Nariman Mukushev provided valuable advice on personal effectiveness, habit formation, and the importance of consistency in achieving goals. According to him, great results are built through small daily actions. He also explained goal-setting using the SMART methodology and emphasized the importance of maintaining balance.

Nariman Mukushev has 20 years of experience in banking, IT, and public service. A separate part of the lecture focused on digitalization and the development of Halyk Bank’s ecosystem. The speaker also spoke about the company’s transformation into a technology platform.

It is worth noting that Halyk Bank is the largest commercial bank in Kazakhstan.

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Aray Bekembayev shared his personal success story and offered valuable advice on building a career in a large international company. He also spoke about inDrive’s projects in education, science, and the arts, and explained how technology and artificial intelligence help eliminate systemic barriers and improve the efficiency of public administration. The speaker encouraged students to define their mission while still studying in order to make a conscious choice between employment and starting their own business.

Aray Bekembayev has extensive experience managing large-scale projects in IT, business transformation, and process automation. He is a graduate of the American University in Dubai and Nazarbayev University. In 2020, he became the first Kazakhstani employee of inDrive, and two years ago he was appointed Head of the company’s business operations in Kazakhstan.

It is worth noting that inDrive is a globally popular platform for transportation and urban services. The company operates its largest regional hub in Kazakhstan, employing more than a thousand people.

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The media week was organized by the Television and Radio Complex of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan (TRC) and China Media Group (CMG). The event was held within the framework of a memorandum signed last year during the official visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, to Kazakhstan. MNU Provost Anar Ibrayeva expressed her gratitude to partners from TRC and CMG for providing students with the opportunity to gain knowledge from leading journalists of the Celestial Empire.

“CMG Media Week 2026 is a platform for dialogue between countries, cultures, and media professionals. The media week brought together people who shape the agenda. It is an excellent opportunity for future journalists to learn not from textbooks, but through direct interaction with international experts,” noted Anar Ibrayeva.

The event brought together CMG practitioners on a single educational platform. Throughout the week, intensive training sessions on multimedia content production were held, along with master classes aimed at developing reporting skills in an international environment. In addition, separate lectures by experts were organized for TRC employees.

“This is a unique project that became a reality thanks to our strategic partnership with China Media Group and the support of MNU. In the era of digitalization and the introduction of artificial intelligence, the event serves as an important platform for exchanging advanced experience and mastering new methods of media production. Our initiative is a long-term investment in the future of the industry and in strengthening the foundation of professional cooperation between Kazakhstan and China. We believe in the younger generation and sincerely hope that they will become leaders shaping the future of global media in the coming decades,” emphasized Robert Muradyan, Managing Director of the Television and Radio Complex of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

During the training sessions, students had the opportunity to work on real cases and present their own projects. Master classes were held on the production of television news reports, documentary films, storytelling, and podcasts. Special attention was paid to digital content production and the effective use of artificial intelligence technologies.

“The training sessions were interesting and useful. I did not expect that AI could be used for so many media products. We learned the proper use of artificial intelligence technologies and their ethical aspects. I really liked the approach of the Chinese trainers, as the topic of AI has not yet been fully explored, but we learned the rules that should be followed when using it,” said MNU student Ayaulym Amangeldina.

It is worth noting that China Media Group brings together more than 100 television and radio channels, as well as information platforms broadcasting in more than 80 languages. CMG’s correspondent network includes over 190 overseas bureaus in 67 countries. Following the media week, the best student projects were presented, and participants received certificates.

“Our visit to Kazakhstan became possible thanks to the cooperation between the Television and Radio Complex of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, MNU, and China Media Group. I was sincerely pleased to meet local students who are truly passionate about audio journalism and the art of podcasting. Overall, the students exceeded all expectations. They recorded interviews in Astana, collected audio materials for their final projects, and handled the tasks brilliantly. I was also impressed that MNU applies a practice-oriented approach to education,” emphasized CGTN Radio Editor-in-Chief Ning Yan.

