The IT Community in Kazakhstan: QAZAQ IT Community

Aigerim Kilybayeva, Almaty City, CEO of QAZAQ IT Community, LinkedIn, Instagram

About the Community

QAZAQ IT Community is the largest IT community in Kazakhstan, established on January 12, 2023, with the goal of uniting IT industry professionals, facilitating knowledge exchange, networking, and developing partnership connections. Initially, the community was called Almaty IT Community, but the name was changed to better reflect its national scope and mission. The founder of the community is Asem Bolatjan, Advisor to the Minister of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Our community is actively growing, creating unique opportunities for the professional development of IT specialists.

QAZAQ IT Community strives to become the main platform for IT professionals in Kazakhstan, contributing to their professional development, exchange of knowledge and experience, creation of new projects, and strengthening connections within the industry. We actively work to promote the IT industry in Kazakhstan, attract young people to the industry, organize events aimed at improving participants' qualifications, encourage cooperation between various IT companies, and support innovative projects.

Members

The community includes IT specialists at various levels, from top management of companies to regular employees of corporations. These are developers, analysts, project managers, designers, cybersecurity specialists, as well as students, startup founders, and those just starting their startups. Currently, QAZAQ IT Community has over 4,000 participants in Almaty and Astana. You can join us by filling out an application on our official website.

Events for Community Members

We organize meetups, conferences, hackathons, workshops, business breakfasts, IT GORELNIK, career guidance sessions, and other free events. Key events include QAZAQ IT Awards — an award recognizing the best IT professionals and projects, as well as global forums and educational programs. Additionally, the Smart Jumys project, a career mapping initiative for those who want to know their level of competence in IT and receive personalized advice from the best HR professionals in the IT field, has become one of our upcoming and important initiatives.

Our events are open to everyone interested in IT and wanting to develop in this field.

How the Community Supports Development

We create educational and networking opportunities, conduct masterclasses, discuss technological trends with experts from leading companies, and implement mentoring programs. Community participants can find partners for their projects, exchange experience with colleagues, receive mentoring support, and develop professional skills.

Successful Projects

Over two years of work, we have implemented several important projects, each of which is significant and meaningful for the digital development of Kazakhstan. Together, we have organized more than 60 events, collaborating with the Ministry of Digital Development, the Almaty City Administration, higher education institutions, and leading IT companies.

For example, one of the important projects is the career guidance meetups titled "Find Your Path in IT," where experts share their experiences with school students and help participants determine their career direction.

Plans

In the near future, we plan to expand the geography of our community by establishing regional offices in other cities of Kazakhstan. We also intend to increase the number of educational events, launch mentoring programs, practical projects with school students, and not overlook organizing leisure activities for QAZAQ IT participants. To implement these plans, we will continue to attract new activists and partners, cooperating with government agencies, educational institutions, and IT companies.

We are always open to collaborations and partnerships!