Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek reported on the scientific potential of the republic and work on digitalisation of this sphere at the Government session, primeminister.kz reports.
He noted that since the creation of the Ministry, the President has instructed to strengthen the impact of science on the economy and integrate it with innovation. At the 2022 session of the Academy of Sciences, specific instructions were given to bring science to a new level. These instructions formed the basis of the Concept of Development of Higher Education and Science for 2023-2029 and the new Law on Science and Technology Policy. At the last enlarged Government session, special attention was paid to the targeted use of allocated funds.
The main directions of science in Kazakhstan are realised within the framework of the Concept of development of higher education and science for 2023-2029. The main task is the transition to Science and Technology Policy oriented to the practical needs of the economy and society. The concept includes a new model of science management, strengthening of intellectual potential, development of university science, commercialisation of applied research and its results, as well as the development and digitisation of infrastructure," Sayasat Nurbek explained.
The Minister added that a list of 70 by-laws has been approved as part of the implementation of the Law ‘On Science and Technology Policy’. The law introduced an international methodology for determining the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to improve and support scientific developments at all stages. Instruments for the development of the science commercialisation ecosystem have been considered, and the Science Fund has been given new functions: acceleration of scientific projects, technological business incubation, technological intermediation and venture financing.
From 1 January 2025, the role of regional science has been strengthened - local executive bodies have been given powers to implement Science and Technology Policy. Tax incentives, project subsidies and co-financing mechanisms were introduced to encourage enterprises to finance R&D. A new open model of science is being formed, oriented towards applied research and solving industrial problems. It was noted that today the scientific potential of our country amounts to 25.5 thousand scientists, 46 per cent of whom are specialists under the age of 40. There are 425 organisations operating in the field of science.
Now grant competitions are held annually, earlier they were held once in 3 years. In addition, the mechanisms of state support have been expanded: grants for postdoctoral students and young scientists, financing of commercialisation of developments, direct financing of fundamental institutes, foreign internships, and megagrants have been introduced. Currently, 264 scientific and technical programmes, more than 2.3 thousand scientific projects and 208 commercialisation projects are financed. More than 1.4 thousand scientists have undergone scientific internships abroad," Sayasat Nurbek said.
The minister added that thanks to grant competitions for young scientists, more than 2,000 researchers were able to implement 835 projects. It was also noted that the republic is working to strengthen scientific infrastructure. Competitions have been announced to finance special scientific programmes in partnership with enterprises to create technoparks and engineering centres with modern laboratories on the basis of universities.
The first 4 programmes were launched in the largest national universities in 2023. As a result, 10 laboratories, 5 spin-off workshops and 3 startups were opened," Sayasat Nurbek emphasised
According to him, from 2024, priority is given to the development of regional university infrastructure. In 2024-2026, 5 programmes for the creation of scientific and educational centres of excellence in the regions have been launched. A total of 17 programmes are planned to be implemented. The main task is to create infrastructure for training, approbation of scientific developments, certification of knowledge-intensive products, creation of conditions for the development of innovative projects at enterprises. In this regard, co-operation between industry and science is one of the key areas.
In addition, the country organised scientific and technical sessions to implement the decisions of the Higher Scientific and Technical Commission (HSTC). The purpose of the sessions is to identify priorities in science and technology, meet the needs of the real sector, strengthen the interaction between science and business, and commercialise export-oriented innovative products. In 2024, 7 sessions were held, in 2025 - 2. By the end of the year it is planned to hold 15 sessions with agro-technical enterprises, Ulba Metallurgical Plant, KazMunaiGas and Kazakhmys. The sessions discussed scientific and industrial issues, developed prototype solutions and prepared technical specifications for programme funding. Based on the results of the meetings, the SNA approved 11 technical specifications, which is 10 per cent of all scientific and technical projects. There are plans to increase this figure to 15-20 per cent.
A new model for determining scientific priorities is being formed. The goal is to transfer all S&T assignments approved by the Scientific and Technical Committee into this format. For this purpose, heads of large corporations and national companies were included in the Scientific and Technical Council," Sayasat Nurbek informed
Together with the Technology Policy Council, RTD's activities will be coordinated in the field of innovation policy and digitalisation. The Law ‘On Science and Technology Policy’ reformatted the work of the Science and Technology Policy Council, allowing the introduction of mechanisms to integrate scientific research into the real sector and strengthen the interaction between science and business.
The Minister also added that the quality and demand for domestic scientific research has increased, and export-oriented production based on the developments of Kazakhstani scientists has been established. For example, the technology developed by the Institute of Metallurgy and Ore Processing at Satbayev University has increased the added value of selenium. The first batch with a net profit of 1.3 billion tenge was exported. This technology made it possible to produce products that meet the world standards of non-ferrous metallurgy.
The Institute of Metallurgy and Ore Enrichment at Satbayev University continues to work on the study of rare metals. An agreement was reached with South Korean scientific institutions to establish a joint research centre by attracting investments. The Korean side plans to equip the new centre with innovative equipment, retrain personnel, and introduce advanced technologies for the production of knowledge-intensive products.
Sayasat Nurbek also spoke about the results of work on commercialisation of scientific projects. In particular, he noted that since 2016, the Science Foundation has held 6 competitions aimed at commercialisation of scientific developments.
It is important that for the last 3 years neither funding nor co-financing was allocated for commercialisation. We have resumed this work and increased commercialisation grants. The total contribution of the projects to the economy was 118.4 billion tenge. Several thousand jobs were created," Sayasat Nurbek said.
