NU students will undergo an internship at the embassies of the Netherlands and Germany

Nazarbayev University students Diaz Takenov and Aruzhan Meirkhanova will undergo a one-day internship at the embassies of the Netherlands and Germany. This internship is the prize for winning 1st and 2nd place in an essay competition that was organized this past summer by the Department of Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) at NU’s School of Sciences and Humanities (SSH). The competition asked students to reflect on the increased popularity of religion in the Central Asian region after the collapse of the USSR.  Students were invited to share their thoughts in essay form on the possible implications of this trend for countries in the region.

“We wanted to hold a competition to encourage students to continue their research activities in the summer, as well as invite students to express their views on a topic of interest to ambassadors from different countries currently working in Kazakhstan. It was also a great opportunity to bring students together to analyze the problem and demonstrate the analytical skills of our students to the diplomatic community” said SSH Professor Jean François Caron.

The works were evaluated by ambassadors from Canada and the European Union. It is worth noting that the diplomats were impressed with the quality of the students’ essays, which provided them with valuable and relevant information on the history of Islam in Central Asia.