It should be recalled that in 2024, as part of the partnership with TRC, the first Al Jazeera Week in Central Asia was also held at MNU.

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The theme of the MNU Annual Legal Conference 2026 was “Law in the Context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Dynamics and Stability.” The conference addressed the transformation of constitutional rights and freedoms in the era of digitalization, the protection of the rights of refugees and stateless persons through the analysis of judicial practice, as well as debated aspects of animal legal personality and the role of deontic modalities in legal logic. Participants also discussed the prospects for implementing international decent work standards in the platform economy within the framework of International Labour Organization initiatives, along with the development of the institution of corporate agreements in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan.

The event generated significant interest among young scholars. Around 60 representatives from leading universities in Kazakhstan and Russia delivered presentations. The conference served as a platform for those ready to analyze contemporary challenges, seek solutions to legal conflicts, and shape new trends in legal scholarship.

It is worth noting that the best presentations were recognized with special nominations, and the participants’ papers will soon be published in various academic collections.

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The parties discussed pressing issues regarding the development of cooperation in education and science. The French Senate delegation was briefed on the university’s international projects and initiatives, and they shared insights on the prospects for further developing the Kazakh-French strategic partnership. Furthermore, the university’s openness to expanding academic collaboration was highlighted.

During the meeting, MNU representatives emphasized that the official visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to Kazakhstan three years ago provided a significant boost to partnership ties. Evidence of this progress is the presence of French students currently studying at the university. As a reminder, Emmanuel Macron also delivered a lecture at MNU during his visit.

Notably, the delegation from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Armed Forces of the Senate of the French Republic arrived in Kazakhstan as part of a fact-finding mission aimed at strengthening the strategic partnership between the two nations.

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The competition, organized jointly with Middlebury College (USA), took place over three months. The organizers reviewed 10 projects and conducted interviews with the participants. The project “Speech for All” by Zhazira Karataeva, a student of the School of Liberal Arts, dedicated to inclusive access to early speech therapy support in Kazakhstan, was selected as the best.

Projects for Peace is a global program for young people aimed at developing innovative, community-oriented, and scalable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Through their work on the projects, student leaders expand their knowledge and improve their skills. The competition was founded in 2007 by Kathryn Wasserman Davis, who believed that young people should be motivated to take on the challenge of preparing for peace.

It should be noted, that MNU is a partner of Middlebury College. As part of the competition, the best projects are selected from students at over 100 universities worldwide.

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The award ceremony took place at the capital’s akimat. The MNU professor was awarded the medal for her significant contribution to the socio-political development of the country, her active civic stance, and her high level of responsibility in participating in key state processes. Special recognition was given to her activities as a member of the National Coalition “For the People’s Constitution of a Just and Progressive Kazakhstan!”, as well as her participation in explaining the draft of the new Constitution and in conducting the national referendum.

Professor Aliya Orazbayeva holds a Candidate of Legal Sciences degree and heads the MNU Institute of Constitutional and Political Research. As a reminder, a number of the university’s professors have previously also been honored with high state awards.

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The initiative is being implemented as part of the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence. During the first meeting of the Council for the Development of Artificial Intelligence, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev emphasized that every specialist, in addition to their core profession, should acquire digital skills and be able to apply AI in their work. MNU aims to support its graduates by equipping them with relevant knowledge to help them stay competitive in today’s world.

“Last year, the Head of State поручил the Ministry of Science and Higher Education to implement the AI Sana program for all students. While universities have ensured that 100% of students completed a basic course in artificial intelligence and its responsible use, MNU has already moved to the next stage by beginning to train its graduates. This is a unique program that we, as a ministry, support and plan to scale across all universities,” said Dinara Shcheglova, Vice Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The first cohort of the course launched at MNU on the eve of Kazakhstan’s Science Workers’ Day. The training was delivered by experienced university experts. In just two days, more than 50 graduates transitioned from everyday use of AI tools to systematic automation.

