News

International Astana University (hereinafter - AIU) has won the scientific project GUCAE-Consolidate with the support of the German Ministry of Education and Science under the leadership of the Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Development in Countries in Transition (hereinafter - IAMO). 

The consortium of foreign partners along with Astana International University (AIU) from Central Asia includes: International Agricultural University IAU (Uzbekistan, Tashkent), (TBC), Institute of System Analysis and Development of Agricultural Economics (Tajikistan, TBC) and Ashgabat Agrarian Institute (TBC). 

The main objective of the international project is to develop research skills of PhDs, postdoctoral fellows, young researchers and PhD doctoral students from universities in Central Asia and Germany.

Through the proposed project, the consortium aims to take GUCAE-Consolidate to a new level by addressing pressing issues such as working with advanced econometric methods, mutual exchange and expanding linkages in agricultural and environmental economics. 

A team of scientists and PhD doctoral students from the Higher School of Economics will participate on behalf of AIU.

We would like to draw the attention of our readers to an event organized by the Central Communications Service, an expert round table on the topic "How should a progressive nation look only forward?".

The discussion focused on the interview of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for the newspaper Egemen Qazaqstan. Experts and political scientists gathered in the press center to discuss in detail the results of Kazakhstan's development in the past year and plans for the future.

Mamontova T.V., Associate Professor at the Higher School of Social Sciences and Humanities, gave her expert assessment of the country's foreign policy successes in the light of current problems of international relations. Balanced and pragmatic management is highlighted, as well as an important strategic partnership with China and Russia. Special emphasis was placed on the analysis of the prospects for the development of multi-vector and the assessment of opportunities for the growth of influence.

An informational meeting with Bakdaulet Erkhanov, Regional Head of Informascope, representative of Elsevier in Central Asia with Anar Myrzagalieva, the First Vice-President of AIU, and also with Director of Science Department, Deans of Higher Schools and Dean of Pedagogical Institute of AIU was held in Astana International University (hereinafter - AIU) at 15.00pm on January 4, 2024 to discuss the prospects of working with Elsevier portfolio of the best journals in many areas of scientific knowledge and research.

Bakdaulet Erkhanov made a presentation on Elsevier - the world-famous publishing house, acting as a global information and analytical corporation specializing in science, to the management staff of AIU.

During the meeting, the 6 Elsevier milestones were discussed:

- Scientific strategy,

- expertise and collaboration,

- research funding,

- research execution,

- research management,

- research impact.

The Parties mutually agreed that the meeting will be continued in the form of scientific seminars, webinars and trainings for AIU faculty in the near future in order to increase the publication activity of professors, young scientists, doctoral students and teachers based on reading scientific literature as a reliable source of creating new knowledge by using scientific platforms and Elsevier journal database.

PhD, senior lecturer at the Higher School of Law of Astana International University, Alisher Serikbolovich Ibrayev passed a competitive selection for the third stream of the public project "School of Analytics", implemented with the support of the Senate of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

More than 400 applications were submitted to participate in the project. Based on the results of consideration of applications, the competition commission selected 60 participants, one of whom is a senior lecturer at the Higher School of Law, A.S. Ibrayev.

The public project "School of Analytics" is aimed at strengthening analytical approaches in public administration, social and humanitarian studies, and the media.

Candidates with work experience and an academic degree, as well as those working in analytical structures, the public administration system, national companies, the media, non-governmental and international organizations, gained an advantage in the selection. The compliance of the skills, scientific interests and research directions of the candidates with the stated goals of sustainable development, according to which the School was selected, was also taken into account.

The course will result in the preparation of analytical materials by the participants, which will later be used in the work of the Senate of the Parliament. //https://senate.parlam.kz/ru-RU/news/details/9358

Congratulations to Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate professor of the Pedagogical Institute of Astana International University Kozhaeva Sanim Kozhaevna on winning the republican contest "Man of the Year" of New Kazakhstan. We wish you creative success!

Congratulations to associate professor of the Higher School of Information Technology and Engineering Barlybaev Alibek Baktybaevich on winning the competition «The best university lecturer -2023»!

In the competition "The best university lecturer -2023" 150 teachers from 43 Kazakhstani universities of higher educational institutions of the country became winners. Such indicators of applicants as the quality of teaching, the development of educational resources, publication activity and the availability of patents for inventions were evaluated.

The competition "The Best University lecturer - 2023" was organized using the information system of MSHE, which provided participants with full transparency at all stages of the event. Applications and necessary documents for participation were accepted in electronic format, which guaranteed the openness and accessibility of the competition process.

Lecturers of AIU have once again confirmed the high quality of the university's educational and scientific programs and projects.

Congratulations to Candidate of Economic Sciences, Professor of the Higher School of Economics of Astana International University Rakhimova Saule Abaibekovna on winning the Competition of annual state scientific scholarships of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan 2023. We wish you creative success and new projects!

