at Kazakh National Agrarian Research University (KazNARU) has developed a novel vaccine of immunotherapy for allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma caused by wormwood pollen (one of the ten global aeroallergens).

ICV Director Professor Kaissar Tabynov is an expert in the field of vaccinology. His main specialization is associated with the development, study, and implementation of the production of various vaccines for animals, birds, and humans. He told us that the new Vaccine is based on a recombinant wormwood pollen major protein Art v 1 formulated with the oil adjuvant ISA-51 and it is named “PollenVax”.

The uniqueness of this new vaccine is that in an ultrashort ASIT regimen with four subcutaneous desensitizing immunizations (total course duration of one month) in a mouse model it provides pronounced therapeutic effectiveness against allergic rhinitis and asthma caused by wormwood pollen.  (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35371056/).“PollenVax vaccine potentially solves not only these disadvantages of ASIT, but also others related to the ASIT schedule, which, depending on the drug and type of allergy, can be continuous year-round, pre-season (before the allergy season begins) or combined pre/co-season (during the allergy season),” explained Professor Tabynov. Since in many countries, including Kazakhstan, the wormwood blooming period is long enough (from July to October), the possibility of conducting co-seasonal ASIT is of great practical importance, he said.

“PollenVax” vaccine in ultrashort pre- and co-seasonal ASIT when used in high and low-dose immunization regimens provides a significant reduction in both signs of allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma in sensitized mice (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36439113/). This vaccine is currently at NASA Technology Readiness Level 5 (TRL-5) according to the BIRAC scale for the biotechnology area (vaccines), as it has successfully passed pre-clinical safety studies (acute and chronic toxicity, allergenicity) in laboratory animals (mice, rats, guinea pigs) at the National Center for Drug and Medical Device Expertise of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Regulatory Authority; Report No. TDI-2022/07 dated October 28, 2022).

In the laboratory, “PollenVax” vaccine demonstrated significantly superior therapeutic efficacy compared to the commercial drug CLUSTOID based on treated Artemisia vulgaris extract formulated with aluminum hydroxide adjuvant (ROXALL Medizin GmbH, Germany). “PollenVax” vaccine is recommended by the regulatory agency of Kazakhstan for further clinical trials.

“PollenVax” is not the first vaccine that KazNARU’s International Center for Vaccinology (ICV) has developed. Prior to this vaccine, the Center developed two Covid-19 vaccines “NARUVAX-C19” (subunit for intramuscular injection) and NARUVAX-C19/Nano (nano-vaccine for nasal spraying). NARU in vaccines names stands for ‘National Agrarian Research University’, VAX for vaccine and C19 for COVID-19 coronavirus, and Nano for nano-vaccine. Both vaccines successfully passed a series of safety, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy studies on different laboratory animals (mice and hamsters) at Almaty’s “Aikimbayev National Scientific Center for Especially Dangerous Infections” (NSCEDI).  The NSCEDI has a Biosafety Level 3 laboratory for working with viruses (BSL-3). It is the only Center in Kazakhstan and Central Asia that has a Biosafety Level 3 laboratory for working with animals (ABSL-3).

Also, ICV Director Professor  Kaissar Tabynov contributed to the development of three other vaccines for public health: 1: Refluvac – against pandemic influenza A / H1N1pdm09; 2: Kazfluvac – against pandemic influenza A / H5N1; 3: Kazfluvir – against seasonal influenza). Kazfluvir, which has successfully passed the III-phase clinical trial in Kazakhstan. Professor Tabynov and his team also developed seven vaccines for veterinary medicine (against highly pathogenic avian influenza H5 subtypes and H7, equine influenza, bovine, and small bovine brucellosis).

Vice-ministers, senators, scientists discuss improving training and education in veterinary medicines at KazNARU

Posted on by Muhammad Sheraz

A high-level meeting on the issues related to training and education in veterinary medicine was held at the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University (KazNARU) in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on Friday, November 04, 2022.

Various vice ministers and members of the Upper House of the Kazakhstani Parliament (Senate), KazNARU leadership, leading scientists, faculty members, and students attended the meeting.

KazNARU Acting Rector Akhylbek Kurishbaev chaired the meeting. Senator Ali Bektaev, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agrarian Issues, Nature Management, and Development of Rural Territories, moderated the meeting proceedings.The Chairman of the Board of the National Agrarian Scientific and Educational Center of the Ministry of Agriculture Kazakhstan, Darkhan Balpanov, was also present at the meeting.

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev, on September 01, 2021, said: “The health and productivity of livestock depend on the effective work of veterinarians on the ground. And this, in turn, directly affects the well-being of rural residents. Education has a decisive role in raising the country’s potential in this particular area of science.”

