DISSCUSSION OF THE PRESIDENT'S INSTRUCTIONS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE

A meeting of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held at the "Gylym Ordasy" under the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, dedicated to discussion the instructions of the Head of State on development of science.

The event was attended by Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan Sayasat Nurbek, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin, Chairman of the Board –Rector of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Zhanseit Tuimebayev, heads of higher educational institutions, academics and scientists, as well as representatives of the scientific community.

The meeting was opened by Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin. "Our main goal is to make a significant contribution to the quality of life of Kazakhstanis. All program documents in the field of science with the allocation of appropriate funding are aimed at this. Over the past two years, they have almost doubled, amounting to 80.1 billion KZT in 2022. It should be noted that national science has great potential, good traditions, developed infrastructure, modern legislative base," - Serik Zhumangarin stressed in his speech.

The main report of the meeting of the Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek was devoted to the implementation of the instructions of the Head of State. "The President noted that the creation of a diversified, technological economy is not just a necessity for us, this path has no alternative. Unprecedented challenges of the time such as pandemics, the food and energy crisis, trends in carbon neutrality, transition to industry 4.0. – all these in sum actualize the agenda of innovative development, the directions of which were set by the President" the minister stressed at the beginning of his report.

Currently, the implementation of the national project "Technological Breakthrough via Digitalization, Science and Innovation" is in full swing. 4 tasks, 7 indicators and 27 specific activities are provided for 4 key areas of the Science block. Then the Minister of Science and Higher Education familiarized the audience with the progress of the implementation of the tasks and instructions of the Head of State.

Thus, in order to strengthen the human potential of science, the task has been set to increase the number of employees in the scientific field by 1.5 times until 2025. It is also planned to increase the number of scientists and young scientists by 50%. The salary of scientists has been increased by 2 times (up to 252 thousand KZT). By the decree of the President, direct funding of research institutes engaged in fundamental research has been introduced.

The Ministry announced three competitions for grant funding for 2023-2025 for the following areas: for the Zhas Galym project with a budget of 3 billion KZT; a competition for young scientists on scientific and (or) scientific and technical projects for 2023-2025 with a budget of 9 billion KZT; as well as a general competition for 2023-2025 with a budget of 74 billion KZT. In general, science funding has increased by 70% in three years. Competitions for grant and targeted funding are held annually. In order to increase the competitiveness of the scientific ecosystem, 1.7 billion KZT has been allocated for the modernization of the material and technical equipment of organizations.

According to the development plan of universities as centers of first-class science, branches of 5 leading foreign research universities are currently open in the country. Indicators of research activity in the country in recent years are higher than in most post-Soviet countries.

For sustainable financing of scientific research at universities, a concept of a separate law on endowment funds and a roadmap for opening endowment funds in five pilot universities in 2023 has been developed. The internationalization of the higher education system program will contribute to the development of university science.

"These and other norms proposed will certainly ensure that the compilement of scientific industry with the call of the times, will contribute to improving the level of research and its effectiveness, and will enhance the status of science and the scientist. They will also provide the necessary legislative framework for the implementation of the President's instructions in the field of science," Sayasat Nurbek concluded his speech.

The meeting included a discussion of the speech of the Minister of Science and Higher Education. The participants were able to express their opinions and make suggestions on the execution of the instructions of the Head of State.

Press Service of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University