The visit of Professor Simon Redfern, the Dean of the College of Science at Nanyang Technological University, to Astana International University as part of the academic mobility program initiated by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, has drawn to a close. Throughout his stay, the professor delivered lectures to students, hosted a master class and training sessions for budding scientists and doctoral candidates, and conducted scientific seminars for the university's teaching staff. Additionally, Professor Redfern held discussions with Arman Ashkin, the Deputy Chairman of the Board of JSC Center for International Programs (Bolashak), as well as met with the British Embassy in Kazakhstan.. These meetings delved into the potential for fostering bilateral connections in the realms of science and education among Singapore, Great Britain, and Kazakhstan.

Professor Redfern has held several competitive UK research grants (total funding of more than £25m). He has also supervised over 30 PhD students in Cambridge and NTU, and acted as postdoctoral mentor and advisor to more than 20 postdoctoral researchers.He has published more than 270 peer-reviewed papers in the scientific literature (H-index 56 [ISI], 58 (Scopus), 65 [Google Scholar]), in internationally leading journals including Nature, Science, Physical Review Letters, Advanced Materials, Earth and Planetary Sciences Letters, JACS, Applied Physics Letters, and GRL. Professor Redfern is the recipient of the European Mineralogical Society’s Medal for Research Excellence and is the only individual to have been awarded both the Max Hey and Schlumberger Medals of the Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland, of which he is a Fellow. Simon Redfern is also Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America and of the Geological Society of London. He was also a member of the UK ministerially-appointed Committee on Radioactive Waste Management charged with providing independent scrutiny of the development of a geological radioactive waste repository in the UK.

Professor Simon Redfern of Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) conducted a master class and training on the topic “Writing and Publishing Academic Paper” for teaching staff, doctoral students and master’s students of Astana International University.

During the master class, Professor Simon Redfern spoke about the style and features of writing an academic article, research methods, gave examples from his own experience as an editor of a scientific journal, and shared his insights on top-rated journals for publishing the main results of doctoral students' dissertations.

During the training, the professor gave specific tasks for young scientists in order to improve their skills in meeting the standards of writing and formatting scientific papers. He answered questions regarding the choice of topic and structure of scientific papers.

  It is worth noting that Professor Simon Redfern is actively engaged in scientific research aimed at studying the properties of minerals under conditions of high temperature and pressure. He has more than 260 scientific articles, his H-index is 58 (Scopus), 56 (WoS), 65 (Google scholar).

A teacher from Nanyang Technological University, Dr. Xiaolei Feng, conducted research and methodological seminars for teaching staff and students of the Higher School of Natural Sciences and the Pedagogical Institute of Astana International University.

Xiaolei Feng is trained as a condensed matter physicist, having graduated with a bachelor’s degree and PhD from the department of Physics of Jilin University, China. Towards the end of her studies at Jilin, she realised the need to broaden her understanding of the physics of materials to encompass naturally-occurring materials’ behaviour in the environment. She therefore took the opportunity to undertake a 2nd PhD at the department of Earth sciences at University of Cambridge. She worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the research institute “High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research (HPSTAR)” in Shanghai and Beijing, China. She also worked as associate professor at the Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University, China before she joined the NTU in 2022. 

Dr. Xiaolei Feng spoke on the Sustainable Development Goals and how they can be implemented in the educational process, as well as advanced/innovative teaching methods used at the School of Materials Engineering NTU. Students and teaching staff thanked the speaker and organizers (teachers of the Pedagogical institute G.S. Sagimbayeva and A.B. Kazhigalieva) for the opportunity.

On December 15, a meeting was held within the walls of the Astana International University with an invited guest, member of the British Parliament Afzal Khan.

As part of the meeting, AIU management met with guests from the UK, took a tour of the university and confirmed their commitment to mutual cooperation. Also, the president of the university, Irsaliev Serik Aztaevich, presented the guests with gifts in the form of national attributes of Kazakhstan, as well as a diploma of “Honorary Professor of AIU”.

Afterwards, Afzal Khan gave an open lecture to students on the topic “British Parliamentarism”. The participants showed interest and active participation in further discussion. This meeting is of great importance for the development and raising the status of our university not only in Kazakhstan, but also in the international arena.

On December 11, 2023, Professor Simon Redfern of Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) conducted a seminar for the teaching staff of Astana International University. The professor proposed for discussion the current topic of the 21st century “Communication, education, and research in the age of AI.” From the question “Should we be afraid of artificial intelligence, since technological innovations such as a calculator, a mobile phone, the Internet, etc. have long been part of our lives?” - the professor began the seminar. Using real examples, he showed the capabilities of AI used by different groups of people. The professor emphasized that based on the results of students’ work using Chat GPT, it is difficult to unambiguously assess the skills and competence of students and specialists. Therefore, in modern times there is concern for the quality of knowledge of the younger generation. “With the help of intelligent programs, a student can write an excellent essay, draw a beautiful picture, prepare a good project, but to what extent can this student be an expert in his field?” “How can teachers and employers recognize a student’s true knowledge and skills?” These and other questions were raised in the lecture by Professor Simon Redfern.