It was noted that grant funding for commercialisation demonstrated high demand and the importance of public investment. The volume of funding for these competitions exceeded the average indicators of some regional and macro-regional venture capital funds. As a result, the Science Foundation has been able to establish itself as an institution that consistently supports deep tech projects.
The main change is the introduction of a mechanism to support not individual projects, but groups of projects by industry. International experience shows that this approach helps to sustainably build a portfolio of projects, increase capitalisation and facilitate market entry.
In this direction, the Science Foundation has gradually transformed itself and started to develop venture mechanisms. This will allow venture capital funds, including international ones, to invest by attracting private capital. This approach is aimed at sharing risks between the state and private investors, accelerating technology transfer and creating an ecosystem for startups in knowledge-intensive industries. To this end, the Science Foundation will launch a technology intermediation mechanism.
According to the department, negotiations with domestic and foreign partners will be finalised and a number of venture capital initiatives will be launched in the first half of this year. The signing of an expanded memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabia under the National Technology Development Programme and structuring of a joint venture fund has been initiated. This fund will provide high potential for commercialisation and scaling of DeepTech projects in international and local markets. The partnership will ensure the launch of Kazakhstani projects in the Middle East market, joint development of DeepTech solutions and technology transfer. Government participation in venture funds will stimulate the inflow of private capital, create a leverage effect of at least 1:1, increase the share of private investors in the future, as well as strengthen market mechanisms for project selection.
The Minister also said that Kazakhstan is developing a programme ‘AI-Sana’, which will provide business acceleration to startups interested in the application of artificial intelligence. It is noted that the programme provides business acceleration to startups interested in the application of artificial intelligence in various fields. The main source of intellectual capital will be the leading universities in the country's regions.
This year 650,000 students will take special courses on artificial intelligence and in the second stage 100,000 students will take courses prepared jointly with Paul Kim, Chief Technology Officer of Stanford Graduate School of Education. By the end of the year, we plan to form 1-1,500 start-up teams in the field of artificial intelligence," Sayasat Nurbek emphasised.
According to the ministry, the Science and Technology Policy Law establishes the authority of local executive bodies (LEBs) to manage and dispose of science. As part of the instructions given by the President of Kazakhstan at the meeting of the National Council on Science and Technology, the regions are taking active measures to develop science.
In particular, in order to strengthen regional management of science, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education has developed methodological recommendations on the development of regional science and financing of applied scientific research at the expense of the budgets of regional educational institutions. Explanatory letters were sent to akimats and specific instructions were given. Amendments were made to the Budget Code and the possibility of financing scientific research from local budgets was considered. As a result, scientific councils have been established at all akimats and priority areas of scientific research have been identified.
Also, Kazakhstan is creating a digital data ecosystem in science. The Science and Technology Policy Law provides for the formation of a unified digital infrastructure for collecting, processing and analysing information. At the heart of this ecosystem is a digital science portal, which will become a single window for scientists, research institutes, universities, government agencies and experts.
In co-operation with the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry, individual modules have been introduced on the basis of the information system Single Window of the National Innovation System. The automated information system State Centre for Scientific and Technical Expertise was upgraded, which fully automates competitive procedures for funding scientific activities from priority setting to allocation of funds. Integration with state and international databases accelerates the provision of public services.
Further development of the system includes the creation of a national scientific and analytical system, automation of data collection and processing, and expansion of the functionality of digital services for science management. The Digital Science Portal ensures accessibility and transparency of information in the field of science. It is expected to become an open data platform, contributing to the development of science, as well as improving the interaction between scientists, business and the state. To date, basic analytical modules have been developed to speed up the search for scientific information and improve its accuracy. The state service Accreditation of subjects of scientific and (or) scientific-technical activity has been automated, which has reduced bureaucratic procedures by 50%. The process of accepting applications for scientific grants is fully automated. This has halved the service time and improved resource allocation. Every year the system processes 5,000 applications for 92 competitions.
More than 11 thousand experts have been registered in the expert database of the State Centre for Scientific and Technical Expertise, and 53 thousand applications have been received through the system. This made it possible to automate the identification of related persons, reduce risks by 80% and increase the objectivity of the inspection. The work of national scientific councils has been optimised, and 525 online meetings have been held. The review period was halved and 100 per cent transparency was ensured, increasing the efficiency and objectivity of decisions.
The process of awarding prizes and scholarships has been digitised, increasing the efficiency of the Academy of Sciences. The system processed more than 1,4 thousand electronic applications, of which 324 were approved. Automation has reduced the time of reviewing applications by 1.5 times and created a digital trail of expertise.A digital module including monitoring of scientific projects and objects has been launched. This eliminated the risk of falsification of acts and made it possible to analyse the success of TOP projects. A total of 3.5 thousand projects and 292 subjects were checked. This year it is planned to digitise the database of financing of research and development works of subsoil users. This system will automate the accounting of 1% of production costs and ensure transparency of research funding for industrial enterprises.
There are plans to strengthen cooperation by digitalising the interaction between science and business. In this direction, new projects based on artificial intelligence will be launched to automate the distribution of applications, selection of experts and identification of related parties," Sayasat Nurbek added.
In addition, a system of automatic generation of documents will be introduced. This will optimise the tender processes, including the approval of scientific and technical assignments, financial statements, priority areas, increase the efficiency of data processing and reduce the administrative burden.
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