DSpace Repository

Nazarbayev University Repository (NUR) is an institutional electronic archive designed for the long-term preservation, aggregation, and dissemination of scientific research outcomes and intellectual property produced by the Nazarbayev University community and affiliated organizations.

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001. Theses 3607
002. NU Research Publications 11763
003. NU Research Institutes & Centres 586
004. NU Journals & Magazines 285
005. Forums, Conferences & Projects 1332

Recent Submissions

Access status: Open Access ,
Exploring Family Language Policy and Sociolinguistic Challenges among Repatriate Families in Kazakhstan
(Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Education, 2025-05-05) Raimova, Zhansaya; Manan, Syed
Located in the heart of Eurasia, Kazakhstan has been affected by powerful migration and demographic changes for over centuries. In the early 2000s Kazakhstan started to implement ethnic immigration policies to solve demographic problems and promote nation building. As a result, more than 1,860, 000 ethnic Kazakhs known as “qandas” have moved to their historical homeland (Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Kazakhstan, 2021). Despite all the state efforts aimed at encouraging qandas to return to their ethnic homeland, issues rooted in social, economic, cultural integration and low socio-linguistic adaptation remain a significant challenge (UNDP, 2006). The study aims to explore family language policy among repatriate families and the socio-linguistic challenges they face integrating into the Kazakhstani society using Spolsky’s (2004) amended tripartite model. This is a qualitative study which uses semi-structured interviews as the main research instruments to gather data from three repatriate families from Uzbekistan, China, and Mongolia. The main findings suggest that all families prioritize Kazakh language as a symbol of national and cultural identity. The findings also illustrate that this ideological orientation was a primary motivator for repatriation, underscoring a desire to reestablish cultural belonging through language. The second priority language was found to be English due to its perceived global value, while Russian is widely rejected or deprioritized, often due to past experiences of linguistic discrimination. Such findings call for more equitable and consistent implementation of national language policies, particularly in urban areas where Russian dominance continues to marginalize Kazakh speakers.
Access status: Open Access ,
Postcard Astana: An Image of a Modern State Designed by World Renowned Architects
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2026-06-11) Duisebay, Yeszhan; Bissenova, Alima
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, fifteen newly independent republics were formed. Kazakhstan was the only one among them to relocate its capital city and build a new one. Such a risky and expensive move was aimed at breaking away from the Soviet legacy and marking a new beginning for an independent Kazakhstan. The new capital was to become the beacon of progress and modernity on a global scale like Abu-Dhabi in UAE and Doha in Qatar. To achieve such a worthy goal, Kazakhstan had to rely on world-renowned architects such as Norman Foster who designed two of the most iconic buildings: Khan Shatyr (the “Tent”) and The Palace of Peace and Reconciliation (the “Pyramid”). Such dependency on foreign experts, however, was reflected not only in design but also in construction materials and labor force as well, highlighting Kazakhstan’s developmental challenges. Their primary locations just behind the presidential palace and on the western end of the new administrative axis give a message of their importance to the new capital city. Using the name and prestige of Norman Foster, these projects were designed to impress the public with their monumental scale, pure geometries, and spectacular interiors. Pyramid provides spaces for a museum, concert hall, conferences and office space while Khan Shatyr has entertainment and shopping functions. The hand and style of an architect, known as an innovative, high-tech specialist, is vividly seen in the design of these buildings both in the interior as well as exterior. This dissertation analyzes the architecture of post-Soviet modernization in Kazakhstan by closely examining two key architectural projects: the Palace of Peace and Reconciliation (Pyramid) and Khan Shatyr Shopping and Entertainment Center (Tent). They are studied in terms of their architectural significance as an art medium to create a unified image of Kazakhstan as a modern country that aspires to become developed. So, the question remains whether Kazakhstan can construct its own world class iconic buildings without foreign help. Thus, to answer this question, the study uses fieldwork and primary observation as its main source of data collection. Moreover, the significance of this research lies in the official and critical analysis of the post-Soviet architectural modernization in Kazakhstan over diverse Kazakh, Russian, and Western literature such as books, academic journal articles, online magazine posts, official state websites, and several site visits to document the existing conditions of these buildings. Based on close examination of the buildings and related literature, the study found that the design of these projects and their structural elements are highly sophisticated and cannot be produced in Kazakhstan. Therefore, these findings indicate that the country needs to emphasize better training for its architects and enhance its industrial capability to produce modern construction materials and structural elements that meet high-tech requirements using its own human and natural resources without reliance on imports.
