From scientific school to digital geology

Kazakhstan's leading scientific center in the field of Earth science celebrated its 85th anniversary.  K. I. Satbayev Geological Sciences Institute timed the launch of the innovation center to the anniversary and presented new institutional projects for evolving the geoscience in Kazakhstan.

From the first years of its foundation, K. I. Satbayev Geological Sciences Institute has become a center for creating the scientifically based approaches to the subsurface study and natural resources rational use. The tradition of combining fundamental research with applied tasks in the interests of the state and society, laid down by Academician Kanysh Satbayev, remains relevant today.

Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in congratulating the staff, noted that the state’s Head Kassym-Jomart Kemelevich Tokayev had set large-scale tasks for geological industry that required strengthening the scientific potential: "In this regard, we consider K. I. Satbayev  Geological Sciences Institute as a key scientific center designed to provide scientific support for state policy in the subsoil use field," emphasized Sayassat Nurbek.

For decades, Institute has remained a strategic scientific center of Kazakhstan, determining the growth of geological science and mineral resource base of the country.

President of National Academy of Sciences under RK President Akhylbek Kurishbayev drew attention to the special role of the institute in shaping the scientific potential of the country: "I am confident that the accumulated scientific potential of Kanysh Satbayev Geological Sciences Institute over many years, rich experience and loyalty to the interests of society will allow us to adequately meet the challenges of XXI century and maintain the leader status of the national geological science." – Akhylbek Kurishbayev said.

Today, Geological Sciences Institute is preparing a new generation of geologists, conducting large-scale work on digitizing the stock materials, reports, monographs and dissertations to create its own neural network artificial intelligence platform “Kanysh” for working with geological data and searching for new deposits.

"We must restore the attractiveness of the profession and form a new generation of geologists in Kazakhstan who are able to think about the field, the era, and responsibility to the country," said Askar Syzdykov, Director of Geological Sciences Institute.

As a first step towards creating the complex, Institute opened an innovation center, which included named classrooms of academicians Shakhmardan Yessenov and Aitmukhamed Abdullin, an office of GeoLab Eurasia joint venture, Institute’s renovated laboratories, as well as GeoSpark workspace, which will become a center for scientific, educational, investment and high-tech solutions in geology. Club programs and professional tracks in the fields of GeoSciences, GeoEnergy, GeoResearch, GeoCritical, GeoEstimates & Policy, GeoAI and others will be implemented here.

The global growth in demand for critically important minerals attaches particular importance to the modern challenges of geology. Geology is once again becoming key to ensuring Kazakhstan's technological sovereignty. In these conditions, subsurface use is based on the principles of rationality, sustainability, scientific validity, environmental responsibility and technological development. K. I. Satbayev Geological Sciences Institute consistently solves these tasks, maintaining the continuity of the scientific school and relying on digitalization, international cooperation and the training of new personnel.