Supporting talented young people, teachers and active citizens, advancing inclusion and delivering large-scale education initiatives formed the core of a packed programme during the Days of the Nursultan Nazarbayev Foundation in the Akmola Region. Foundation representatives shared the details, the infohub.kz website reports.
From 27 to 30 October, foundation staff visiting the region took part in a number of significant events. One was the regional competition for young teachers, "Jas Ustaz Digital: From Idea to Innovation." The contest aims to identify, support and spread effective teaching practices built on digital technologies, the STEM approach, pedagogical research and the use of artificial intelligence.
The competition was held in the following categories: "Best Digital Lesson," "Best STEM Project," "Artificial Intelligence in a Teacher's Work," "Best Virtual Laboratory," "Best Educational Digital Product," "Digital Technology for Inclusive Education," "Best Pedagogical Research" and "Digital Debut." The Nursultan Nazarbayev Foundation sponsored the event, establishing prizes for the winners.
An important part of the visit was robotics training for the region's school teachers, organised by the foundation together with Robotek, a leading robotics school. The training was conducted under a programme based on the course "Building Professional Competencies for Teachers in Educational and Sports Robotics," which is included in the list of advanced training programmes approved by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The project is aimed at improving teachers' qualifications and passing on to schoolchildren knowledge in robotics, electronics, engineering and programming.
No trip to the regions is complete without a visit to Qamqorlyq rehabilitation centres. The Qamqorlyq project has been running for six years in partnership with regional akimats, the Samruk-Kazyna Trust corporate fund and the Kazakhstan Khalkyna national welfare fund. Over that time, 61 centres have opened and more than 115,000 children have received rehabilitation.
In the city of Kokshetau, the foundation opened a rehabilitation centre together with the regional akimat and the Kazakhstan Khalkyna fund in 2022. The centre, equipped with modern technology, accepts children with musculoskeletal disorders aged 3 to 18. Every day, special education teachers, psychologists, speech therapists, neurologists, therapeutic physical training instructors and other specialists work there. The centre's specialists have completed three-stage training funded by the Nursultan Nazarbayev Foundation.
Over five years of operation, the centre has received about 3,300 children. During their visit, Nursultan Nazarbayev Foundation staff presented a certificate for the purchase of household appliances for the facility.
It has become a tradition for support for active citizens carrying out socially important work to be an important part of the foundation's days in the regions. During the trip to the Akmola Region, a meeting was held with representatives of non-governmental organisations. At the meeting, on behalf of the Nursultan Nazarbayev Foundation, a certificate for the purchase of equipment and materials for a crisis centre for victims of domestic violence in the city of Stepnogorsk was presented to the Zhenschiny Luch public association. The Korgalzhyn Ecological Observatory private institution received financial assistance to implement the research and practical project "Green Code of Sustainability: Technological Foresight of Eco-Clubs of the Korgalzhyn Ecological Observatory" in the villages of Zharlykol and Zhalgyzkudyk in the Akmola Region.
By joining forces with government bodies, educational institutions and active citizens, the foundation continues to invest systematically in key areas of public life, opening up new opportunities for the development of Kazakhstanis.