Veterinary sciences are taught at nine higher education institutions in Kazakhstan, of which three are specialized universities in this particular area of science education and training.The Vice Minister of Agriculture, Rustem Kurmanov, informed the meeting participants that KazNARU, the Kazakh Agro-Technical Research University named after S.Seifullin in Astana, and the West Kazakhstan Agro-Technical Research University named after Zhangir Khan annually train between 1500 and 2000 graduates in agriculture and veterinary medicine.
KazNARU Deputy Chairman of the Board- and Vice-Rector, Primkul Ibragimov Balpanov, informed the meeting participants that the University has created an appropriate scientific and educational infrastructure and human resources for the high-quality training of veterinary specialists.

Currently, over 1600 students are enrolled at the KazNARU Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, out of which 100 are undergraduate students, and 32 are doctoral students in the five departments of the Faculty. There are 128 professors, including 31 doctors of sciences and 50 candidates of sciences. Sixty-three percent of the faculty members have higher degrees in relevant fields.

KazNARU staff continuously develops new programs in cooperation with international partner organizations and experts. Modular educational and working curricula have been developed, taking into account the requirements of the OIE.

KazNARU applies best international practices and has been cooperating with the world’s leading universities, such as the Higher Veterinary School (Toulouse, France), the Hannover Institute of Veterinary Medicine (Germany), and Wageningen University and Research (Netherlands).
KazNARU “Veterinary Medicine” and “Veterinary Sanitation” programs are internationally accredited. The “Veterinary Food Safety and Technologies” program has been developed and is successfully operating in cooperation with Wageningen University and Research (Netherlands).
The University is the Republican UMO-SUE in the areas of “Agriculture and Bioresources” and “Veterinary”. KazNARU students travel to leading foreign universities in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Turkey, Malaysia, Pakistan, and other countries to study under academic mobility programs.
As part of the integration, scientists from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of KazNARU and the Kazakh Research Veterinary Institute have carried out joint scientific projects worth about USD 320,000 on training young veterinary scientists. Over the past three years, 24 master’s and 5 doctoral dissertations on viral, bacterial, and parasitic diseases have been jointly produced.Over 80 percent of KazNARU veterinary science students get employment after graduation.

Members of the Committee on Agrarian Affairs, Nature Management and Rural Development Mukhtar Zhumagaziyev and Duysengazy Musin, Vice Minister of Labor and Social Protection Kazakhstan, Olzhas Ordabayev, First Vice-Minister of Education and Science Kazakhstan, Sholpan Karinova, also shared their thoughts and suggestions at the Meeting.

The Meeting noted the lack of harmony among Kazakhstani universities in the training of veterinarians.
Each university, within the framework of academic freedom, independently develops educational programs, which affects the quality of training of veterinarians.

The Meeting participant stressed strengthening the role of the Educational and Methodological Association – Project Management Group (UMO-GUP) in the areas of education “Veterinary Medicine”, “Agriculture, and Bioresources”.

Since this specialty is costly, the Meeting participants suggested reviewing state grants that are awarded to students who study veterinary medicine. At present, the state allocates 1.82 million Kazakh tenges (approximately USD 2000) for the training of a student. Preliminary calculations, taking into account the standard costs at the market price, the increase in the MCI, and inflation show that they should be 1.811 million Kazakh tenges.

The Meeting recommended the allocation of more funds from the state budget for new and modern research laboratories (biological safety and biosecurity, veterinary clinics).

The Meeting also recommended that based on the experience of the country’s medical universities; to increase the employment opportunities for veterinary graduates, the review of the mechanisms for implementing the program “With a diploma – to the village.” is necessary.

The meeting proposed to increase one-time lifting allowances, the volume of allocated loans for the construction of housing for young professionals. The Meeting participants said that it is necessary to place a state order for undergraduate (up to 70%), master’s, and doctoral studies (100%) at the three leading agricultural universities.The Meeting recommended giving authority to UMO-GUP to conduct strict qualification control over the quality of training in agricultural specialties.

Young Kazakh scientist’s work added to ‘GenBank’

Posted on by Muhammad Sheraz

Dr. Togzhan Kenzhetaevna Boranbayeva, a young scientist at the Kazakh National Agrarian University (KazNARU), has isolated more than 300 probiotic strains and registered 9 strains in the GenBank, which is the database of the United States National Information Biotechnology Center (NSBI) of the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Boranbayeve is the head of the KazNARU research laboratory on dairy products. Her area of expertise is the study of probiotic microorganisms in traditional Kazakh fermented dairy products. She studies the safety, probiotic potential, and antimicrobial properties of dairy products.

Dr. Boranbayeve has authored one book and more than 20 articles. Currently, she is working with researchers from Turkey and Qatar on joint projects and is also a participant in the international projects Mevlana and Erasmus and two grant projects of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.