The ISSAI Summer Research Program is a structured, research-intensive educational initiative designed to immerse students in the practical and scientific foundations of artificial intelligence and advanced digital technologies. The program provides participants with direct exposure to real-world AI research and development conducted at the Institute of Smart Systems and Artificial Intelligence (ISSAI), Nazarbayev University.
Throughout the program, students work in close collaboration with ISSAI data scientists, engineers, and researchers. Each participant is paired with a dedicated mentor who guides them through the research process from problem formulation and literature review to experimentation, prototyping, and final presentation. This hands-on experience enables students to bridge academic theory with applied innovation, strengthen their technical skills, and gain insight into the lifecycle of AI product and research development.
The program fosters a highly collaborative and intellectually stimulating environment where students contribute to active research projects while developing critical thinking, teamwork, and communication skills in English.
The primary goal of the ISSAI Summer Research Program is to cultivate advanced technical competencies in artificial intelligence and related domains by integrating theoretical knowledge with practical implementation. The program aims to prepare students for research careers, graduate studies, and industry roles in AI by providing direct experience in solving real-world technological challenges.
The mission of the ISSAI Summer Research Program is to develop the next generation of AI innovators by:
The program is designed for:
The program has attracted participants from leading institutions in Kazakhstan and abroad, reflecting its growing international recognition.
6–8 weeks (intensive summer format)
English. All lectures, mentorship sessions, technical discussions, and final presentations are conducted in English to ensure international academic standards and accessibility for global participants.
Offline (in-person). The program is conducted at ISSAI, Nazarbayev University, providing students with direct access to research infrastructure, laboratories, and collaboration spaces.
Participants join one of several specialized research tracks aligned with ISSAI’s strategic AI priorities:
🎨 Image Generation & Animation
Development of generative models for visual content creation, including diffusion models, creative AI tools, and animation pipelines.
🧑🚀 AI Avatars
Design and implementation of interactive digital humans powered by multimodal AI models (language, vision, speech).
🤖 AI Agents
Research and development of autonomous and semi-autonomous AI systems capable of reasoning, task planning, and decision-making.
🦾 Robotics
Integration of AI models into robotic platforms, focusing on perception, control systems, and intelligent automation.
🎧 Audio-Visual Models
Multimodal systems combining speech recognition, text-to-speech, computer vision, and language models.
🛠️ Software Engineering
AI system architecture, scalable backend development, model deployment, and engineering best practices for AI products.
📱 Mobile Applications
Development of AI-powered mobile solutions for education, communication, and applied digital services.
🎮 Mini World Models for 2D Games
Research into lightweight AI world models for interactive environments, simulation, and intelligent in-game behavior.
