PhD student from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University engages in Environmental Research at Nicolaus Copernicus University and Gdańsk University of Technology

Tolkyn Kurmanbayeva, a PhD student at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, and a Junior Researcher at the Center of Physical Chemical Methods of Research and Analysis, has been awarded a Short-term Academic Exchange Grant within the framework of the PROM Project. Funded by the European Social Fund and the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA), the PROM program aims to foster international collaboration at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń (NCU). Out of 46 available slots, Tolkyn successfully passed the selection for the internship, demonstrating strong academic performance and significant research potential.
Tolkyn is currently conducting research at NCU’s Centre for Modern Interdisciplinary Technologies (ICNT) under the supervision of PhD, DSc, NCU Professor Paweł Piotr Pomastowski from February 19 to March 19, 2025. Her work focuses on developing an analytical method to detect volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) in diesel fuel using SPME-GC-TOFMS. She is also conducting research for her PhD thesis on «Development of simple and accurate methods for on-site gas chromatographic determination of VOCs in environmental objects using solid-phase microextraction». These compounds are important for environmental monitoring because they are mostly toxic and can have harmful effects on the environment and human health.
The main objectives of this mobility in the ICNT laboratory are to broaden scientific horizons, gain experience with advanced analytical equipment and develop international collaborations.
«As part of the PROM academic exchange programme, I am working on gas chromatographs and high-resolution mass spectrometers, such as GC-FID, GC-TOFMS, and MALDI-TOFMS. Through my work, I gained valuable experience in conducting GC-TOFMS analyses and processing data using specialized software, contributing to my dissertation progress. By the end of the traineeship, we expect to have isobars and isotherms for a range of VOCs and SVOCs in diesel fuel after a series of experiments to optimise the temperature and time of headspace solid-phase microextraction. 
Working with Professor Pomastowski and his team has been an enriching experience, and I hope to continue collaborating with them in the future. The internship not only allowed me to gain valuable practical skills but also broadened my scientific perspective and increased my motivation for further research activities. 
I want to express my sincere gratitude to my colleagues from Laboratory ‘Ecology of Biosphere’: Bauyrzhan Bukenov for the proposal of this programme and support, to Gulyaim Sagandykova and Radik Mametov for their great support and encouragement. I would particularly like to thank my national scientific supervisor, Professor Bulat Kenesov, for recommending my candidature for the project and for facilitating an internship as part of my doctoral studies at the Gdańsk University of Technology (Gdańsk, Poland) under the supervision of Dr. Tomasz Dymerski.»
Following the completion of the PROM exchange program, Tolkyn Kurmanbayeva will begin a research internship at the Faculty of Chemistry of Gdańsk University of Technology from March 20 to May 30, 2025. The internship will focus on determining the distribution constants of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) between the gas phase and soil using a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-TOFMS), a state-of-the-art instrument for real-time measurement of VOCs in air. 
«Establishing these distribution constants is important in assessing the behaviour of these compounds in the environment and is fundamental to the development of accurate analytical methods. 
I hope that this internship in Poland will be a transformative experience that will allow me to learn advanced research methods. I truly believe that the opportunity to have access to equivalent facilities at our university will allow us to conduct research that will have a direct and positive impact on solving critical issues.»