AI-Sana Program: Digital Transformation of Education in Kazakhstan

AI Competencies via the AI-Sana Program. Ayan Ramazan | Interview

02.08.2026

The "AI-Sana" program is demonstrating impressive results: students from Kazakhstani universities have already developed more than 400 ready-made solutions based on artificial intelligence. Ayan Ramazan, Director of the Digitalization Department of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, talks about an innovative approach to education that connects academic knowledge with real business demands. Major companies — ArcelorMittal Temirtau, KazMunayGas, and others — are already collaborating with universities, receiving automated solutions from student teams.

KInEU Students Completed Training Under the AI-SANA Program

10.07.2026

In July 2026, training for students of M. Dulatov KInEU was completed as part of the next stage of the state program AI-SANA.

165 KInEU students were enrolled in the program on the Platonus Academy platform. Based on the results of the training, 84 students successfully fulfilled the requirements and received certificates.

The program was aimed at developing practical competencies in the field of artificial intelligence and technological entrepreneurship.

Participants studied the following areas:

fundamentals of artificial intelligence and machine learning;
application of generative AI and prompt engineering;
industry-specific AI use cases;
design thinking and the basics of technological project development.

The participation of KInEU students in the program is a continuation of the university's systematic work within AI-SANA, which includes teaching AI technologies, developing in-house AI agents, supporting student projects, and integrating AI into educational processes.

The next focus of the AI-SANA program is the development and acceleration of promising AI projects. According to the program's implementation model, the third stage provides for the selection and scaling of up to 1,500 AI projects through pre-acceleration, acceleration, and post-acceleration mechanisms.

Expert Paul Kim: Why AI-Sana is a Unique Project for the Region

05.05.2026

International expert Paul Kim evaluates the Kazakhstani initiative as a breakthrough model for personnel training. Particularly noteworthy is the program's gender balance — half of the participants are women — and the use of the innovative SMILE platform for developing entrepreneurial ideas. The video reveals how practical training with AI tools creates specialists demanded by the real economy.

KInEU Establishes a Unified Standard for AI Proficiency: Over 2,000 Verified Certificates

07.01.2026

M. Dulatov Kostanay Engineering and Economics University continues the systematic implementation of the AI-Sana initiative. As of early 2026, the university has formed a large-scale and fully verified database of digital competencies among students and faculty members.

According to KInEU's ERP system data, the following indicators have been achieved:

Astana Hub — 1,890 students successfully completed training and received verified certificates;
Coursera — 49 specialized certificates in dedicated artificial intelligence fields;
Class of 2025 — over 500 graduates completed training in AI programs on the Astana Hub platform.

All certificates have undergone authenticity verification and have been uploaded to the university's ERP system. Thus, the university records confirmed digital skills rather than nominal figures.

100% Faculty Coverage and Mandatory Digital Standard

KInEU ensured 100% completion of AI training among faculty members. Proficiency in artificial intelligence tools is established as a mandatory professional standard at the university.

The university has introduced a mandatory digital clearance model:

every new employee and lecturer undergoes AI training based on Astana Hub as a condition of starting work;
every student is required to complete an introductory AI course as part of university requirements.

In this way, a uniform level of digital literacy is formed throughout the entire academic ecosystem.

"For us, it is not the number of certificates that matters, but verified competence. Every document uploaded to the ERP represents a real skill. Mandatory training for staff and students allows us to form a sustainable digital culture at the university," noted Alisher Amantaev, Head of the Digitalization Department.

A systematic approach to digital training allows KInEU to quickly adapt educational processes to the requirements of the labor market, where AI proficiency is becoming a basic qualification for modern specialists.

Ideas of the Future

03.11.2025

On November 3, 2025, the "Qostanai AI-Sana Industry Hackathon: Allur Challenge" concluded in Kostanay, bringing together talented youth from various regions of Kazakhstan.
Over the course of three days, 16 teams, including three teams from KInEU, developed solutions for real industrial tasks of the Allur company using artificial intelligence technologies.

Participants completed a series of masterclasses and workshops from experts at ITU, NIT EC JSC, Wildberries, and other partners, acquiring valuable skills in data analysis and project presentation.
Following the finals, the "NextGenDeys" team from KInEU took second place and received a certificate for 300,000 KZT. The winners were "Lkpat" (KRU) and "Syghanaq" (NIS).

