On March 19, 2024, a round table meeting was held in Astana, organized by the National Academy of Sciences and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs «Atameken.» The meeting focused on discussing ways to address the development of domestic science with the participation of leading scientists and business community leaders.
Opening the round table, President of the National Academy of Sciences A. Kurishbayev noted that the Head of State, K.K. Tokayev, constantly emphasizes the need to develop domestic science and enhance its role in strengthening the country’s economy.
Currently, as funding for scientific projects increases year by year and state support for scientists intensifies, it is important to increase the effectiveness of science and make it a reliable partner for the business community. To achieve this, we need to fundamentally revise our approaches and build a new strategy for the development of domestic science. Our main task is to make science applied. This will equip production with the necessary innovations and achieve a significant breakthrough in the country’s economic development. At the same time, all these changes must take into account the opinions of not only the scientific community but also the real sector of the economy.
The National Academy of Sciences plays an important role here. It should not become another administrative layer over scientists, subordinating scientific institutions to itself. It has its unique mission and vision: to become an autonomous, independent proposal-making, authoritative expert scientific organization that fills systemic gaps in the management of science. Based on foresight studies and technological forecasting, together with domestic businesses, it will determine the priority areas of scientific research.
In addition, the Academy will focus on the implementation of large interdisciplinary scientific projects aimed at solving important socio-economic problems of the country’s development. The development of five strategically important programs has already begun, the first of which is a program for the development of modern biotechnology in agriculture, which will achieve a significant breakthrough in increasing the yield of agricultural crops.
A. Kurishbayev also highlighted the necessity of developing regional science and the active participation of regional governors, regional universities and research institutes, and representatives of the business community in this work. He elaborated on the new initiative of the Academy: «Science in the Region for the Region,» which was presented at the recent National Kurultai.
He also noted that the Academy would become a magnet for talented youth in the field of science. The first steps in this direction have already been taken with the establishment of the Council of Young Scientists at the Academy for the first time. Mechanisms to support young talents are currently being developed. He proposed that businessmen support this initiative and establish a Fund for Financial Support for the best young scientists in the country.
In conclusion, A. Kurishbayev emphasized that meetings with the business community, like today’s, are extremely important for the Academy. They help develop a precise algorithm of practical steps aimed at closer integration of science with production.
Participants who spoke at the round table shared their views on measures to reform not only the Academy’s activities but also domestic science as a whole. They detailed current business problems and confirmed their readiness to work jointly with NAS RK.
The meeting concluded with the signing of a memorandum of understanding and cooperation between the National Academy of Sciences and the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs «Atameken.»
Event Details: Date: March 19, 2024 (Tuesday),
Time: 15:00
Venue: Astana, 19 Kabanbay Batyr, Block C, 3rd Floor, «Turkestan» Hall
Contact Person: Kuantar Alikhanov (+7 775 943 0305 Whatsapp)