Central Asian Research Forum addresses sustainable development in post-COVID recovery

LONDON, 15 March 2021 – Global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) during and after the pandemic was the main topic of the Fourth Central Asian Research Forum on Sustainable Development and Innovation. The event is taking place on 15-19 March in a ‘hybrid’ format with the participation of speakers from the United Kingdom, Central Asian states, and other regions.

The annual forum is hosted by the Kazakhstan PhD Association in the UK (Association) with the support of the Nursultan Nazarbayev Foundation and the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the UK.

Erlan Idrissov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the UK and the Association’s Mentor, opened the first session titled ‘Partnership and Cooperation for Sustainable Development in Central Asia’. He stressed that the past year has highlighted the fundamental role of science and innovation in the fight against the pandemic and the particular importance and relevance of health and climate change issues. In this context, Ambassador Idrissov stressed that human capital is Kazakhstan’s most valuable resource. He also noted that the Association is an excellent intellectual platform that unites more than 130 scientists from Kazakhstan, students and graduates of leading universities of the UK, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and the United States. He noted that the goals and objectives set by the Association for the forum fully correspond to the strategic goals of the First President of Kazakhstan – Elbasy Nursultan Nazarbayev and President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in the spheres of human resources development and enhancing the efficient innovative and technological contribution to Kazakhstan’s economy.

Heads of development institutions in Central Asia, prominent representatives of business and government agencies also attended the session.

Speakers included Michaela Friberg-Storey, UN Resident Coordinator in Kazakhstan; Eric Lawrie, Director of British Council Kazakhstan; Kenzhebek Ibrashev, Rector of the Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU); Chingiz Kanapyanov, Partner at GEC Consulting; Grigoriy Savva, Associate Director of the Sustainable Infrastructure Group of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; Genadiy Rau, Economics Officer at the Asian Development Bank; Professor Elizabeth Peel, Associate Pro Vice-Chancellor at Loughborough University; Arthur van Diesen, Representative of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Kazakhstan; and Serik Shakarim, Managing Partner at Seedstars Nabu Ltd.

“The pandemic has severely hit the progress that we had made on SDGs around the globe. And we need innovation, research, new approaches and new ideas to regain what we lost and to move forward,” said Ms Friberg-Storey, emphasising that the most important thing in this regard is to expand and develop the partnership network with a focus on science and innovation at all levels of interaction.

Mr Lawrie highlighted the relevance of the forum in terms of enhancing Kazakh scientists’ interaction with the global scientific community and the benefit the event bears not only for scientists, but also for the innovative development in Kazakhstan and the Central Asian region.

Mr Rau stressed that Kazakhstan needs a more vigorous innovative and scientific development, including in terms of funding, in order to enhance the economy’s competitiveness, especially in the post-COVID period.

“We are observing an evolution in the way young scientists position their scientific research in three directions: a new monetisation model aimed at building a sustainable project model; a clear formulation of a value proposition that would be of interest to all stakeholders and support institutions; and training of change managers both in the corporate sector and in governmental bodies,” said Daniyar Medetov, moderator of the session and Head of the Association’s Innovation Team.

Aliya Sembayeva, President of the Association, highlighted the young Kazakh scientists’ willingness to provide direct scientific, analytical, and expert assistance to the development of Kazakhstan’s innovation ecosystem through R&D, training and implementation of corporate innovations to tackle the issues in the industrial sector’s transitioning to Industry 4.0 and the development of the green economy.

Mr Shakarim gave examples of successful scientific start-ups in Kazakhstan and offered assistance in the implementation of advanced research projects by Kazakh scientists.

The forum sessions are being hosted at the premises of KBTU and the Astana Hub international technology park for IT start-ups in the format of brainstorming that would enable the creation of a joint strategy for the development of the innovation ecosystem in the region.

The forum is a unique platform for young talented researchers from Central Asia that allows them to bring forward their advanced research projects on sustainable development to discuss, cooperate and find means of practical implementation.

The upcoming discussions at the forum will focus on such topics as Central Asian cities in search of new approaches to governance after COVID-19, corporate innovation, women empowerment, and achieving health and safety targets in Central Asia.

To register and participate in the forum, click the following link: https://www.kpauk.org/projects/carf_forum/.