On April 17, at Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University, Vice Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Dinara Rinatovna Shcheglova, held a meeting with residents of Almaty, where an open exchange of views took place on issues related to the modernization of science and higher education. The event was held in a live dialogue format: participants asked questions, shared suggestions, and received concrete answers.

In her speech, the Vice Minister noted that the Concept for the Development of Higher Education and Science for 2023–2029 is being implemented step by step. The document includes 21 target indicators and 144 specific measures.

“Higher education and science are key drivers of a country’s competitiveness. We are consistently aligning the education system with the real demands of the labor market and prioritizing the strengthening of scientific potential,” said Dinara Rinatovna.

According to her, there are currently 122 higher education institutions in the country, with more than 724,000 students enrolled. For the 2025–2026 academic year, 93,232 grants have been allocated, including over 77,000 for bachelor’s programs, more than 13,000 for master’s programs, and 2,919 for doctoral studies. Additionally, 300 differentiated grants have been allocated for pedagogical and social sciences. Scholarship amounts have increased: doubled for bachelor’s students and by 1.75 times for master’s and doctoral students. Differentiated grants have been introduced, and the “Industrial PhD” program has been launched in collaboration with industrial companies.

Dinara Rinatovna also reported that, in line with the Head of State’s поручение, work is underway to introduce a new model for financing higher education, which will be gradually implemented until 2029. This model will ensure a fair distribution of state funding, taking into account university rankings and the quality of educational programs.

Special attention was given to workforce training. According to the results of a large-scale survey, the country will need more than 400,000 specialists in the coming years, 45% of whom should have higher education degrees. In this regard, the “My Profession – My Future” project has been launched, and a new map of in-demand professions has been developed based on regional labor market needs. Plans include revising the national model of engineering education, introducing interdisciplinary programs, enabling early professional certification for students, and developing new fields related to artificial intelligence.

“Technological changes are happening very rapidly, so educational programs must keep pace and equip students with modern competencies,” she emphasized.

In line with the President’s поручение, Kazakhstan is actively advancing the internationalization of higher education. Strategic partnerships with foreign universities are expanding, and their филиалы are being opened. To date, 40 partnerships have been launched, 33 of which are implemented as branches, franchises, and joint programs. Around 9,000 students are studying in these programs, with more than 1,200 faculty members involved. In 2025, new branches of several foreign universities were opened.

Significant progress has also been made in addressing student housing. In recent years, 314 dormitories have been commissioned, adding more than 72,000 places. The shortage has been eliminated in all regions except Almaty.

Positive changes are also evident in the field of science. Following the adoption of the Law “On Science and Technological Policy,” funding for science increased by 42%, salaries of young scientists rose significantly, and 656 researchers received housing. Five universities have been granted research university status. As a result, 36.4% of scientific projects have been implemented in industry, generating 11.5 million tenge in tax revenues and creating more than 2,500 new jobs.

The meeting also covered issues of digital transformation. Within the framework of the “AI-Sana” program, hundreds of thousands of students have learned the basics of artificial intelligence. Cooperation has been established with global companies such as Huawei Technologies Kazakhstan, Coursera, NVIDIA, Binance Kazakhstan, and OpenAI. More than 671,000 students have studied AI fundamentals, and 308 AI agents have been introduced in 80 universities. Huawei ICT Academies have been established in 48 universities, and 12 institutions are participating in NVIDIA’s DLI program. Additionally, 62,800 licenses for the ChatGPT Edu service by OpenAI have been provided to faculty members.

Special attention was also paid to the role of the state language in science. Efforts to expand scientific content in the Kazakh language, improve terminology, and advance language digitalization will continue.

At the end of the meeting, participants asked questions and shared proposals regarding access to grants, support for young scientists, and the digitalization of the education system. All requests were taken into consideration, and individual consultations were organized.

Media Center of Abai University