KazNU Entered the World’s Top-200 Best HEIs

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University has made a phenomenal breakthrough, advancing in the QS global ranking to 165 place. Thus, the leading Kazakhstani University has successfully completed the task set by Elbasy N.A.Nazarbayev, as well as laid down in the State Program on Development of Education and Science of the RK, on entering by 2020 at least of two Kazakhstani Universities in the top-200 best HEIs of the world. KazNU has confirmed its compliance with the high level in the world scientific and educational space.

The most well-known and authoritative internationally recognized rating agency Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) has published new research results on the world’s higher education institutions. As emphasized in the analytical report of QS, this year Al-Farabi KazNU, rising up to 42 positions, took 165^th place in the global ranking and «became the first Kazakhstani University, which made the breakthrough to the top 200 best HEIs in the world». In the post-Soviet space only two universities has been included in this group – Lomonosov Moscow State University and KazNU.

Demonstrating an unprecedented rapid dynamics in the history of higher education of the world, the University has advanced almost by 500 positions in 9 years. Such progress achieved in a short period of time in the world ranking has attracted the attention of foreign experts, who call this unique breakthrough as an «Al-Farabi KazNU’s phenomenon». In the international academic environment it is actively discussed as the most striking example of the dynamic development by the University, many representatives of foreign HEIs have been adopting KazNU’s positive experience.

Behind the high position in the world ranking is a huge work of the University staff headed by Rector, academician Galym Mutanov to improve the global competitiveness of KazNU. Based on the cluster approach, a comprehensive structural modernization was carried out, and a results-oriented management system was introduced, which facilitated its transition to a fundamentally new quality of education and science. In cooperation with leading foreign universities, double diploma programs and educational programs are being implemented in English, thanks to which the largest number of foreign students in Kazakhstan is studying at KazNU. Their number has increased by 15 times last year alone.

Microsoft Company has recognized KazNU’s digital development model as one of its best practices. The University has opened scientific and educational centers of world-known high-tech corporations, and created a scientific and technological corridor «from idea generation towards commercialization». Its effective use allowed KazNU to increase the volume of scientific projects more than 2.5 times within five years. Every fifth publication of Kazakhstani authors in international ranking scientific journals belongs to KazNU’s scientists. During the same period, the University infrastructure has grown almost by 50 percent.

As the Global Hub of the United Nations Academic Impact Program on Sustainable Development, KazNU has developed and implemented a model of new generation HEI – «University 4.0», which was presented at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and has been recommended for wide international dissemination. KazNU has established Al-Farabi Centers in 12 foreign countries.

The leading positions of Kazakh National University in the world educational and scientific space have been also confirmed by other international rating agencies. Thus, KazNU is among the top 200 most environmentally friendly and top 50 technologically advanced HEIs in the world. Having received high estimation «AA+» by the European Scientific and Industrial Chamber, the Kazakhstani University is in the same row with leading universities of Europe. All these achievements contributed to the recognition of KazNU as the best HEI of the Turkic and Islamic world.

The Massachusetts University of Technology is ranked first in the QS ranking, Stanford and Harvard Universities respectively (all are the US HEIs) took the second and third places. The top ten world universities are almost entirely composed of American and British institutions of higher education.

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