In the 2026-27 academic year, Kazakhstan’s first artificial intelligence university plans to enroll 600 students and trainees. AI use is also being expanded in schools, with a separate pilot planned for ten small rural schools. Kazakhstan is therefore trying to build its AI talent pipeline from both ends of the education system.
Science and Higher Education Minister Sayasat Nurbek announced the first intake at Qazaq AI Research University (QAIRU) during a government meeting.
Nurbek said 400 students would be admitted to bachelor’s programs, including 308 on state grants, while another 100 would join master’s programs. “In addition, the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund will send 100 of its employees to study under the MBA AI+X program,” he said.
QAIRU is located in Astana on the former EXPO 2017 site, alongside Astana Hub and the Alem.ai cluster. The university says it intends to train engineers capable of building their own AI systems rather than simply using existing AI services. Its bachelor’s program lasts three years and is taught entirely in English.
Education is based on the AI+X model, combining artificial intelligence with specific disciplines and industries, including healthcare and energy. The university was first proposed while the project was still being developed.
Other parts of higher education are also changing. According to Nurbek, Unified National Testing (UNT) certificates are already available through eGov, and AI proctoring is in use. The National Testing Center has also launched AI-Talapker, a chatbot that answers questions about the UNT and university admissions. Key information on students and graduates is also being consolidated on the Unified Higher Education Platform.
“The next stage is the introduction of artificial intelligence-based solutions into the educational process,” Nurbek said. He said these would be used for admissions and to support personalized learning and career guidance.
In schools, students will encounter AI earlier in their education. Education Minister Zhuldyz Suleimenova told the same government meeting that artificial intelligence technologies will become part of the educational process in the new academic year.
“One of the features of the new academic year will be the use and study of artificial intelligence technologies in schools,” Suleimenova said.
AI content will be added to the existing digital literacy and computer science curricula. Separately, the government has decided to test AI tools in rural schools, where opportunities to teach individual subjects are often more limited than in large cities.
The pilot will begin on September 1 in ten small schools in the Pavlodar and Kyzylorda regions, with instruction in Kazakh and Russian. AI solutions will be tested in fourth-grade classes covering mathematics, digital literacy, the native language, and AI. The pilot will expand to 50 schools in November, and another 300 schools are scheduled to join in January 2027.
The pilot phase is expected to cover 500 small rural schools. Officials have assessed internet speeds and computer availability, along with staffing capacity and schools’ readiness to introduce AI solutions. More than 350,000 teachers have already received training in the use of AI in education.
For rural Kazakhstan, this part of the program has a practical purpose. The country has more than 2,600 small rural schools. The government sees personalized learning and digital tools as one way to narrow the gap in educational quality between rural and urban schools. The program is expected to expand through 2029 based on the results of the initial pilots.
The rapid introduction of AI into education coincides with changes in how Kazakhstan manages the sector. In 2025, the country established a separate Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development. AI tools are also gradually being introduced into other areas of public administration, including the social assistance system.
For Kazakhstan, the new university addresses a fairly straightforward need. The country is investing in data centers and attracting international technology companies. The government is also expanding the use of AI across public administration. These developments require domestic engineers and developers. QAIRU’s initial cohort is still small even by the standards of Kazakhstan’s higher education system. More significant is the attempt to build a single pipeline for training such specialists, from their first exposure to AI at school to a specialized university.