The hackathon served as an example of effective cooperation between education, business, and government in developing digital technologies. KInEU leadership and representatives of the ITU, the regional Akimat, and Allur emphasized the importance of the AI-SANA initiative for building new competencies and supporting young talent.

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At the Intersection of Industry and Artificial Intelligence

01.11.2025

On November 1, 2025, the "Qostanai AI-Sana Industry Hackathon: Allur Challenge" launched at M. Dulatov Kostanay Engineering and Economics University, combining industry and artificial intelligence.
For three days, participants from leading universities in Kazakhstan will work on real industrial challenges presented by Allur, a leader in the domestic automotive industry. The main goal is to develop an AI system capable of identifying defect spots in automotive paintwork in real time using machine learning and computer vision technologies.

The event is held with the support of the International Telecommunication Union, Qostanai Hub, Allur, and the Akimat of Kostanay Region as part of the AI-Sana initiative aimed at developing AI competencies.
The hackathon program includes masterclasses, mentoring sessions, and startup development workshops. The finals will take place on November 3, where teams will present their projects to business and academic experts.

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KInEU's Experience at the QostanAI Conference

30.10.2025

On October 30, 2025, the "QostanAI Conference" took place in Kostanay, dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence and regional innovations.
At the event, Almat Kushebaev, a web programmer from KInEU's Digital Solutions and AI Development Department, presented the university's experience in implementing AI technologies under the AI-SANA program.

During his speech, he spoke about five custom-developed AI agents that help automate and improve the university's internal processes: "Academic Navigator", "Applicant Support", "Opinion Analyst", "Dropout Forecast", and "Education Quality Control".

KInEU's experience was recognized as an example of effective digital transformation in education, confirming the university's high level of innovative development.

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Preparing Students for the Era of Artificial Intelligence

10.10.2025

Today, digital technologies are radically changing the labor market, making specialists with AI competencies increasingly sought after. On behalf of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the AI-Sana program was launched in Kazakhstan, involving over 100,000 students in artificial intelligence projects.

Main focus areas of the program:

Universities are integrating courses from leading partners — Astana Hub, Huawei, Coursera.
Necessary computing power is provided via the Alem Cloud National Supercomputer Center and university clusters.
To support innovation, acceleration for 1,500 student AI projects is being launched, the best of which will be scaled via the Alem.AI platform.

KInEU AI Agents

M. Dulatov Kostanay Engineering and Economics University actively implements artificial intelligence technologies to automate educational processes and improve teaching quality. In 2025, a development program for five specialized AI agents is being carried out at the university.

Implemented AI Agents

Currently, a suite of AI agents providing educational support and quality management has been successfully deployed:

"Applicant Support" — helps prospective students quickly obtain information about admission rules, required documents, deadlines, and other organizational matters. Features online consultation capabilities and integration with internal university databases.

"Academic Navigator" — allows students to build individual learning tracks, select elective courses, and track academic progress. Additionally features career development recommendations and integration with the e-learning system.

"Opinion Analyst" — collects and intelligently analyzes student feedback regarding the educational process and infrastructure quality, enabling prompt identification of problem areas and automated report generation.

"Dropout Forecast" — analyzes academic performance and behavioral metrics for early identification of at-risk students to take timely preventive measures.

"Education Quality" — designed for comprehensive evaluation of study programs, faculty performance, and the educational environment, contributing to higher academic standards and internal quality control.

Results of AI Technology Implementation

The current implementation of AI agents has yielded the following practical outcomes:

Answer automation: A portion of standard applicant and student inquiries has been transferred to AI agents, reducing response wait times and easing staff workload during peak periods.
Information accessibility: Students can quickly check details regarding learning trajectories and university regulations 24/7.
Digital reporting: The introduction of analytical tools simplified performance monitoring, allowing faster identification of students requiring extra academic support.
Practice-oriented learning: The curriculum is supplemented with relevant AI case studies, improving alignment with modern technical demands.
Technological upgrade: The work completed confirmed the readiness of the university infrastructure to integrate modern digital services.

