Nazarbayev University’s students and alumni became recipients of social grants under the Social Impact 2023 competition

On December, 7 an official announcement of grantees of social projects took place as per the results of the “Social Impact 2023” social project competition among the Nazarbayev University community organized by “Social Development Fund” Corporate Fund.

Nazarbayev University’s students of all majors, alumni as well as employees of Nazarbayev University and its organizations took part in the competition for the “Social Development Fund” Grant.

The grant recipients are the active members who are ready to solve issues of children with disabilities, education, development and teaching of the Kazakh language, raising awareness of breast cancer, developing STEM education among girls and women, preparing rural youth for admission to higher education institutions and other issues.

In the course of the event, the Fund’s grantees from the previous years and experts spoke about their experiences and difficulties encountered in implementing their projects, approaches to solving problems and mechanisms for financing social initiatives.

The projects were assessed by 6 experts:

1. Alpamys Assabayev – Chairman of the Council of “NU Alumni” Association, Expert in Management and International Relations, Gender Equality and Sustainable Development.
2. Maulen Akhmetov – Founder of “Kunde” Cafe, NU Alumnus, Social Entrepreneur.
3. Gaini Yessimbekova – Director of Career and Advising Center of the “Nazarbayev University” Autonomous Educational Organization/Expert in Education Leadership and Management, Career Consultant.
4. Aliya Sabitova – Founder of “Up&Gо” Project, Co-Founder of “Clover Foundation” Fund, Association of Social Innovators, Association of Inclusive Society Development and Children Center “Up&Gо” For Special Children.
5. Dina Shaikhislam – Alumnus of Nazarbayev University, Founder of “Children’s Development Foundation” Fund, Consultant of International Projects, Political Consultant.
6. Bakhnur Ziyabekov – Founder of “Hello Aul” Project, Founder of “Alpha Academy” Association, Vice-President of Mathematicians Association of Kazakhstan, Expert in Education and Career Guidance.

As a result of the competition, 18 projects totaling 22,783,039 tenge were announced as Grant Winners, among them:

1. Madina Satybaldinova – “Role of Parent in Supporting Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Path to Academic Success”.
2. Islam Shintemirov – “SheCodes”, 24-hour Hackathon Among Girls in IT.
3. Gulfairuz Iniyatova – “Chemsaya”, Teaching Chemistry with Demonstration of Experiments Among Schoolchildren in Grades 7-8.
4. Aruzhan Madet – “Asyq Arman”, Creation of Educational Materials on Plant and Cell Morphology in Kazakh to Reduce the Need for High-Quality Educational Materials.
5. Aida Iskakova – “Daughter’s Diary”, Provision of Psychological Support and General Awareness on Influence of Father in Family.
6. Nurlygul Smat – “Club for Developing and Practicing Public Speaking, Organizational and Communicative Skills in Kazakh”.
7. Margulan Mupteke – “Myñ Shyraq”, Conducting Extracurricular Activities (Summer Camp) for Schoolchildren of Grades 5-9.
8. Inabat Akanova – “Taspa”, IOS-Application for Learning Kazakh.
9. Aizat Arystanbek – “Student Peace Ambassadors Transforming Schools”, Selection and Preparation of Peace Ambassadors Among Schoolchildren of Grades 8-11 to Prevent Bullying.
10. Gulnaz Kordanova – “Connect-Ed”, Collection and Transfer of Repaired Computers to Children from the Socially Vulnerable Category, Creation of an Online Course on Digital Literacy for Schoolchildren of Grades 5-9.
11. Makpal Akishova – “Breast Cancer Awareness”, Conduction of Information Campaign in Fighting Breast Cancer.
12. Nagimash Askergali – “Businessvue Junior”, Training Rural Schoolchildren to Entrepreneurship.
13. Ainur Akmurziyeva – “Empowering Girls and Women through STEM Education in Kazakhstan and Central Asia”.
14. Togzhan Nurmaganbetova – “Silver Age is a New Beginning”, Provision of Complex Support to Unemployed Women Aged 45+.
15. Dana Nygmetzhanova – “AyulReach”, Preparation of Schoolchildren from Rural Schools to Enter University.
16. Anel Umirbayeva – “InBio”, Raising Awareness of Science, Provision of Information Support to Young Students Interested in STEM and Popularization of Science.
17. Yerkezhan Akhmadiyeva/Muhammad Habib Abdulla – “Ozge”, Preparation of Schoolchildren from the Socially Vulnerable Category of Population to Enter University.
18. Aigerim Temirgaliyeva – “Ayala”, Creation of Informative Community of Women Who Experienced Breast Cancer.

Thus, the Social Development Fund plans to continue supporting social projects in the mentioned areas based on requests of the University community.

It is important to note that the “Social Impact 2023” competition was held to support social innovations of the Nazarbayev University community.

The implementation of the mentioned projects will not only contribute to solving social problems of society, but it will also be a part of the Nazarbayev University ecosystem with its each member implementing social initiatives, maintaining contacts with their Alma Mater, developing project management skills, and interacting with various categories of people and leadership.