On October 16, 2026, Yerbol Absalyamov, Executive Director of the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI) at Nazarbayev University, participated in a republican seminar in Petropavl dedicated to the status and development of the Kazakh language in the digital world.
Organized by the Language Committee of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the seminar marked the concluding event in this year’s series of initiatives focused on strengthening the position of the Kazakh language in the digital environment. The event brought together representatives from North Kazakhstan, Karaganda, Aktobe, East Kazakhstan, Kostanay, Atyrau, Jetisu, Astana, Almaty, Turkestan, and Shymkent.
The seminar featured speakers from academia, government, and the media, including Zhusip Zhumagulov, Deputy Akim of North Kazakhstan Region; Akmaral Dautkulova, PhD and Associate Professor at Kh. Dosmukhamedov Atyrau University; Lambrian Topuzov, Manager at the Kazakhstan Republican Television and Radio Corporation; Kaiyrzhan Rakhymzhanov, Head of Division at the Language Policy Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and others.
During the seminar, Yerbol Absalyamov presented ISSAI’s achievements in Kazakh-language artificial intelligence, outlining the Institute’s research methodology, development pipeline, guiding principles, and computing infrastructure. Participants also explored demonstrations of ISSAI’s solutions, including the latest ISSAI Voice Studio and Qupia.
The central focus of his presentation was Qolda*, developed by ISSAI under a research grant supporting the advancement of Kazakh-language AI technologies.
The audience expressed strong interest in ISSAI’s work and highly appreciated the Institute’s contribution to integrating the Kazakh language into the global AI landscape, as well as its approach to conducting research and developing language technologies.
In recognition of ISSAI’s contribution to Kazakh-language AI development, Yerbol Absalyamov received a letter of appreciation from the Akimat of North Kazakhstan Region.
* Qolda – A model created by ISSAI under the grant funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Higher Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (program targeted funding – BR24993001). The consortium is led by Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU) and includes ISSAI, the Til-Qazyna Scientific-Practical Center, the A. Baitursynov Institute of Linguistics, and the Institute of Information and Computational Technologies.