Qostanai AI-Sana Industry Hackathon: Allur Challenge to Take Place at KInEU

10.10.2025

From November 1 to 3, 2025, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Qostanai Hub, and M. Dulatov Kostanay Engineering and Economics University (KInEU) will host the "Qostanai AI-Sana Industry Hackathon: Allur Challenge". The problem case will be presented by Kazakhstani automotive company Allur. Talented students and specialists in IT and data analysis are invited to participate.

The mission of the hackathon is to assemble talented teams and minds to create AI-driven solutions for real business and societal challenges, accelerating AI adoption and driving progress.

The competition asks participants to solve an Allur assignment requiring machine learning and computer vision methods. Participants will build an AI system that analyzes component photos in real time to detect paint defects: gaps, spots, runs, and excess coating. The goal is to speed up quality control and reduce manufacturing defect rates.

Key conditions and participant benefits:

Prizes for the best team solutions
Expert mentor support at all stages
Access to real-world datasets
Feedback from industry experts

The prize pool is 1 million KZT, along with valuable prizes for the winners.

Qostanai AI-Sana Industry Hackathon: Allur Challenge is organized in support of the AI-Sana initiative aimed at training artificial intelligence specialists. The hackathon is supported by the Akimat of Kostanay Region.

The hackathon will be hosted at KInEU. Teams of three to five people are eligible. Registration is open on the official project website until October 28 at 23:59. To apply, visit: https://forms.amocrm.ru/rcldvzd

The ITU, together with partners, is conducting a startup initiative event at KInEU for the third time. In March of this year at the AI CHALLENGE 2025 hackathon, teams presenting solutions in EdTech, MediaTech, and customer request automation won — cases were provided by leading Kazakhstani companies Aitomaton and NITEC. In 2023, the ITU conducted startup creation training for students and faculty to provide an overview of startup stages, idea discovery, and project evaluation.

About the International Telecommunication Union

The United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies. The ITU drives ICT innovation alongside 194 member states and over 1,000 companies, universities, and international and regional organizations. The ITU supports startup innovation and follows a youth strategy to engage young people in its activities.

About Qostanai Hub

The regional branch of Astana Hub, the international IT startup technopark in Central Asia, located in Kostanay. The goal of Qostanai Hub is to promote startup culture and the IT community in the Kostanay region.

About Allur

A Kazakhstani automotive company and the country's leading automaker, contributing to the nation's automotive sector for 22 years. Allur is the official distributor and dealer for car brands including Kia, Chevrolet, JAC, Jetour, Skoda, and Li Auto.

AI Week at KInEU: Immersing Students in the World of Artificial Intelligence

03.10.2025

A large-scale "AI Week" was held at M. Dulatov Kostanay Engineering and Economics University, aimed at promoting artificial intelligence technologies and digital transformation in education as part of the nationwide AI-Sana program.

From September 29 to October 3, the university's academic buildings turned into venues for discussions, practical workshops, and creative reflections on the future of technology. The event was organized by the Digitalization and IT Department together with the Department of Information Technologies and Automation.

Cinema, Theory, and Practice
The week opened with an unusual format — a collective screening and discussion of a feature film about AI. Students in the main auditorium not only watched the plot unfold but also analyzed the ethical aspects of human-machine interaction, developing critical thinking.

The practical part featured the seminar "AI: Theory and Practice". Digitalization Department specialists demonstrated operational AI systems and real-world case studies of neural network applications in manufacturing and business.

Dialogue with Experts
The key event was the round table "Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation: Challenges and Opportunities for Kazakhstani Youth". Representatives of Aitomation LLC participated in the discussion. The experts shared their vision of the future job market, noting that AI skills are becoming a fundamental requirement for a successful career.

Student Voice
The week concluded with an active Talk session "AI in Everyday Life". Students across various majors — from energy engineering to economics — completed a survey and shared views on how AI assists their studies and what changes they expect in their future professions.

"Implementing AI technologies at KInEU is not just a trend, but a strategic step toward training a new generation of specialists. AI Week showed that our students are ready not only to use existing tools but also to create their own solutions," noted Alisher Amantaev, Head of the Digitalization Department.

Government-Level Support

02.10.2025

On October 1, 2025, at a meeting of the Council on Artificial Intelligence under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Head of State highlighted the successes of the AI-Sana program — over 440,000 students have already earned specialized certificates in AI.
The President noted that such programs are extremely beneficial, as these platforms enable top projects to grow into startups and enter the international market.

