A scientist-mentor is a true treasure of the nation.

Zubaida Shadkam is a distinguished Kazakhstani Turkologist, Candidate of Philological Sciences, and Associate Professor. Her academic journey began in Iran, where she graduated from a specialized high school in Persian language and literature and studied Sociology at the University of Tehran. After Kazakhstan’s independence, she returned to her historical homeland and continued her studies at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University and Ankara University, where she completed her Master’s degree.

In 2006, she defended her PhD dissertation in Turkic languages, and in 2011, she was awarded the academic title of Associate Professor by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

One who teaches and enlightens is a priceless gift to society. Professor Shadkam is fluent in Persian, Turkish, and Arabic, proficient in Russian, and has intermediate English. She is one of the few scholars in Kazakhstan specializing in Chagatai and Ottoman studies. Actively engaged in international collaboration, she has delivered lectures at leading Turkish universities under the Mevlana and Erasmus programs.

Since 2017, she has served as Director of the Research Center “Written Heritage and Spiritual Legacy” at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. She has conducted valuable manuscript studies in the rare collections of Egypt and Turkey, contributing significantly to Kazakhstani science.

She is the recipient of the Best Teacher of KazNU Award and the Y. Altynsarin State Prize. Dr. Shadkam is the author of three monographs, textbooks, and more than 60 scholarly articles published in Kazakh, Turkish, Persian, and English.

Currently, Zubaida Shadkam serves as a professor and faculty member at the Department of Turkology and History of Eastern Countries, Faculty of Oriental Studies at Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, while also holding the position of Director of the Research Center “Written Heritage and Spiritual Legacy” at the same university.