Kazakhstan's Deputy Prime Minister Askar Jumagaliyev visited the universities of Almaty as part of the implementation of the state program «Digital Kazakhstan-2020.» During a meeting with students, faculty and university professors, he discussed the development of new specialties in digital technologies, cybersecurity, digitalization and process automation.
During the meeting, the rector of the Kazakh National University named after al-Farabi (KazNU) Galimkair Mutanov said, that on the base of Supercomputing and Cloud Computing Center, are proceeded the technical conditions on formation of the international IT-technology park of the Alliance of Silk Road Universities, which unites more than 130 universities around the world. According to him, the IT-technopark will become a new center of cooperation and attraction of innovations in education, science and technology.
G. Mutanov also said that as part of the creation of a digital university, cloud technologies were introduced into the automation of the university's activities, Smart technology was introduced into the management of the campus infrastructure, and Big Data technologies were introduced to form an analytical system.
We have formed an integrated system for managing all of the university's business processes, the «E-Campus«, which ensures its transparent and holistic functioning. Due to the Information System «Univer» today all educational processes (attendance, academic performance, assessments in classes and exams), procedures for the allocation of vacant educational grants and places in dormitories are transparent. New methods and technologies have been introduced to assess the achievements of students, which remove corruption risks in the «teacher-student» relationship system. On the basis of the «Univer» system, the «e-services» project is being implemented, which allows to quickly and qualitatively receive more than 500 services on the principle of «single window«, including medical, educational, social and domestic, eGov, etc. «It is also being implemented into the work of the admissions committee, for example, foreign students can remotely register and apply for admission to the university's website.
The delegation, led by A. Zhumagaliev, also familiarized with the activities of the Kazakhstan-British Technical University (KBTU) on training and IT projects. Guests visited the Cybersecurity Center, the Multimedia Technology Center, Fircroft's student employment office, and specialized laboratories set up in conjunction with leading automation and management companies.
This is the Emerson Laboratory - «The Automation of Industrial Systems Control«, which features the industrial pressure and temperature control stands in the oil and gas industry, the Siemens - Programmable Logic Controllers Lab, equipped with industrial controllers, the Huawei Academy of Information and Network Technology Laboratory, and the Kazakhstan Maritime Academy laboratories equipped with unique gym equipment and simulators.
To ensure the need for cybersecurity training, we have partnered with Huawei and Kaspersky Lab, and have also entered into a licensing agreement with PositiveTechnology, an information security software company. In the future, we plan to open joint laboratories with companies such as KMG Automation, Honeywell and Schneider-Electric,» said Kenzebek Ibrashev, rector of KBTU. Among the implemented projects, the head of the university noted the dispatch center «Kazmunaigaz» JSC, which simplifies business processing processes, Logistics and sales of petroleum products, control management systems, formation and calculation of balance sheets in the Ust-Kamenogorsk titanium-magnetic plant, which will allow to control the cost, energy efficiency and environmentally friendly production, as well as the SmartCity Almaty Master Plan, which examined more than 70 Almaty enterprises in six areas of development of the city for 2018-2021. Based on the study, a 5-year program for the development of the metropolis has been prepared.
Accompanied by the leadership of the Almaty University of Energy and Communications (AUES), the Deputy Prime Minister inspected scientific laboratories and study rooms and talked with faculty and students of the university. And he asked about the scientific developments of students and undergraduates implemented under the Digital Kazakhstan program.
The Rector of AUES Saule Sagintaeva spoke about scientific activities, human resources, digitalization projects, information security systems, international cooperation on information and communication technologies (ICT) and the involvement of students in ICT projects. «80 ICT laboratories are involved in the university's educational process. Over the past three years, the laboratory and technical base for IT specialties and cybersecurity-related disciplines has been modernized for a total of more than 100 million tenge. For example, fiber optic communication equipment and GPON optical access equipment, hardware and software complex to study the principles of building and research infocomm networks with WireShark software, computers of the latest generation i7 and more. This academic year it is planned to purchase laboratory-training equipment for 25 million tenge for IT specialties,«- S. Sagintayeva said.
The rector of AUES also said that the university successfully operates the Center of R&D, 10 research laboratories, the Institute of Excellence, the regional academy of CISCO for Central Asia and the Baltic states, the Oracle Academy, the regional Academy of Microsoft, the innovation center «AUPET Innovation«, business incubator, school of robotics and 3D printing.
At AUES, students study information technology in laboratories created in conjunction with the well-known vendor - «Kaspersky Lab» and the supplier of equipment for the digitization of large enterprises - «Tornado«.
During the meeting with the Satbayev University team, A. Zhumagaliyev familiarized himself with the scientific and production base of the university's subsidiary, the Institute of Digital Equipment and Technology. The Deputy Prime Minister paid special attention to unique developments in the field of artificial intelligence and IT solutions for big data processing.
On the base of Satbayev University, BigDate analytical laboratories were established, artificial intelligence and development laboratories to conduct research and design work based on the experience of global companies. Today, the products developed by us are successfully used by large Kazakh and Russian companies from different fields of activity: for example, in construction (analysis of financing and development of funds), in medicine (examination of imported medicines), in the oil sector (optimization of the processes of drilling wells, production and pumping of oil) and others,» - said the rector of Satbayev University Iskander Beisembetov.
At the end of the working trip, the Deputy Prime Minister visited the International University of Information Technology (WIIT). A. Zhumagaliyev was presented with a 3D laboratory, which studies graphics, animation, design, creation of 3D games, cartoons, etc., the Olympic Training Center, which hosts the Olympic Games in sports programming among schoolchildren and students, as well as preparations for the national and international olympiads.
Our university is actively involved in the implementation of the digital Kazakhstan 2020 program. Thus, in 2016, we opened IITU Innovation, which became the center of student start-up projects, in 2017, created the UNICEF Innovation Laboratory, «Bozbala» robotics kit, driving assessment applications, Kazakhtelecom hackathon - «Solutions for Mail.kz«, as well as a center of distance and smart learning. Under the guidance of young creative teachers, students translate their ideas into prototypes. For example, the smart ecoStation stop, which operates on solar panels, has the function of charging devices and WiFi, the public transport evaluation service Starbus, which was successfully implemented in the city infrastructure, the «bionic hand» - a prosthesis designed for disabled people of third group and performs more than 20 functions of the hand, etc.» - said the rector of MWIT Damir Shynybekov. According to him, the main focus of the university's work is on the development of innovative technologies and public-private partnership, the development of science in the ICT industry and robotics, as well as the implementation of start-up projects with further commercialization.
