Yessenov Foundation: 10 Years of Nurturing Young Scientists in Kazakhstan

Galimzhan, setting aside the organization’s mission statement about developing Kazakhstan’s intellectual potential, how can we simply explain what the foundation does?

Galimzhan Yessenov: We strive to support Kazakh students, young Kazakh scientists, and specialists working in the field of exact and natural science disciplines, as well as medicine. The Foundation focuses on fostering their development, helping them acquire new competencies, continuing their educational pursuits, and improving their professionalism and competitiveness. Thus, the foundation plays an important role advancing Kazakh science and penetrating into the country’s production and higher education systems. Additionally, we have a program for high school students – the Find Your Way conference, also known as ”Oz Zholyndy Tap.” As a part of this program, we invite leading experts in their fields to assist students in learn about new opportunities and potential career paths.

In its 2023 anniversary year, how did the Foundation implement its leading programs to promote STEM education?

Galimzhan Yessenov: Through the Yessenov Scholarship, this year we supported 19 additional young students in studying in a number of fields, including public health, physics, mechanical and aerospace engineering, robotics, and engineering technologies. These fellows, who will receive monthly grants from May of this year up until April of 2024, were selected from a pool of more than 500 applicants. The Orleu program received five excellent candidates from low-income families this year, all of which received financial support for a year of undergraduate studies at a university of their choice. Our flagship program, the “Scientific Internships in the World Laboratories” enabled 9 more young Kazakhs scientists to undertake research internships in leading global laboratories. Additionally, at the very end of this year, we will announce the names of the winners who will go on to conduct research abroad in the summer of 2024 with the help of our grants. Other foundation’s programs also continued their work. For example, our English language program was successfully conducted at Kozybayev University in Petropavlovsk. The Yessenov Data Lab, our summer school Yessenov Data Lab for analysts was held online, and awarded grants for additional education in soft and hard skills as part of the Yessenov Launch Pad program.

Aiganym Malisheva: We are proud of the achievements of the winners of the foundation’s programs. Watching them grow up and become experts in their field… I just admire them. For more than ten years, the foundation has been working to make educational opportunities available to talented young scientists in Kazakhstan. And judging by the results of our graduates, this work is going well. Kazakhstan has a rich history of outstanding achievements in the field of science, and the increasing number of individuals that we support every year suggests that this legacy will continue to grow. We believe in this and, being inspired by it, we will enthusiastically be entering the second decade of our activity.

Recalling some of the winners of this year’s “Scientific Internships in World Laboratories” program, the Yessenov Foundation, the Yessenov Foundation sponsored Nail Beissekenov, a research engineer who developed an application and methodology for predicting soil erosion and floods. His research was conducted at the Austin Peay GIS Center, and he collaborated remotely with the National Center for Space Science and Technology. Alibi Namazbai, a third-year student at Nazarbayev University, carried out his research at the Georgia Institute of Technology, synthesizing materials for rechargeable water batteries. Data scientist Aknur Karabay spent the summer at the Swiss Data Center in Zurich, delving into Bayesian optimization and deep learning. The program received 142 applications this year, surpassing the number from 2022. Notably, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of women applying for grants, indicating a positive trend towards gender equality in STEM education. The number of women applying for grants has increased significantly in recent years, which indicates positive trends towards gender equality in STEM education.

The Yessenov Foundation has successfully completed the first year of English language training program at Kozybayev University and is currently in the second and final year of the program. More than 180 students and teachers have already been granted the opportunity to improve their English with the help of native teachers, and 25 first-year students have successfully passed the IELTS exam with funding from the foundation.

Galimzhan Yessenov concluded: The Shakhmardan Yessenov Foundation is committed to further deepening its support for talented young scientists and specialists in Kazakhstan and to promoting STEM education throughout the country. With a growing demand for qualified specialists in these disciplines, the foundation’s mission becomes more and more important with each passing year. We thank all the participants of our competitions and the winners and partners who have contributed to and assisted in the development of our country’s human capital. I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the foundation, to congratulate all our compatriots on the Independence Day of Kazakhstan and the upcoming New Year.