“Our course is structured so that on the first day participants gain general AI skills. They are then given a specially designed assignment and return the next day to describe the professional tasks they handle. Based on these tasks, our instructors offer each participant personalized automation scenarios. Upon successful completion, every participant will have their own customized AI assistant tailored to their specific needs,” said Sergey Pen, Deputy Chairman of the Board for Science, Innovation and Artificial Intelligence at MNU.

As part of AI Upgrade, the university plans to train over a thousand people. The course includes practical cases and prompts for designing automated scenarios, mastering modern no-code tools, integrating AI into workflows, automating tasks, structuring interactions with GPT, and integrating AI with popular online services. Upon completion, graduates will receive a customized AI assistant for professional use, a ready-made case for their portfolio, and will be able to build an automated workflow scenario and achieve a professional level of proficiency with AI tools.

“I work as a lawyer, so I came to this course with a practical goal — to learn how to use AI for filling out legal protocols and drafting legal documents. In today’s professional environment, such skills are becoming increasingly in demand and help save time. During the course, I gained useful knowledge and tools that I can already apply in my work. I am grateful to the university for this opportunity,” said MNU graduate Serik Sabit.

It is also worth noting that the university has previously launched two AI laboratories, announced a new educational program, AI+X, and held the international competition International Legathon MaxUP with the participation of students from 13 countries.

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This large-scale student competition took place within the framework of the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, declared by the Head of State. The competition brought together over 90 students from Azerbaijan, Germany, Georgia, India, Kazakhstan, Canada, China, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Russia, Romania, Uzbekistan, and Sri Lanka. During the event, participants examined the impact of new technologies on the legislative system, legal principles, ethics, and human rights.

“The issues addressed at the competition are not fictitious – they are issues that will become real within the next 10 years. Therefore, it is very important to understand everything and listen to the participants’ ideas. For myself, for example, I gained many ideas that can be applied. The format itself is very useful for lawyers, and such events should be held annually, attracting even more teams. Topics such as social policy, taxation, and judicial proceedings involving new technologies could also be raised,” noted Daniel Vaisov, Vice-Minister of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

“The International Legathon MaxUP will be beneficial for our country, as we are becoming a hub where the best ideas are gathered. Consequently, we will be the first to be able to implement them. After the competition, based on all the collected concepts, our professors will begin to formalize them as regulatory policy documents so that they can be used in the law-making process,” emphasized Sergey Pen, Vice-Chairman of the Management Board for Science, Innovation, and Artificial Intelligence at MNU.

During the competition, students presented their arguments on issues of liability for metaverse owners and treating the metaverse as an analogue of real states, regulation of virtual assets and the right to property protection for virtual entities, as well as the recusal of an AI judge and the legality of limiting time spent in virtual reality. Additionally, ideas were proposed for developing norms regulating the use of autonomous transport, synthetic content, and artificial intelligence in the economy. The team presentations were evaluated by vice-ministers of justice, science and higher education, a judge of the Supreme Court, partners from leading law firms, representatives of international companies, development institutions, and the diplomatic and educational spheres.

“We put a lot of effort into completing the first case at the competition. The assignment was very creative and multi-layered. Overall, we are satisfied with the result, because the author of the case said that we managed to defend it despite a weak position. For us, that is a point of pride; we prepared a lot, and winners are not judged. As champions of the first Legathon MaxUP, we are pleasantly surprised by the organization level this year; everything has become even better. We really like that the competition is expanding and has become a platform for lawyers dealing with the law of the future. In my opinion, the competition will become even larger each year, and I hope that more than 20 countries will participate next year,” emphasized Ravshan Idrisov, a student at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (Russia).

“It is a great honor for us to participate in the International Legathon MaxUP 2026. Thanks to this competition, we can learn different perspectives on different legal systems. This helps us understand law more deeply. Therefore, if there is an opportunity, we would be happy to participate in this competition again,” noted representatives of the team from China University of Political Science and Law (PRC).

