At the Department of Turkish Studies and History of the East Countries of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, the tradition of organizing summer and winter schools for students from partner universities in Turkey has been successfully maintained.

As part of strengthening academic cooperation between partner universities, the Department of Turkish Studies and History of the East Countries of the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University organized a summer school under the program “Regional Studies: Language, History, and Culture of Central Asia.” The project was coordinated by senior lecturer of the department, Nurat Ilyas.

Over two weeks, participants from Turkey attended lectures and practical sessions covering a wide range of academic topics, including the history and literature of Central Asia, the features of the Chagatai manuscript tradition, lexical-semantic parallels between the Kazakh and Turkish languages, as well as the conceptualization of color symbolism in Kazakh linguoculture.

The classes were conducted by faculty members and doctoral students of the department who possess high academic expertise in the field of  Turkology. Students showed particular interest in topics related to the culture, language, literature, and worldview of the Kazakh people. Participants emphasized the value of gaining knowledge directly from representatives of Kazakhstan’s academic community.

During the discussions, shared elements of the cultural codes of the Kazakh and Turkish peoples were identified. At the end of the program, many participants expressed their intention to continue academic collaboration and to visit Kazakhstan again in the future. As part of the school, students were also introduced to the traditions and cultural heritage of the Kazakh people through multimedia materials featuring the country's landmarks.