On September 30, 2026, Amina Baikenova, Acting Deputy Director of Product and External Affairs of the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI) at Nazarbayev University, participated as a speaker in the C5+1 SI Conference: Digital Innovation for Economic Growth, held in Astana.
As part of the conference, Amina took part in the panel session “University and Research Collaboration Across the Digital Ecosystem”, which brought together representatives from universities, research institutions and the technology sector to discuss the role of academic collaboration in developing the digital ecosystem.
The discussion focused on international partnerships, AI education, talent development, research collaboration and the use of local data to develop new technological solutions. Speakers also explored how universities can connect research, education, entrepreneurship and technology to address real-world challenges and contribute to the development of innovative products.
The panel was moderated by Eric Matson from Purdue University and featured Nikhil Arora from Cintana Education and Gulnar Kim from Manash Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University.
Amina’s participation highlighted ISSAI’s commitment to strengthening international research and academic cooperation and contributing to the development of AI talent and innovation in Kazakhstan and the wider region.