Today Astana hosted the Forum of Science and Higher Education-2023: "Development of Human Capital as the Basis for Economic Growth of the Country", organized by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education. 

The Forum brought together education and science workers, representatives of universities and research institutes, members of the Public Council, young scientists and students, foreign and domestic experts.

The plenary session of the forum was opened by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov with a welcoming video message to the participants of the event, emphasizing the importance of the development of higher education and science to achieve economic growth of the country. 

"As you know, the issues of development of science and higher education are under the close attention of the Head of State. We also face the task of rebooting the science industry. In this direction, we have begun the transition to a new model of science management," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Tamara Duisenova noted the importance of higher education and science for the innovative development of the country and improving the professional skills of the country's youth. 

 "The Government of the country has taken measures to develop higher education and science, as well as to solve certain problems and key tasks coming from the instructions of the Head of State. We are opening branches of leading foreign universities. This is aimed at improving the quality of education, knowledge transfer and increasing the competitiveness of higher education in the country," the Speaker said.

The importance of cooperation between different universities and research institutes was emphasized by the Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek. He also gave examples of successful projects that have been widely recognized in the world.

"The total budget of science for 2023-2025 has increased 3.5 times and amounted to 643 billion tenge. As part of the implementation of the instructions of the Head of State, work has been carried out to raise the status of scientists and strengthen human resources. Scientists' salaries have been doubled. The average is 257 thousand tenge, the maximum is 1.5 million tenge. Within the framework of improvement of legislation and debureaucratization of science, the National Council on Science and Technology has been created taking into account international experience, sectoral roadmaps for scientific and technological development in strategic areas of the economy have been adopted," the Minister said.

The forum was also addressed by Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic Leadership) of Heriot-Watt University Tadhg O'donovan, President of De Montfort University in Kazakhstan Sakina Zafar, Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences under the President of Kazakhstan Askar Dzhumadildayev and others.

Forum of Higher Education and Science is an important event in the educational sphere of Kazakhstan. It provides an opportunity for dialog, exchange of experience and development of new development strategies. The ideas and proposals presented at the forum will contribute to strengthening the position of Kazakhstan in the field of higher education and science.

#Alikhan Smailov #The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan #Education #Science