Amina Mukhamedova

Amina is 25, she is from Ust-Kamenogorsk, where she was born. The second-year master’s degree student at the D. Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University is studying transport equipment and technologies. Being an enthusiast in self-development and self-actualisation, she does not shy away from challenges. Having won the competition for the Shakhmardan Yessenov Foundation scholarship, she was able to hire her own tutor and prepare for her IELTS exam. What is the Kazakhstani woman going to do after completing her master’s degree?

How do you still relate to your hometown where you grew up?
Rapid rivers, high mountains, endless steppes, taiga forests, a diverse fauna. I have been away from Ust-Kamenogorsk countless times, East Kazakhstan is filled with beauty. The most vivid impression is the sparkling snow crunching from the biting frost and merrily skiing down the mountains in the winter, and in the summer – the bright, blinding sun and swimming in beautiful lakes.

Amina, why did you choose this particular major?
Because I really love cars and everything connected with them. I need not remind you that we have a car assembly plant belonging to Asia Auto JSC in our own region. I plan to work there as a process engineer after I finish my master’s degree. Graduates of my major are very much in demand technologists in projects, quality assurance and processes.

We are aware that you took an internship abroad. Will you tell us about it?
In the summer of the year before last, I was on attachment at the Czech Technical University (Czech Republic, Prague), Department of Transport, Faculty of Transport Sciences. I visited laboratories where cars are tested and their motion modeled, devices are improved, power plants are studied, and also stopped by the design bureau. I also trained at the Skoda Auto plant in Mlada Boleslav, where I studied the full production cycle of a car. I then completed my research internship at the Wroclaw University of Science and Technology in Poland. In the summer of 2019, I studied the tribological properties of metals and alloys there.

As a winner of our scholarship competition, what can you say to those who do not dare to change their lives on their own?
Believe that your ideas are worthy of implementation. And no matter how it ends: success or a life lesson, you win in any case. You have everything you need at your disposal, so accept the opportunities that open up and accept the change.

What are your plans for the next couple of years?
I will complete my master’s degree this summer. I look forward to securing employment in my specialty, and also plan to continue my studies in parallel.

Amina, what are you interested in doing outside work and study?
If I have free time, I like to play with my cousins, who are 6 years old and 4 years old.  We live in the same neighbourhood, so we spend a lot of time together with them and our other relatives. I love watching feature films, reading books, traveling, and studying the peculiarities of life in different countries of the world. My favourite book is “Gone with the Wind” by American writer Margaret Mitchell, my favourite film is “Office Romance”, and my most memorable journey was to Spain, to the Atlantic Ocean.