On 16 January, the Executive Director of the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI) at Nazarbayev University, Yerbol Absalyamov, delivered a keynote presentation during the thematic session of a national forum “Ensuring the Quality of Higher Education: Current State and Development Prospects”, dedicated to new approaches to assessing the quality of doctoral (PhD) research.
The session, titled “Assessment of the Quality of Research Outcomes in PhD Programmes: New Approaches,” was held at Nazarbayev University and brought together vice-rectors for research, chairs of dissertation councils, and heads of doctoral education units from universities across Kazakhstan. The event was moderated by Gani Yessenbayev, Deputy Chair of the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education under the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
In his presentation, Yerbol Absalyamov introduced ISSAI’s vision for integrating artificial intelligence into doctoral education. He highlighted how AI-driven tools and platforms can enhance research quality and support reproducibility.
During the session, Mr. Absalyamov also presented ISSAI’s core research areas, products, and technological solutions, including open-source AI repositories, data-driven research infrastructures, and applied AI tools designed to support academic research and innovation. He emphasized ISSAI’s role as a national research institute contributing to Kazakhstan’s digital transformation agenda and the development of advanced AI capabilities in higher education.
The thematic session opened with a welcome address by Talgat Yeshenkulov, Vice Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and featured contributions from representatives of the Ministry, national analytical centers, leading universities, and international organizations, including Times Higher Education and Coventry University Kazakhstan.
In addition, during the forum, the TilSync, real-time AI powered subtitle service was used to provide real-time translation of plenary speeches, including addresses by the Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek and the President of Nazarbayev University Waqar Ahmad.