NU graduates will help Kazakhstani schoolchildren with their studies

Nazarbayev University graduates will help schoolchildren with their studies. “NU Alumni” association is launching the “E-Tutor” project – a social initiative on educational mentoring.

As part of the project, mentors chosen from NU alumni and current students will help pupils in grades 5-11 hone their knowledge in a number of school subjects. When selecting schoolchildren to mentor, priority will be given primarily to family members of medical workers, as well as to children from large families and families from socially vulnerable segments of the population.

The “E-Tutor” project is a virtual platform where students can not only get help with their studies, but also sign up for elective classes in robotics, computer science, and programming. Also, together with their mentors, children can prepare for school Olympiads and exams, including IELTS and SAT.

“Our alumni – Yakov Voronkov and Adil Kusmanov are the ideological inspirers and main coordinators of the project. The project was conceived in order to help Kazakhstani schoolchildren increase their competitiveness in the global educational space. Today, our project covers only a few schools in the capital, but in the future we plan to significantly expand its geography, supporting children from different regions of the country,” said Miliana Abdukhanova, Chief Project Manager of the NU Alumni Public Association.

Classes can be conducted in Kazakh, English and Russian – depending on the pupils’ preferences. Each student can choose up to three subjects, where mentors will conduct 45-minute long online sessions weekly. All educational materials: recordings of online classes, methodology guides, textbooks, recommendations for exams preparation and much more, will be posted on the project’s website.

“I am interested in this project, and despite the fact that I work in Russia now, I decided to support the initiative. Moreover, all work will be carried out online. Our plans include organization of online conferences with mentors, students and their parents in order to be able to receive regular feedback on the learning process,”  said Temirlan Zhekenov, NU graduate and project participant.

Many NU graduates have expressed an interest in participating in the project as mentors, and applications continue to come in.  The Alumni association carefully considers all potential tutor applications, and as of today, 69 graduates have passed the vetting process and are eligible to help on the project.