Based on the competition results, the leaders in the Russian league were teams from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (Kazakhstan), Maqsut Narikbayev University (Kazakhstan), and the Ural State Law University named after V.F. Yakovlev (Russia). In the English league, the best results were shown by students from the University of Malaya (Malaysia), the Romanian-American University (Romania), and McGill University (Canada). The winner of the competition was the team from the first and most prestigious university in Malaysia – the University of Malaya. It should be noted that the total prize fund of the competition exceeded five million tenge.

“The event organization is top-notch. The debate round was educational; it was very interesting and informative. The second day was also important, especially the project we worked on for 6-7 hours. It was a new experience; everything was great. We performed quite well, scoring 7-8 out of 10. Next year, we definitely want to come back more confident and stronger,” noted representatives of the team from Almaty Management University (Kazakhstan).

“This is not only a competition, but also communication, bringing people together in science. Today’s modern world is developing so rapidly that, for example, AI has become a priority. We know that the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence has been declared in Kazakhstan; this is a very important moment. I think that science will save the world,” emphasized Parviz Gasanov, a team member from Baku State University (Azerbaijan).

As part of the competition’s cultural program, participants also visited the sights of the capital of Kazakhstan and tasted national dishes. The competition was held with the support of the AIFC Court, the Kazakhstan Bar Association of Legal Consultants, and the international law firm Baker McKenzie. Additionally, the event was supported by the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, law firms Unicase, KP Disputes, Turkenov Consulting, and lawyer Rena Kerimova.

“This is the only event in Kazakhstan and one of the few in the world that examines issues of legal regulation of artificial intelligence and the development of the digital infrastructure in which we already live from such a perspective. The students’ presentations were of a high standard, and I am confident that most of their proposals are either already being considered by legislators or will be addressed in the very near future. Time flows very quickly, and what we are talking about now is already our tomorrow. Therefore, we definitely need to think and talk about it,” said Alexander Korobeynikov, a partner at the international law firm Baker McKenzie.

“We are very happy to participate in Legathon MaxUP. We really liked your hospitality; you have very kind people. We were very excited, participated in the competitions, and it was thrilling. The capital is very beautiful; we saw so many buildings with architectural elements. I hope we can visit Astana again. The other teams were also competitive; they are really good, and we were very happy to interact with them,” noted representatives of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura (Sri Lanka).

It should be noted that the next International Legathon MaxUP will take place in 2027.

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The MNU team took first place at the third Young Logisticians Forum, themed “The New Generation of Central Asia.” The event was organized by the Kazakhstan branch of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (CILT) with support from Coventry University Kazakhstan and Doscar Group. The platform brought together future specialists and industry leaders in logistics and transport across Central Asia.

During the forum’s competition, which featured over 100 participants from 12 regional universities, students Alikhan Saiyn, Ayazhan Oraztaeva, and Aitemir Tusupkanov presented a conceptual model for a green logistics hub and an AI-driven platform. They also successfully defended their project during a Q&A session with the jury. Following their performance, the team was awarded a cash prize certificate and invited to join a paid internship at Status Management Group, a major logistics firm.

In addition, students Almas Zhakanov, Dilyara Almakhyn, and Nurzhigit Kairullayev became silver prize-winners of the “Stock Pitch Competition.” The tournament was organized by Nazarbayev University in partnership with the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange and investment firms Global Ventures and Atlas Capital. As part of the competition, the students conducted an investment research project on the multinational holding company Meta, focusing on valuation, key investment drivers, and long-term risks.

Furthermore, student Akzhanibek Tolegen secured second place at the national Big4 case championship. Presenting before “Big Four” professionals, he provided a comprehensive market analysis, built financial models, and proposed various strategic solutions. The competition took place at KIMEP University with more than 300 participants.

Additionally, MNU students participated in the Integrity Case Championship, held during the annual Integrity Forum at Nazarbayev University. The tournament involved 35 student teams who presented initiatives aimed at strengthening a culture of care within the university environment. The MNU team earned the bronze prize in the championship.

It is worth noting that earlier, MNU students also achieved a historic result at the world’s premier international law competition.

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