ASTANA – KAZGUU University has launched a special grant programme during the Year of Youth to demonstrate its institutional support for young researchers and generate new knowledge. The university is providing five, three-year PhD grants in public law and private law.
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev highlighted the many relevant topics in young people’s lives and separately emphasised active assistance to young scientists and attracting young people to the field at the Jan. 23 Year of Youth opening ceremony.
In addition to full funding, KAZGUU provides a young researcher with accommodations for the entire period of study and, after successfully defending one’s thesis, offers employment opportunities at the university.
“The main requirements for candidates include a qualitative and relevant substantiation of a research topic, IELTS 6.5 or TestDAF B1 (or equivalents) certificates in English or German and results of previously-conducted research. At the first stage of competition, applicants’ documents are considered by the competition commission in absentia. After that, an interview will be arranged. The correspondence stage of the competition will be held until April 30. Interviews with applicants who have passed the correspondence stage will be held before June 20. All documents and materials should be sent to the official website of the university, www.kazguu.kz,” said KAZGUU Law School Director Sergei Pen.
The President also spoke about the need to help young Kazakh scientists transfer their ideas into real projects and instructed increasing the number of grants allocated for the work by three billion tenge (US$8 million).
“We clearly understand that the primary mission of the universities is to make research and not focus only on academic activity. It means that we have to maintain the research interest and support the research capacity of young professionals, who have to meet all modern requirements. One of the key requirements among them is knowing foreign languages, especially languages in which the main body of legal scientific information is generated. Personal research and personal practical experience are also very important. Such young scientists are able to be the most successful in getting topical and applicable results, which are demanded by the market and allow rethinking or correcting the fundamental provisions to create the new legal reality,” said Pen.