Access status: Open Access ,
Modernization Without Transformation: The De-Baization Campaign and Class Politics in Soviet Kazakhstan
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2026-04-21) Yesserkepova, Alua; Arbuthnot, Mollie; Akulov, Mikhail
Given the complexity of the subject matter, this essay discusses the 1928 de-Baization campaign in Soviet Kazakhstan as a state project that intended to foster class rhetoric and consciousness but ultimately failed to achieve ideological transformation of pastoral nomads. Although ideology was not the only dimension of de-Baization, it appeared as a central aspect of the policy that shaped and encompassed its other aspects, including political, social, and economic objectives. Therefore, this research focuses primarily on the ideological framework of the campaign, analyzing the reaction of local Kazakhs to its implementation and the regime’s coercive mechanisms in cultivating compliance with state directives.
Access status: Open Access ,
Processing of Kazakh Red Mud (KRM) for the Selective Recovery of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) through microwave-assisted acid leaching
(Nazarbayev University School of Mining and Geosciences, 2026-04-17) Yubileyeva, Aruzhan; Akcil, Ata
Bauxite residue, also known as Red Mud (RM), is generated through the Bayer Process and is considered one of the most environmentally hazardous by-products of aluminum production. It is also viewed as a secondary source of several other valuable metals, including Rare Earth Elements (REEs). However, the recovery of these REEs is hampered because they are strongly associated with various mineral phases, including iron oxide, aluminosilicate, and Ti-bearing minerals, making it difficult to extract them through conventional leaching. In this thesis, we have investigated how Microwave Assisted Pretreatment can be used to improve the Recovery of selected REEs (Ce, Nd, Sm and Eu) from Kazakhstan Red Mud (KRM) when microwave treatment was utilized in an effort to create changes at a micro level to the structure of KRM particles to disrupt the size of particles, to cause cracking within particles, and modify the mineral phases containing the REE's. Once pre-treatments had been completed, leach solutions were prepared utilizing various types of acidic media under controlled experimental conditions. Both treated and untreated samples were analyzed using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), and Fourier Transform InfraRed Spectroscopy (FTIR) in order to assess changes in the mineral composition and structural properties of KRM. The obtained results demonstrated that microwave-assisted pre treatment significantly improved leaching yields over those obtained directly via leaching. We also found that the primary mechanisms responsible for this enhancement included increased structural disruption in KRM, resulting in better access for the leaching agent into the solid phase. Of note, significant enhancements in the leaching of Ce and Nd occurred, however, Sm and Eu showed minimal enhancement in leaching due to their association with more stable mineral phases.
Access status: Open Access ,
Morpho-functional analysis of bovine spermatozoa using cytometry with deep learning algorithms
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2026) Umirbaeva, Anel; Barteneva, Natalie; Vorobyev, Ivan
This study presents a high-throughput approach for single-cell morpho-functional analysis of bovine spermatozoa by integrating imaging flow cytometry with deep learning. A dataset of over 400,000 sperm images was used to train a ConvNeXt-Tiny convolutional neural network for automated classification into ten morphological categories. Functional analysis was performed on approximately 60,000 images obtained from cryopreserved semen, resulting in a final dataset of 40,613 high-quality single-cell events annotated with mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and intracellular calcium levels, stained with tetramethylrhodamine ethyl ester perchlorate (TMRE) and Fluo-4, respectively. Statistical analysis using the Kruskal–Wallis test revealed significant differences in calcium levels across morphological groups (p < 0.001), with post-hoc Dunn’s test identifying multiple group-level differences. Results demonstrated that abnormal midpiece, coiled tail, and distal cytoplasmic droplet groups exhibited distinct functional profiles, including altered mitochondrial activity and calcium signaling. This study represents the first large-scale morpho-functional analysis of spermatozoa from Kazakhstani cattle breeds at single-cell resolution. The developed pipeline provides a foundation for improved fertility assessment and highlights the potential of AI-driven multi-parametric analysis in reproductive biology.