Tokayev Proposes Employing Top Foreign Graduates in Kazakhstan
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has proposed launching a program to employ the most talented foreign graduates of Kazakh universities, allowing them to begin their professional careers within the country. He announced the initiative during the Strategic Partners Forum, Kazakhstan – Territory of Academic Education.
According to Tokayev, over 31,000 foreign students are currently studying at Kazakh universities, a national record. The government aims to increase this figure to 100,000 by 2029 through visa liberalization and improved learning conditions.
The employment program will enable top-performing international graduates to stay in Kazakhstan, contributing to the national economy. Simultaneously, the country plans to expand the number of foreign university branches in Kazakhstan, with a particular focus on technical disciplines.
“The opening of branches of foreign universities is fully in line with our goal of developing engineering and IT education,” Tokayev said.
Kazakhstan currently hosts three Lu Ban workshops, which serve as centers for applied engineering training. Special emphasis is being placed on preparing skilled personnel for the nuclear energy sector.
“Our task is to ensure a direct link between education and science and the real sector of the economy. There are already successful examples: the partnership between Kozybayev University and the University of Arizona has led to the development of a technology to convert sulfur into innovative polymers. This is a vital project for our country, which has significant sulfur reserves. It will spur growth in the chemical industry and contribute to solving environmental challenges,” Tokayev noted.
Since 2019, Kazakhstan has tripled its investment in education and science. Five Kazakh universities have been included in the Times Higher Education global rankings, and higher education institutions now enjoy greater autonomy.
Tokayev emphasized that investment in education is an investment in Kazakhstan’s future. He said the country sees the demographic potential of Central Asia and neighboring regions as an opportunity to grow its higher education sector and attract international students.
“Kazakhstan has set itself the ambitious goal of becoming part of the global knowledge market. To this end, we have partnered with 40 leading universities worldwide and opened 33 foreign university branches. Many of these institutions offer courses in English, Russian, and Chinese. Multilingualism is the key to openness and competitiveness for both universities and nations,” he said.
To help foreign students better understand local culture, all foreign university branches are required to offer mandatory courses in the Kazakh language and the history of Kazakhstan.
Tokayev also named digital state development and the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies among the country’s top priorities. He noted that by 2030, AI is projected to contribute over $15 trillion to global GDP, and Kazakhstan intends to play an active role in this transformation.
“Since the beginning of the year, we have launched the AI-Sana program, completed by more than 540,000 students. Courses on artificial intelligence have become mandatory in all schools and universities. An AI university is currently in development,” Tokayev said.
He cited agreements reached with OpenAI during his September visit to the United States, under which Kazakhstan is piloting education tools based on ChatGPT. The initiative, he said, “contributes to the comprehensive digital transformation of education.”
Kazakhstan is also actively integrating AI across its economy and government. The government is developing an AI-based system to assist in lawmaking, while the Ministry of Energy is launching a national digital platform, EnergyTech, to manage the fuel and energy sector.
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