Representatives of SDU University, Andrey Bogdanchikov and Merarslan Meraliyev, took part in the latest episode of the PRO ERTEN podcast, where they discussed current issues in the fields of IT and education.

During the episode, the speakers highlighted the importance of effective use of artificial intelligence, the need to develop alongside technology, and the role of critical thinking in today’s world. They also shared insights on how to stand out in the market through intellectual potential and what skills are essential for future professionals.

This episode will be useful for anyone interested in the latest trends in IT and education. You can read more on the ERTEN Media website.

A large-scale educational event aimed at advancing science and education was held at SDU University, organized by the STEM Research Center. The event brought together around 140 school teachers, school principals, and students.

The opening ceremony featured a comprehensive program focused on the importance and future of STEM education. The first speaker, Umar Adam Ibrahim, PhD, delivered a presentation titled “Introduction of STEM,” highlighting key principles and global trends in STEM education.

The event also featured expert speakers, including Zhanyl Abilbek, PhD, Assistant Professor and Head of the Department of Natural Sciences Pedagogy, as well as Arailym Zhakypova, founder of AZ Advisory, PhD candidate in Media and Communications, and Master Mentor of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Women in Business program. She presented on the topic “The Next Stage: Women Shaping the Future of Science in Kazakhstan.”

A key part of the program was the panel discussion on “The Future of STEM Education in Kazakhstan.” The panel included Assem Kaukénova, Director of the Science Department at SDU University; Gulzhan Akhmetova, Principal of the “Comfort School” in Kaskelen; Shynar Ryspaeva, marketer and co-founder of educational projects; and Ainur Bekbolatova, a graduate of Nazarbayev University, IB Biology teacher and MYP Coordinator.

During the discussion, participants explored the current state of STEM education in Kazakhstan, its development prospects over the next 10–15 years, as well as key opportunities and challenges. Particular attention was given to the role of schools and universities in preparing future STEM professionals, increasing women’s participation in STEM fields, and improving educational programs.

Speakers also shared insights on effective teaching methods in STEM, the impact of artificial intelligence and digital technologies on education, and the importance of an interdisciplinary approach. In addition, the discussion addressed the need to strengthen collaboration between academia, industry, and government.

At the end of the event, participants provided valuable advice to students planning careers in STEM and highlighted the key skills required for future scientists and engineers.

The event clearly demonstrated SDU University’s contribution to the development of STEM education and the formation of a modern educational ecosystem.

SDU University hosted Freedom Junior’s Day, an educational event organized by Freedom Holding Corp., dedicated to the fields of Data and Cybersecurity.

The event was held in a two-track parallel format, bringing together students, professionals, and industry experts to discuss modern approaches to data analytics and information security.

Data Track

As part of the Data track, experts from Freedom Holding Corp. and Freedom Ticketon presented practical cases of applying analytics and machine learning in corporate products.

The sessions covered:

• building product analytics — from raw data to business dashboards
• implementing analytics using the Amplitude platform
• approaches to working with features and metrics in product development
• applying Data Science and Machine Learning in insurance and corporate tasks
• the role of Data Engineers in enterprise infrastructure
• using AI tools, including Claude Code, in data engineering workflows

Security Track

The Cybersecurity track focused on modern practices for protecting digital services and infrastructure.

Experts from Freedom Holding Corp. covered the following topics:

• secure implementation of features in products with millions of users
• personal data protection and the career path of a Data Protection Officer (DPO)
• Blue Team practices and real-world attack and defense scenarios
• the impact of AI on the cybersecurity market and the transformation of junior roles

The event served as a platform for knowledge exchange between industry representatives and students, helping participants better understand the skills and technologies in demand in today’s IT companies.

We express our gratitude to Freedom Holding Corp. for the participation of experts and support of educational initiatives.

On March 28, 2026, the Shymkent Alumni Meetup 2026 was held in the city of Shymkent, bringing together graduates of SDU University. The event was attended by alumni from various faculties as well as university representatives.

The meeting was attended by the Rector of SDU University, Әлімжан Игенбаев, who highlighted the university’s achievements in recent years. He also spoke about the institution’s development strategy, ongoing transformations, future plans, and new initiatives, emphasizing efforts to enhance the quality of education, expand international cooperation, and support the alumni community. Particular attention was given to the importance of strengthening engagement with graduates.

The event provided alumni with a great opportunity to reminisce about their student years, reconnect with graduates from different cohorts, and expand their professional networks. The meetup was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere, offering an excellent platform for networking.

SDU University will continue to strengthen its ties with alumni and support their professional growth through such initiatives.

SDU University hosted an international workshop on programming and physical computing using the MicroBlocks platform, designed for future STEM educators. The event was organized as part of a collaboration between Artisan Education and the international MicroBlocks community.

The workshop featured distinguished speakers from Silicon Valley — Kathy Giori and Rekha Pai.

Kathy Giori is a technologist and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience. She has held engineering and product roles at Mozilla, Arduino, and Qualcomm, and earned a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. She is currently leading global educational initiatives for the MicroBlocks project.

Rekha Pai is an investor and expert in technological innovation. She serves on the investment committee of Silicon Valley Social Venture Fund and mentors participants in the international TechWomen program.

MicroBlocks is a modern educational platform for programming microcontrollers and learning physical computing. It uses visual blocks similar to Scratch and enables “live programming,” allowing users to run code directly on devices and observe sensor data and results in real time. The project is developed by an international team of engineers and researchers, including Scratch co-developer John Maloney.

