Satbayev University uses the foresight format to fulfill President's instructions

On October 4, a foresight session with experts, staff and students of the university on "Comprehensive support for youth" topic began at Satbayev University, dedicated to discussing President's message and working out real steps to implement it.

Foresight is a discussion format that allows participants to assess trends, build a system forecast, see the image of the future and work out real actions in its context. The main feature of foresight is that it involves not so much foreseeing the future as planning it. The working groups’ participants use such tools as expert panels, SWOT analysis, brainstorming, roadmaps and so-called "time maps", on the basis of which they create specific plans for the organization’s growth.

The discussion began with a speech by Yerzhan Kuldeyev, Management Board’s member, Vice-Rector for Corporate Development and Strategic Planning, Chairman of Amanat Party’s primary organization. He reported on President's instructions implementation to create a research hub at Satbayev University.

After the speakers' speeches, the participants moved on to work in teams to elaborate real ways to achieve results in such areas as development of scientific teams, the creation of new engineering technologies, how to develop a symbiosis of science and education due to digitalization, commercialization and other topics.

"Development of science, technology and innovation is one of the key areas for improving the country’s competitiveness," Tokayev said at the anniversary session of National Academy of Sciences in June this year. The foresight participants agreed with the given idea and noted that in order to respond to the current global challenges, national research universities should become the driving force of the country's economy and the center of attraction for promising scientific personnel. One of the tools will be digitalization that will allow moving away from the traditional format of education and will help to respond quickly to changes in the situation and implement scientists’ ideas.

At the same time, implementation of scientific elaborations should be primarily practical. To do this, the university plans to develop a pilot testing infrastructure and build science and technology parks, where scientists, along with students, will be able to master the competencies of promoting their ideas. This would become an intermediate link between scientific research and commercialization and would give the project authors an opportunity to show the relevance of their elaborations.

At Satbayev University foresight session the current tasks and problems of youth policy in science and technology sphere were highlighted. "Comprehensive support for young people is one of our absolute priorities," Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said in his message. Therefore, an important area of work on creating the research hub based on Satbayev University should be an alignment of the active dialogue with young people and supporting young scientists and inventors. Such support has always been Satbayev University’s priority.