NSU Rector Mikhail Fedoruk received a Kazakhstan delegation with Dauren Abaev, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation, Kerim Kozhamberdiev, the Consul General of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Omsk City, and Marat Kalykulov, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Novosibirsk.
Russia is number one in terms of the number of Kazakh students with more than 60,000. Ambassador Abaev noted the important advantages of studying in Russia including the high quality of education, a strong research base, and the absence of a language barrier. In Kazakhstan there are currently 3,500 schools where classes are conducted in Russian.
Abaev continued,
Akademgorodok is an example of the synergy of education, science, and technological entrepreneurship that creates a special atmosphere of involvement for students and provides additional opportunities. I am confident that the number of students from Kazakhstan will increase, both in Russia and in Novosibirsk, because one of the key tasks of our state is to strengthen its position in the hard sciences and this is traditionally one of NSU’s strengths.
In his welcoming speech, Fedoruk emphasized that NSU and Kazakhstan are connected by a long history of fruitful cooperation, “Kazakhstan has a fairly strong scientific mathematical school and the founders are graduates of Novosibirsk States University”.
NSU cooperates with 15 leading universities in Kazakhstan, six of them in the field of IT. 180 Kazakh students are studying at NSU, primarily in the Natural Sciences Department, Humanities Institute, and the Institute of Psychology and Medicine.
Fedoruk explained,
We attract children from Kazakhstan, including through the All-Siberian Open Olympiad. Out of the total number of 2022/23 finalists 1215 people received winners and place diplomas including 22 schoolchildren from Kazakhstan. We would, of course, like to increase the flow of students from Kazakhstan so we are ready to expand cooperation with Kazakh universities in promising areas. We are also considering the possibility of opening a branch, not only of NSU, but also a physics and mathematics school.
The creation of an NSU branch and a school of physics and mathematics in Kazakhstan would replicate the educational and scientific model that establishes a system of lifelong learning “school - university - science / high-tech business”.
Fedoruk continued,
The proposed scientific and educational ecosystem is integrated into the national context of Kazakhstan and is aimed at selecting talented schoolchildren for the purpose of in-depth study in natural science subjects and the implementation of joint science-intensive projects and world-class breakthrough technologies.
The advantages of creating a branch in Kazakhstan for NSU are strong and long-term scientific, educational, and cultural ties between NSU and leading Kazakh universities. A powerful diaspora of NSU Kazakh graduates are ready to provide support to organize the activities of the branch.
Abaev addred,
We are interested in opening branches of leading Russian universities, primarily in areas that are priorities for us. So, along with the historical branch of Moscow State University, which has existed for many years, we have recently opened branches of MEPhI and Gubkina Russian State University of Oil and Gas. We support further expanding our list of partners.
After the official portion of the meeting, the delegation met with Kazakh students studying at NSU. In addition to visiting educational institutions, the delegation had meetings with representatives of regional and municipal authorities, leading industrial enterprises, and Kazakh national cultural organizations.
