Higher Education in IT: An Overview at Alikhan Bokeikhan University

Alikhan Bokeikhan University is a multidisciplinary regional university located in the city of Semey. Founded in 1998, it trains specialists across 30 undergraduate programs, 15 master’s programs, and 6 doctoral programs.

The university’s mission is to make a positive contribution to the educational, research, and socio-cultural development of the region by providing high-quality academic programs aimed at developing professional skills that facilitate employment.

The university’s vision is to strive to become a recognized professional community of a socially responsible university that creates conditions for improving employment opportunities and promoting regional economic growth.

The main goal of the university’s strategic development is to prepare competitive specialists capable of working in the context of Kazakhstan’s integration into the global community.

The current student body of Alikhan Bokeikhan University numbers 8,632 people. Students include high school graduates, graduates of vocational training institutions (TiPO), and graduates of universities from all 17 regions and 3 republican cities of Kazakhstan. The university has 11 buildings, two modern Student Houses with a capacity of 840 places, the Abai IT-Valley technology cluster, modern IT laboratories and competency development centers, and its own military department.

The university structure includes three faculties: the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Information Technology and Economics, and the Humanities Faculty.

In addition to the faculties, the university operates the Abai IT School, a general education school with in-depth study of information technology. Currently, more than 100 students in grades 7 through 11 are enrolled in the school. In addition to core general education subjects, students study robotics, web development fundamentals, graphic design and computer animation, generative artificial intelligence, VR/AR technologies, 3D printing basics, and game development.

Alikhan Bokeikhan University is a flagship institution for training IT specialists in Eastern Kazakhstan.

Starting this year, the university is implementing a project to create a unified IT cluster in the Abai region, which includes the Abai IT School, the Faculty of Information Technology at Alikhan Bokeikhan University, and the regional tech cluster Abai IT-Valley.

Accreditation

The university’s current institutional accreditation is valid from June 19, 2023, for a period of five years, based on a certificate from the Kazakh Association of Modern Education (KAZSEE).

Accreditation as a subject of scientific and scientific-technical activity

By Certificate No. 000390 issued by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan on March 17, 2022, Alikhan Bokeikhan University is accredited as a subject of scientific and/or scientific-technical activity for a period of five years.

The university’s educational programs for training IT specialists are accredited by decisions from the Independent Agency for Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Education (ARQA) and the Kazakh Association of Modern Education (KAZSEE).

Undergraduate Programs

The university trains IT specialists through five undergraduate educational programs, including:
6B06122 — “Informatics”
6B06123 — “IT in Healthcare”
6B06124 — “Computer Engineering and Software”
6B06102 — “Information Systems”
6B06103 — “Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain Engineering.”

The university also offers postgraduate IT specialist training through master’s programs (7M06110 — “Informatics”) and doctoral programs (8D06110 — “Informatics”).

Faculty

Instruction in IT educational programs is delivered by the faculty of the Department of Information and Technical Sciences. 50% of the department’s teaching staff hold relevant academic degrees. Future IT professionals are taught not only by specialists with theoretical training but also by practicing experts from the Abai IT-Valley technology cluster.

Abai IT-Valley is a unified technology cluster in the IT sector, created on the basis of the university with the support of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Astana Hub international technopark, and the Payment and Financial Technologies Development Center of the National Bank of Kazakhstan. The mission of Abai IT-Valley is to identify, consolidate, support, and develop human capital in the field of information and communication technologies, and to create conditions for the development and implementation of advanced industrial and innovative technologies in the region.

Main areas of activity for Abai IT-Valley:

— Training: the tech cluster has its own IT school that offers training in various IT specialist tracks, including the TechOrda program of the Astana Hub international technopark
— Identification and support of talented and promising startups, including tracking
— Collaboration with government bodies and business community representatives, and the development and implementation of innovative projects.

Opportunities for Students

The university offers a wide range of additional learning opportunities, internships, and professional certifications, including for students enrolled in IT programs.

The university has specialized IT laboratories where students can work on projects related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, cybersecurity, and other modern technologies.

The university hosts the Doctor Web laboratory and the Huawei ICT Academy. For students interested in entrepreneurship, the university, in collaboration with the Abai IT Valley tech cluster, provides access to startup incubators where they can develop their business ideas. The university supports student participation in IT conferences, hackathons, and other events. Additionally, the university provides access to global educational platforms such as Coursera, edX, Udemy, and Astana Hub.

Under bilateral cooperation agreements, students undergo professional certification training in software product development and IT solutions for companies such as “1C Kazakhstan,” Doctor Web in Central Asia, Huawei’s local representative office, and others.

Internships

Students enrolled in IT programs complete internships at companies, government agencies, and private institutions in Semey, including manufacturing firms, local executive bodies, second-tier banks, financial organizations, and others. Students in the “IT in Healthcare” program complete internships at the Medical Center of the NAO “Semey Medical University” and other medical institutions in the Abai region.

Academic Mobility

University students participate annually in the academic mobility program, including semester studies at leading universities in neighboring and distant countries, courses, and internships of varying durations.

The main requirements for participants in the academic mobility program include knowledge of foreign languages—primarily English and Turkish—good academic performance (a GPA of at least 2.75 in the current academic period), and academic and extracurricular achievements.

Each semester, students and master’s candidates undergo selection for participation in the international academic mobility program, as well as the internal academic mobility program, which allows for a semester of study at one of the university’s partner institutions in Kazakhstan.

Partner Universities

— Sofia Technical University, Bulgaria
— Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India
— Higher School of Finance and Management, Poland
— Istanbul Aidyn University, Turkey
— Constantine the Philosopher University, Slovakia
— Kuzbass State Technical University named after Academician T.F. Gorbachev, Russia.

Student Life

To foster active civic engagement, leadership skills, soft skills, personal growth, and self-realization, the university operates 10 student organizations, including the creative studio “Urker,” the “Zhas Rukhy” organization, and the “ABU Student Alliance,” among others.

Traditional competitions are regularly held at the university, such as ABU StartAp Weekend, Decentrathon, Pizza Pitch, GameDev ABU, Bastau, “Student Spring,” and many others.

The university has two Student Houses with a total capacity of 840 places. ABU Student Houses are modern hostel-type student dormitories.

In addition to individual rooms, the facilities are equipped with modern kitchens, coworking spaces, medical offices, a library with constant Wi-Fi access, a fitness center, laundry facilities, and other amenities necessary for comfortable living, studying, and active leisure time.

During the summer, the dormitories house cadets from the university’s military department who are undergoing military training.

Employment

The employment rate of university graduates within the first year after graduation is 78% of the total number of graduates. The Career Center helps students organize industrial and pre-graduation internships, which can lead to employment. They also teach students how to use the electronic labor exchange and demonstrate how to use online resources to post resumes and search for job vacancies. Graduates of the university’s IT educational programs successfully work at the Abai region branch of JSC “National Information Technologies,” the “Government for Citizens” institution, second-tier banks in cities and district centers of the Abai region, branches of JSC “Kazakhtelecom,” IMAS Group LLP, and other institutions and organizations.