KazNU is a Driver of Innovative Development
Al-Farabi KazNU aims to enter the top best universities in the world. «The leading universities of the world, shaping human capital and being the growth points of the innovative economy, determine the development of their countries and entire regions», - said Rector of the University, Academician Galym Mutanov at an annual reporting meeting to the public.
The head of the leading University of the country told the public in detail about the directions of the University's activities, its achievements and strategic tasks facing a team of thousands of scientists, teachers and students.
In 2019, KazNU in the international QS ranking was the first among the universities of Central Asia to take the 20th place among the best HEIs in the world, being the leader among higher educational institutions of the post-Soviet space and the Islamic world. The transformation of KazNU into a world-class research university today takes place within the framework of the «University 4.0» concept developed and implemented by KazNU based on the innovative «Al-Farabi University Smart City platform». «University 4.0» is based on a symbiosis of high-tech and spiritual-moral platforms and is aimed at educating a new generation of highly qualified specialists as citizens of the country and the world. Heading the Global Hub of the UN Academic Impact Program on Sustainable Development for three consecutive terms, Al-Farabi KazNU presented its «University 4.0» model at the UN headquarters in New York, where it was recommended for sharing at international level.
In the framework of development of a high-tech platform, KazNU has «built» a Digital University, which was recognized by Microsoft as one of the best practices. New educational programs have been introduced that take into account modern society needs and future trends, such as «E-commerce», «Digital Linguistics», «Big data», «Artificial Intelligence», «Geoinformatics», «Intellectual Property», «Internet of Things», «Bioinformatics». The first Master's program in the post-Soviet space in Islamic finance was launched, which was developed jointly with AIFC Astana and Benhalif University (Qatar).
The University scientists carry out about 460 research projects, the total funding of which has reached more than 4.6 billion tenge, of which about 1 billion falls on contractual work. Over the past 5 years, the number of patented research and development has increased by more than 40%. The University is recognized as the leader among the country's HEIs in the number of publications in leading journals according to the version of two leading international databases – «Web of Science» and «Scopus». Every fifth publication of Kazakhstani authors in highly rated scientific publications is the contribution of scientists of KazNU. The leading University of Kazakhstan, one of the few HEIs in the post-Soviet space, launched the first Kazakhstani nanosatellites, Al-Farabi-1 and Al-Farabi-2, into space. Work is underway on the creation of the international IT-technopark «Alliance of Universities of the New Silk Road».
Over the past five years, the total area of the facilities of KazGUgrad has grown by almost 50 percent (110 thousand sq.m.). Most of them are social facilities, built on the principles of public-private partnership in the amount of more than 2 billion tenge. Currently, work is underway to attract foreign investment for the construction of a modern clinic with a research laboratory, student dormitory and other facilities.
The University, developing a high-tech platform within the framework of the «Rukhani Zhangiru» program, forms high spiritual and moral values of youth. Corporate ideology and breakthrough social projects based on standards of high ethics and integrity are aimed at achieving a qualitatively new effect in the formation of citizens of the country and the world. The anti-corruption scientific and educational cluster created at KazNU has become the key intellectual and analytical center of Kazakhstan for the formation of an anti-corruption culture of youth. Particular importance is attached to the social support of talented students., A system of social package is being implemented at the University, thanks to which annually over a thousand students from socially vulnerable groups with «excellent» and «good» academic performance, as well as children of KazNU’s employees enjoy discounts on tuition fees. Over the past 3 years, the University has attracted over 700 million tenge from outside for social scholarships for talented students from low-income families.
As a driver of social development, KazNU has created social and humanitarian centers that, together with government agencies, carry out long-term projects to solve pressing problems of society. Within the framework of the «Rukhani Zhangiru» program, KazNU, jointly with the UN Alliance of Civilizations, has been implementing an international project «Formation of Citizens of a Virtuous Society. The Mission of Modern Universities», to which the foreign partners of KazNU have joined - members of the Network of Socially Responsible Universities of the world. 12 foreign scientific and educational centers of Al-Farabi has been created, where the Kazakh language and culture of the Kazakh people are taught, work is underway to create branches of KazNU on its basis. As part of the celebration of the 1150th anniversary of the great thinker Al-Farabi, KazNU has been entrusted to conduct several key events of national and international levels. In anticipation of this anniversary, the University launches the «Qaiyrymdy Qazaqstan» Republican Challenge of Good Deeds, designed to help from a creative social environment.
During the reporting meeting towards the population, the Rector of KazNU answered questions from media representatives, teachers, students and their parents. Their wishes and suggestions were taken into consideration, and instructions were given to the relevant services.
