ALMATY – Kazakhstan has more than doubled its research and development spending since 2023, expanded international university partnerships and increased support for young scientists as it seeks to build an economy driven increasingly by knowledge and technology.
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Science and higher education have become strategic priorities under a broader modernization agenda. The government’s approach increasingly links three areas that have often developed separately: training skilled professionals, producing scientific research and commercializing new technologies.
Science as an economic resource
According to the Kazakh Prime Minister’s press service, the scale of investment in research has grown substantially. Domestic spending on research and development increased from 121.5 billion tenge (US$228 million) in 2023 to 260 billion tenge (US$489 million) by 2026, more than doubling over three years.
The number of specialists working in research and development reached 28,374 in 2025, nearly one-third higher than four years earlier. Young scientists account for approximately half of Kazakhstan’s research community.
The government has also introduced changes aimed at strengthening the profession’s institutional and social foundations. Legislation now formally defines the status of scientists and research workers, while an ombudsperson institution for scientists and research workers has been established. The age limit for researchers eligible for support as young scientists has been raised to 44.
Financing mechanisms are also shifting toward a greater emphasis on practical outcomes. Alongside conventional research grants, Kazakhstan is expanding support for experimental and engineering work designed to produce prototypes, pilot models and technologies ready for application. The approach reflects a recognition that increasing research spending alone does not automatically produce an innovation economy. The more difficult question is whether scientific results can cross the gap between laboratories and the marketplace.
Kazakhstan reported that more than 1,200 fundamental and applied research projects were completed in 2025. The country is also implementing 241 innovation projects, while more than 30 domestically developed solutions have entered international markets.
Several projects illustrate the potential of this approach. Researchers at Satbayev University developed and introduced a technology for producing high-purity technical selenium through vacuum distillation, reaching 99.5% purity and increasing the product’s value for export markets. Scientists at Nazarbayev University have also developed technology for producing precursor materials for lithium-ion battery cathodes from domestic raw materials.
Such projects could become increasingly important as Kazakhstan seeks to move beyond its traditional role as a supplier of raw materials and participate in higher-value segments of global industrial and technological supply chains.
Universities move closer to research and innovation
This transition is also reshaping the role Kazakhstan expects universities to play. In an article for The Astana Times published in January, Dr. Yerzhan Tokbolat, a lecturer in finance at Queen’s University Belfast, and Miras Dolayev, professor of practice at Almaty Management University and founder and CEO of Data Science Academy, argued that Kazakhstan’s higher education sector has reached an important turning point.
They wrote that 2025 saw record numbers of international students enroll in Kazakh universities and improved positions for local institutions in international rankings,
“The foundations are now in place: flagship universities, international partnerships, and a generation of globally trained professionals. The next stage is to link education more directly with science, research, and innovation, ensuring that universities function not only as centers of learning but as engines of discovery and growth,” Tokbolat and Dolayev wrote.
That challenge closely reflects the direction of current government reforms. Kazakhstan is developing scientific and innovation-focused territories in Almaty, Kurchatov and Astana, intended to bring together universities, research organizations, high-tech companies and innovation infrastructure. Local authorities have also received greater powers to finance research based on regional scientific and technological priorities.
The government is simultaneously working to digitalize science management through the unified Kazakhstan Science information system, which is expected to consolidate data on research projects, organizations, funding and results. Artificial intelligence tools are also expected to support planning and decision-making.
Investing in the next generation of researchers
Whether Kazakhstan can build such an ecosystem will depend heavily on its ability to retain and develop researchers. The country continues to fund young scientists through the Zhas Galym grant program, doctoral education and industrial PhD programs designed to address practical challenges faced by the economy.
Nearly 3,000 doctoral places were allocated for the 2025-26 academic year, including places in industrial doctoral programs. International experience remains another part of the strategy. Since 2021, more than 1,500 Kazakh scientists have completed internships at leading foreign universities, laboratories and research centers. The government has also expanded social support. Between 2023 and 2026, 760 young scientists received housing under state support programs.
Internationalization changes Kazakhstan’s university landscape
Kazakhstan’s higher education system is also becoming increasingly international. Thirty-two branches of foreign universities from countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Germany, France, South Korea and Russia now operate in Kazakhstan.
The expansion is intended to make international education more accessible within the country while attracting international students and academic institutions to Kazakhstan. At the same time, Kazakh universities are expanding abroad, with branches operating in the Kyrgyz Republic, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Russia.
More than half of Kazakh universities offer dual-degree programs in cooperation with 131 universities across 24 countries. The Kozybayev University and the University of Arizona partnership marked another milestone in 2026 with its first graduating class.
From expanding access to creating economic value
The reforms are changing the scale and structure of Kazakhstan’s science and higher education system. The government increased research spending and more young people are entering scientific careers, while universities are becoming more internationally connected and greater attention is being given to commercialization.
Kazakhstan’s success in becoming a regional higher education hub could therefore depend on what happens after students enter university and researchers complete their projects. The decisive question is whether universities can become the engines of discovery and growth, producing not only graduates and academic publications, but technologies, businesses and ideas capable of competing beyond Kazakhstan’s borders.
