Kazakhstan has opened its first university dedicated to artificial intelligence
Kazakhstan has launched its first student recruitment drive for the Kazakh Research University of Artificial Intelligence (QAIRU). The country’s Minister of Science and Higher Education, Sayasat Nurbek, announced this during a government meeting.
The program will last three years, and the bachelor’s degree program will be conducted entirely in English. Students will study artificial intelligence in combination with other fields, including medicine and energy.
According to him, 400 students will be admitted to the bachelor’s programs, 308 of whom will study on government scholarships. Another 100 students will be admitted to master’s programs.
“In addition, the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund will send 100 of its employees to study in the MBA AI+X program,” Nurbek said.
The Kazakh Research University of Artificial Intelligence is located in Astana on the site where the international specialized exhibition “Expo-2017” was held in 2017. Its main theme was “Energy of the Future,” focusing on alternative energy sources and environmentally friendly technologies. The university is also located next to Astana Hub—an international technology park for IT startups created to develop the digital economy and support innovative projects. The university plans to train engineers capable of creating their own artificial intelligence systems, rather than merely using off-the-shelf services.
The bachelor’s program will last three years, and all instruction will be conducted entirely in English. The curriculum will be based on the “AI plus industry” model, which combines artificial intelligence with various disciplines and sectors, including healthcare and energy.
Kazakhstan is also integrating artificial intelligence into other processes in higher education. According to Nurbek, certificates from the Unified National Testing are already available through the e-government system, and AI technologies are used during the testing process.
The National Testing Center has launched the AI-Talapker chatbot, which answers questions about the Unified National Testing and university admissions. Information about students and graduates is also being consolidated on the Unified Higher Education Platform.
“The next step is to implement AI-based solutions into the educational process,” Nurbek said.
He added that such solutions will be used for admissions, personalized learning, and career guidance.
This was reported with reference to the Times of Central Asia.
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