What is Nazarbayev University, and why does it need an endowment fund?
Nazarbayev University has become a new benchmark and model of a research university in the CIS countries, integrating education, science, and innovation, based on international practices. The fundamental principles of the University are meritocracy and academic integrity, providing world-class higher education in Kazakhstan at a lower cost than overseas scholarship programs such as Bolashak, and importantly, generating research-based knowledge in Kazakhstan rather than having to import it from abroad. More than 6,500 students currently study at NU from all regions of Kazakhstan and with different social backgrounds. The majority of them are STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics,and medicine) students; the rest are social sciences and humanities. Around 97% of NU students study for free.
Knowledge and skills acquired at NU, as well as an advanced level of English, allow university graduates to successfully compete in Kazakhstan and international labor markets. Every year, about 60% of graduates receive job offers at Big4, ERG, BI Group, major banks, universities and schools. New companies and startups enter the market, launched by NU graduates or at the NU innovation cluster. For example, Cleverest Technologies designs robots and high-tech complex IT products, the Helloaul project teaches English to rural schoolchildren, the Kunde social cafe hires people with disabilities, etc. Since 2016, due to NU innovation cluster programs 160 startups have been launched attracting investments of more than a million-dollar. Annually 35% of NU graduates continue their studies in Master’s and PhD programs. World-class universities, including Cambridge, LSE, Columbia, and others, provide them with scholarships.
Along with the high quality of NU academic programs, another university priority is research excellence. The number of research publications by NU students and faculty has reached more than 5600. In terms of the quality of research (citation index), NU is in the top 10 in the CIS, leaving behind the Moscow State University, and in one line with the University of Tokyo. According to research from Stanford University published in 2020, 8 NU faculty members belong to the top 2% most influential researchers in the world. The number of Kazakhstani professors has steadily increased and is now about 30 percent. NU employees and the Graduate School of Education alumni are appointed to managing positions at leading Kazakhstani universities to help in reforming the higher education system.
Such innovations and research require significant financial investment to purchase and operate equipment, open labs, and conduct joint international research. NU’s priority research areas include artificial intelligence, robotics, new materials and biomedicine. In recent years, this research has yielded a number of innovations: a medical exoskeleton, a prototype of human bones, advanced lithium-ion batteries, full sequencing of the virus that causes COVID-19, a stochastic simulator of the spread of COVID-19, and other breakthroughs. Such innovations and research require significant financial investment to purchase and operate equipment, open labs, and conduct joint international research. Typically, endowment funds together with government funding support the most successful universities and schools. The accumulated investment income of endowment funds covers large parts of the financial needs of universities and schools. For example, endowment funds of Harvard, Stanford, Yale, MIT constitute around 24-40% of their budgets, providing continuous financial support for research and other academic endeavors. Based on the international practices of top universities, Nazarbayev Fund (NF) was established in 2010 to sponsor NU and NIS academic and research activities to allow a reduction of of government funding over time.
Recently, certain media have spread the information about the NF and its affiliation to educational institutions. In this regard, the Chairman of the Fund, ex-Minister of Education of RK and former Chairman of NU Executive Council Aslan Sarinzhipov explained that, according to its Charter, the NF finances only Nazarbayev University and Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools. The Fund allocates at least $10 million annually to support the research and academic activities of these educational institutions. “There is no other beneficiary apart from NU and NIS as stated in the Charter of the Fund as a non-profit organization, and the NF accounts are audited annually by one of the Big 4 international auditing companies” Sarinzhipov elaborated.. The NF adds that they intend to continue increasing its investment in NU to nurture highly educated, professional and creative leaders, and decrease the government’s financial burden to allow spending on more pressing issues.
Currently, NU is preparing for the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. According to its preliminary results, after ten years, NU is already among the top 35% of the universities worldwide. Other listed universities of Kazakhstan are unfortunately in the 75th and lower percentage.