Creation of int'l IT technopark in Almaty discussed in China

BEIJING. KAZINFORM - Rector of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Galym Mutanov discussed with reps of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China the possibility of creation of an international IT technopark at the university, Kazinform correspondent in China reports. 

If launched, the technopark will function under the aegis of the University Alliance of the Silk Road that unites over 130 universities in the world.

The meeting was organized with the support of the Kazakh Embassy in China. The sides were equally of the opinion that joint implementation of research projects and partnership in IT sphere will strengthen mutually profitable relations between the two counties and boost development of the New Silk Road.

At the meeting, Mr. Mutanov underlined that the Digital Kazakhstan is one of the key programs highlighted by President Nursultan Nazarbayev in his latest address. "IT technologies should drive technological modernization of Kazakhstan's economy and enhance competitiveness of the country. This is one of the priorities in activities of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University," he said.

As a reminder, during his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2015, President Nazarbayev suggested creating a world-class IT technopark, the analogue of the Silicon Valley.

On June 8, 2017, Kazakhstan and China signed the intergovernmental memorandum during Xi Jinping's visit to Astana to attend the opening ceremony of the EXPO-2017. As per memorandum, the Government of China granted a supercomputer to the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University. The supercomputer will be the core of the said IT technopark and the supercomputer and cloud-based computing center.

The project will allow to create a single data processing center for all tertiary institutions in Kazakhstan and give a new impulse to the use of information technologies in academic process and educational services.

As the leading center of science and innovations, the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University is engaged in training of highly-skilled specialists for Kazakhstan's ‘smart' economy. Research and educational centers and laboratories of many top-ranking IT companies, namely Hewlett Packard, Cisco, Konika Minolta, Samsung, Microsoft, Alcatel, Huawei and more, already function at the university.