The hands-on part of the workshop was conducted using PiBody educational kits developed by Artisan Education. These kits support learning in programming, engineering, and robotics.

The workshop was held in a Train-the-Trainers format and aimed at enhancing the professional competencies of future STEM teachers.

SDU University has been included in the prestigious QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 in the field of Education, which is part of the Social Sciences & Management category. The university ranked in the 351–400 range worldwide, demonstrating the high quality of its academic programs and the effectiveness of its internationally aligned professional training.

This year, the ranking covered more than 6,200 universities, with over 1,900 institutions featured in the final list. The evaluation was conducted across 55 subject areas.

SDU University’s achievement was driven by strong performance in key indicators, including academic reputation, employer reputation, research output and citations, as well as international research collaboration.

This accomplishment reflects the growing impact of SDU University in education and science and further strengthens its position on the global academic stage.

3.1415926535… This is not just a sequence of numbers, but one of the most mysterious and well-known symbols in the world of mathematics. To mark this special occasion, SDU University hosted a large-scale event — the International Pi Day Conference, bringing together students and leading technocrats of the country.

The event became an important platform for knowledge exchange and inspiration.

The key highlight of the conference was the diversity and depth of the topics presented. Each speaker, like the infinite number Pi, demonstrated the vast possibilities of their field:

• Aibek Kuatbay (CEO, Bugin Holding) delivered a talk on “The Startup Industry in Kazakhstan,” analyzing opportunities for young entrepreneurs and market dynamics.
• Nurgisa Yesirkenov (Associate Professor, KIMEP University) in his talk “Approaching π — Approaching Yourself” combined mathematics and philosophy, revealing new dimensions of personal development.
• Sadyk Sherimbek (Director of ÄjA, Partner and Strategic Lead at Qalan Group) impressed the audience with his topic “The Mathematical Secrets of Poetry, or How I Became a Technocrat,” highlighting the connection between art and technology.
• Zhumadir Nadira (Backend Java Developer, Alatau City Bank) shared insights on “The Most Valuable Career Skills: What You Can Learn but No One Teaches,” focusing on essential soft skills.
• Adilet Karim (Team Lead Data Scientist, Kazakhtelecom JSC) presented “Life.debug()”, drawing parallels between data science and life, emphasizing the importance of learning from mistakes.

The event took place at the Blue Hall, where participants showed great interest in the speakers’ ideas and actively engaged in interactive games and Q&A sessions.

The conference clearly demonstrated that mathematics is not just a theoretical science, but also the foundation of business, artificial intelligence, and even art and poetry.

Celebrating International Pi Day is becoming a strong tradition at SDU. This year’s conference once again inspired participants with new ideas, fresh perspectives, and strong motivation.

“Just as Pi is infinite, may our students’ curiosity and potential be limitless.”

We are proud to announce that Dina Bakranova, Associate Professor at the School of Information Technology and Applied Mathematics at SDU University, has been awarded the prestigious Naila Bazanova Prize presented by the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

This award is granted in recognition of outstanding contributions to science and is named in honor of Naila Bazanova (1911–1993), the first female academician of Kazakhstan and a founder of physiological science in the country.

The award ceremony was held in connection with International Women’s Day, highlighting the significant role of women in the advancement of modern science and technology.

The SDU University community congratulates Professor Dina Bakranova on this remarkable achievement and wishes her continued success and new accomplishments in her scientific career.

We are pleased to announce that the application period for the Academic Mobility Program, funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is now open for the Fall semester of the 2026–2027 academic year.

The funding provided by the Ministry covers the following expenses: Flight, Accommodation, Medical insurance, Visa fee

Europe – 6 quotas

Eligibility requirements:

— GPA 3.00 or higher;

— English language proficiency level not lower than B2 (Upper – intermediate).

— Priority will be given to second-year students who will be third-year students in Fall 2026

— No academic debts

It is necessary to provide the following list of documents:

1. Copy of passport
2. Official transcript (must be obtained from the Student Service Center: ssc@sdu.edu.kz)
3. Proof of English language proficiency (one of the following):IELTS certificate (minimum score 6.0) SDU Extension School – extension.school@sdu.edu.kz – test result (minimum level B2)
4. the student’s application in the form approved by the Rules of the organization of the educational process on credit technology of training, approved by the order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated April 20, 2011 No. 152 (registered in the Register of State Registration of Regulatory Legal Acts under No. 6976) (hereinafter – the application); (attached)
5. Completed questionnaire (attached)
6. Document confirming family composition (for students from large families, if applicable)
7. Official document confirming orphan status or absence of parental care (if applicable)
8. Document confirming disability status (if applicable)
9. Diplomas, certificates, letters of appreciation, and other achievements from the past three years (if available)

In case of equal scores, priority will be given to:

1. Orphaned students or students without parental care
2. Students with disabilities
3. Students from large families

Please submit the required documents to the SDU University office at Abylai Khan 1/1, Kaskelen, 040900, envelope marked as “Academic Mobility.” (Room C200, 2nd floor)

Documents are accepted until March 26, 2026. 

Coordinators on internationalization:

–           Diyar Nurmetov – diyar.nurmetov@sdu.edu.kz – School of Education and Humanities
–           Islam Supyaldiyarov – islam.supyaldiyarov@sdu.edu.kz – School of Social Sciences, Business and Law
–           Gulnara Saimassay – gulnara.saimassay@sdu.edu.kz – School of Information Technologies and Applied Mathematics (SITAM)

For additional information, please contact the International Relations Department: iro@sdu.edu.kz

The video tutorial is available at the link.