Diplomas Awarded to the First Graduates of the Almaty Branch of MEPhI

The Secretariat of the Pugwash Committee of Kazakhstan under KazNANS reports that on 4 August 2026, a solemn ceremony for awarding diplomas to the first graduates was held at the Almaty Branch of the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI. The event became a landmark for the higher education system of the Republic of Kazakhstan and an important stage in building national human resources capacity for the development of nuclear energy and high-technology sectors of the economy. The ceremony was attended by:

Sayasat Nurbek, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
Zhanseit Tuimebayev, Chairman of the Management Board – Rector of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University;
Nurzhan Nurakhov, Head of the Almaty Branch of NRNU MEPhI;
Professor Vladimir Shkolnik, President of the “Nuclear Society of Kazakhstan” Association – Chairman of the Pugwash Committee of Kazakhstan under KazNANS;

as well as members of the Pugwash Committee of Kazakhstan:

Timur Zhantikin, Deputy Chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Atomic Energy;
Sayabek Sakhiev, Director General of the Institute of Nuclear Physics under the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Atomic Energy, and others.

The Almaty Branch of NRNU MEPhI was opened in 2022 as part of the implementation of the initiative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan to open branches of leading foreign universities. Today, the branch implements educational programs in “Nuclear Physics and Technologies” and “Informatics and Computer Engineering”, providing engineering training for the nuclear industry, the digital economy and other high-technology sectors of Kazakhstan. Training is carried out according to the “3+1” model, which provides for study in Almaty and a final year of study at NRNU MEPhI (Moscow). The development of the branch is supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Rosatom State Corporation and the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Atomic Energy.

Nurzhan Nurakhov, Head of the Almaty Branch of NRNU MEPhI, opened the ceremony, noting that the first graduation was a practical result of the joint work of Kazakhstan and Russia in training engineering personnel.

Professor Vladimir Shkolnik – President of the “Nuclear Society of Kazakhstan” Association, Chairman of the Pugwash Committee of Kazakhstan under KazNANS and a graduate of NRNU MEPhI – emphasized in his address to the graduates the importance of continuous professional development:

“Once, at Department No. 5 of MEPhI, there was a poster: ‘A specialist is a person who, over time, knows more and more about less and less. And as a result – everything about nothing.’ This is, of course, a joke, but it makes one think seriously. Knowledge is infinite.”

Timur Zhantikin, Deputy Chairman of the Agency of the Republic of Kazakhstan for Atomic Energy, congratulating the graduates, emphasized that the implementation of national projects in the nuclear sphere requires the training of highly qualified engineers of a new generation and expressed confidence that the knowledge and competencies of the first graduates would be in demand in the development of the nuclear industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Sayabek Sakhiev – Director General of the Institute of Nuclear Physics under the RK Atomic Industry Agency and the first employer of graduates of the branch – noted the special role of practical student training based on the scientific infrastructure of the Institute of Nuclear Physics: “Today you are receiving not just a diploma, but are becoming the first specialists of the Almaty Branch of NRNU MEPhI who have undergone training using the scientific infrastructure of the Institute of Nuclear Physics,” emphasizing that practical student training was conducted using the WWR-K research reactor, the critical assembly, accelerator complexes and modern laboratories, which is consistent with international IAEA recommendations for training specialists for the nuclear industry.

The first graduation of the Almaty Branch of NRNU MEPhI became an important milestone in the development of engineering education in Kazakhstan and a practical confirmation of the effectiveness of cooperation between the state, universities and scientific organizations. Training specialists of international level creates a solid foundation for staffing the nuclear energy sector, developing science and high technologies, and strengthening the technological independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

More details are available on the website: http://www.nuclear.kz