AI SANA Generative Nation Competition

As part of the international Digital Bridge 2025 forum, an award ceremony was held for the winners of the AI SANA Generative Nation competition.
Laureates were recognized across four categories:

Best School AI Project — Úmit — an interactive mouthguard for individuals with disabilities, allowing them to control devices via head and tongue movements.
Best Student AI Project — Beelieve — a smart beekeeping system that prevents bee extinction and boosts crop yields.
Best Startup AI Project — TrustExam — an AI platform for online exams equipped with monitoring and anti-cheating systems.
Best Science AI Project — Mirai Tech — an AI platform for motion analysis using self-generating sensors, combining sports, medicine, and education.

Winners received cash prizes ranging from 5 to 10 million KZT, access to Astana Hub educational courses, and the opportunity to showcase their projects at the forum's Startup Alley.
Additionally, all finalists received certificates and six-month access to Astana Hub coworking spaces.

Each winning team will receive mentorship support from leading industry experts, including Zhaslan Madiev, Sayasat Nurbek, Magzhan Madiev, Bagdat Mussin, Aset Abdualiev, and Murat Abdrakhmanov.

Anchor Universities and Statistics

The AI-Sana program covers 80 universities across Kazakhstan where standardized AI agents have been deployed.
A total of 395 agents have been developed, with 119 currently under active development.
Each university has been set a goal to deploy at least 5 AI agents by the end of the year.

Furthermore, over 521,000 certificates have been issued as part of the foundational training phase.
The top 10 universities in mastering basic AI skills include:

L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University
Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University
Toraighyrov University
Sh. Ualikhanov Kokshetau University
Akhmet Baitursynuly Kostanay Regional University
M. Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University
K. Zhubanov Aktobe Regional University
Kh. Dosmukhamedov Atyrau University
Yessenov University
Ilyas Zhansugurov Zhetysu University

AI-Leaders Competition

To popularize AI and scale best practices among youth, the AI-Leaders — Faces of AI-Sana competition was launched.
Participants include students, lecturers, and university teams presenting their best AI startups.

Main categories:

AI Leader of the Year
Innovative Educator
Industry AI
AI in Education (AI EdTech)
Social Impact Project

The top startups will be invited to pitch at the Strategic Partners Forum, where they can present their projects to investors and potential mentors.

Program Media Activity

From December 2024 to October 2025, 2,783 materials about the AI-Sana program were published on social media.
Over 500 mentions were recorded across major platforms and websites including YouTube, TikTok, Akorda.kz, GOV.kz, and others.
Including:

Facebook — 2,085 mentions
Telegram — 330 mentions
Instagram — 109 mentions

Universities have been instructed to develop their own media plans to promote the AI-Sana initiative.

Launch of the Alem Cloud Supercomputer and Early Successes

10.09.2025

On July 9, 2025, an important event took place — the launch of the Alem Cloud supercomputer with the participation of the Head of State. Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek presented the initial results of AI-Sana: students have already developed a range of useful solutions.

Examples of student projects:

AI Admissions Office — a digital assistant for prospective students.
AI Lecturer — a platform for personalized learning.
AI Library — a smart library system.
AI Check — an automated knowledge assessment system.
AI Psychologist and AI Proctoring — support and quality control services for education.

International Recognition

The AI-Sana program received high acclaim abroad. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan became a finalist for the Coursera Outstanding Achievement Awards 2025 — one of the world's most prestigious honors in education.

Additionally, the program secured support from the "Qazaqstan Halqyna" Foundation, expanding youth access to modern knowledge and practices in AI and tech entrepreneurship.

A decision by the Republican Educational and Methodological Council (RUMS) holds special significance, allowing AI startups to count toward students' graduation requirements alongside traditional diploma projects. This makes the education system even more practice-oriented.

Information Portal and AI-Sana Academy System

To coordinate and scale all initiatives, a unified portal, aisana.gov.kz, was created to serve as the information hub for the program.

Portal features:

AI-Sana Academy — an LMS platform for student online courses and certification.
Personal participant dashboards displaying progress and achievements.
A library of learning materials, interactive assignments, and tests.
Tools for interacting with mentors and the community.

AI-Sana is more than an educational initiative. It is a strategic program shaping a new generation of specialists ready for the challenges of the artificial intelligence era and capable of building their own technological solutions.