Department Celebrates Its Jubilarians at the Faculty Academic Council

30 October 2026, the Academic Council of the Faculty of Geography and Environmental Sciences honoured two members of the Department of Recreational Geography and Tourism, Marzhangul Inkarbekkyzy Zhilkibayeva and Alexander Mikhailovich Artemyev, on their 70th birthdays.

Both received personal letters of congratulations from Zh.K. Tuimebayev, Chairman of the Management Board and Rector of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. The letters recognise their many years of dedicated work and their major contribution to the University and to tourism education in Kazakhstan. The Trade Union Committee gave both jubilarians commemorative gifts, and colleagues prepared video presentations on each one’s life and career.

Marzhangul Inkarbekkyzy graduated from the Faculty of Geography in 1983 and has worked at her alma mater since 1985. In 1996 she was one of the first lecturers at the newly founded Department of Tourism. Her courses on the Geography of Tourism in Kazakhstan, Tourist Regions of the World and the Geography of International Tourism have given several generations of students a firm foundation for their careers. She has written nearly 50 scholarly and teaching works. She has also served the faculty for many years outside the classroom: as a curator-advisor, as chair of the faculty trade union bureau, and today as head of the Faculty Alumni Association. Her awards include the KazNU 90th Anniversary Medal and the "Ерең еңбегі үшін" (For Outstanding Work) medal.

Alexander Mikhailovich holds a Candidate of Technical Sciences degree and is Acting Professor of the Department. He is an Honorary Tourism Worker of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He has worked in tourism for more than 40 years, 27 of them at KazNU, and headed the Department until 2020. He has written 175 scholarly works and helped develop the State Educational Standards for the “Tourism” degree programmes and the industry’s professional standards. Under his leadership, the Department was the first in Kazakhstan to earn international UNWTO.TedQual certification. He was named “Best University Teacher” in 2013 and holds the “Honoured Tourism Instructor” and “Silver Edelweiss” badges. He is also an experienced mountain hiker and photographer.

The Department warmly congratulates our dear jubilarians and wishes them good health, well-being, boundless energy and new professional heights!