Abdumutalip's encyclopedic, multifaceted personality Abzhapparova inspires respect for the strength of his spiritual self; it is not without reason that he is considered one of the best representatives of the country's rectors, effective top managers of Kazakhstani education, and professionals of the highest standard. A reformer by conviction, an innovator by style of work, introducing the best innovative teaching methods into the university sphere, the initiator of the introduction of the UNT in the country and one of the authors of the “New Model of Student Formation.” The creative and scientific intelligentsia of Kazakhstan associate the modern concept of higher professional education in the country with the name of this charismatic leader. During the years of formation of the national agenda for the university system, key decisions on reforming the educational system of an independent sovereign state passed through Abzhapparov . We are talking with a prominent scientist of Kazakhstan on the eve of the 60th anniversary of the NJC “Shokan Ualikhanov Kokshetau University ." - Abdumutalip Abzhapparovich , tell us about yourself! - I was born in the Aravan district of the Osh region of the Kirghiz SSR on February 10, 1950. Everyone, they say, is led by fate, but a person is free to go against it. No one can predict the future, but since childhood I’ve gotten used to relying only on myself, no matter who I become, feeling like I’m only myself ... I learned from my own experience what it’s like to become one of the people without support and connections from above. My childhood was not an easy time and remains in my memory as the brightest, most joyful time, despite the hardships, the modest meager life of that time. The first piece of bread obtained by my own labor, the spilling of flowers in the highlands, the songs of birds overhead and the running of a hot horse through the dewy grass, as everywhere on earth, youth will remain in my memory as one piercing clear moment... Memory will knock on my heart, knock more than once, carving out from the depths of the subconscious the kindest fire of memories, from which the soul warms, releasing reciprocal warmth. My quiet little homeland, full of love and sadness, in which there is a lot of light, a lot of joy, will sound in me more than once. I always loved to study, I graduated from school in Turkestan with a silver medal, then from the metallurgical department of the university. I am proud that I, being then ambitious, full of hopes for a special shining happiness ahead, a Kazakh intellectual, was able to receive a higher education precisely in the flagship of technical science of the republic - the Kazakh Polytechnic Institute, named after Lenin, in the then capital of the Kazakh SSR - beautiful Alma-Ata, so we called it the city of youth. In 1972, he graduated with honors with a degree in non-ferrous metallurgy. My postgraduate studies at the Kazakh Polytechnic Institute ¬and the Leningrad Mining Institute gave me a lot, so I appeal to current students and undergraduates of the university: do not stop there, life is a struggle in which you only have to strive forward. In 1979, he defended his dissertation for the degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences on the topic: “Research of the technology of sintering red mud with alkali-free aluminosilicates.” Later he defended his doctoral dissertation, receiving the academic degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences, and in 2001 - a professorship. In 2003 he was elected a full member of the Engineering Academy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in 2005 - a full member of the International Academy of Higher Education Sciences. In 2015, he was elected academician of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of Kazakhstan. A research internship at two universities in the Federal Republic of Germany in the late 80s was especially significant for me. (T. U.Claustahl , RWTH, Aahen ). In 1994-1995 he studied at the Lower Saxony German Academy of Management (DMAN), where he defended his scientific work on the topic: “Personnel management in the field of education. ” The certificate for knowledge of the German language from the Goethe Institute (Frankfurt) is also dear to me. - From July 2014 to June 2018, you were the rector of Kokshetau State University named after Sh. Ualikhanov . How do you remember this period of your life? - Yes, indeed, Kokshetau has become dear to me in a special way; I remember many things clearly and visibly years later. I am proud that through joint efforts we have managed to achieve a great achievement for northern Kazakhstan: to open a medical faculty at the university! This university has a 60-year history in the higher education system. However, the shortage of medical personnel in the region alarmed me: it is a huge region with 19 districts, and doctors are not trained here, there is an acute shortage of the most needed doctors in the most pressing social sphere - healthcare! In 2018, we opened the Faculty of General Medicine, but what was it worth? Today, 420 students are taught here in Kazakh, Russian and English, and there are already interns. It is interesting that foreign students study in Kokshetau; the geography of those wishing to obtain a medical diploma is very extensive: India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. During my time, the university became a member of the European and Eurasian Association of Higher Education. For the first time, 6 educational programs received international accreditation, and 43 educational programs received institutional accreditation. During the years of my leadership of the university, more than 300 qualified personnel worked in 24 departments of the university, the teaching staff was solidly represented: 22 doctors of sciences, 14 professors, 87 candidates of sciences, 52 associate professors, 34 holders of the “Best University Teacher of the Republic of Kazakhstan” grant. Activities for the development of science were intensively implemented; for the first time, PhD doctoral studies were opened in 5 specialties: “Mathematics”, “History”, “Philology”, “Ecology”, “Agronomy”. The educational and laboratory base in the technical field was completely updated, as a result of which 36 new educational and scientific laboratories were created and put into operation in various specialties in accordance with international requirements. At that time, the university’s infrastructure included four modern academic buildings, about 800,000 thousand library funds, 5 reading rooms, 2 museums: museums of biology and history of the university, three sports and recreation complexes, gyms, educational workshops, canteens, dormitories, as well as a student health camp " Tulpar ", located in the Zerenda recreation area. A 26-apartment “house of scientists” was built and commissioned for the teaching staff of the university and a dormitory for 310 people was built, the construction of which had been planned for many years before my arrival in Kokshetau. For the first time, an electronic control and management system was introduced, with the help of which parents online track students’ achievements on the university website. A copyright certificate has also been issued for this system. As the head of the market formation, I had to thoroughly and calmly, in a businesslike manner, adjust the university management system, unobtrusively overcome the emerging gap in ties between Ualikhanov KSU and the country's leading universities. There are always plenty of problems everywhere, especially in a new place of activity, in our time, but, fortunately, we managed to get out of difficult situations with dignity, look for and find new opportunities to increase the infrastructure of the university, retain the core of the teaching staff, understand and accept the needs and requirements of people. Theater begins with a coat rack, and human culture is largely determined by the aesthetics of the space around it. Therefore, he ordered that the appearance of the classrooms, educational buildings of the university and surrounding areas correspond to the status of the educational institution. The competitiveness of the university entrusted to me worried me first of all, because a modern specialist is unthinkable without knowledge of languages and mastery of computer technologies. And it is logical that my special attention as rector was aimed at training personnel with the maximum use of electronic manuals and information projects. Of course, I was also concerned about the issue of in-demand specialties, taking into account the demand in the labor market for university graduates, because with the development of a market economy, it is necessary to clearly plan the number of qualified personnel actually needed by the national economy of the country and society itself. Humboldt’s thought is close to me: “The university is a union of education and science.” He convinced his colleagues and insisted on the need for a radical turn of the university towards priority areas of science. A university cannot be called a university if it does not conduct research in fundamental and applied scientific areas. Knowing the scientific potential of the university’s scientists, he encouraged them to put forward and develop promising and high-priority research and research topics for the republic and the region. In my opinion, it is impossible to save on scientific trips of teaching staff, internships, advanced training of personnel, payment for procedures for defending academic degrees, and my support encouraged and inspired the university staff. In an era of market change, universities inevitably expect change. Managerial and economic independence is expanding, but, I note, with constant monitoring of the university’s educational process and control of the intended use of allocated funds. State universities in Kazakhstan are becoming non-profit joint stock companies, which means that the opportunity opens up to create new scientific enterprises and commercialize innovative technologies. The previous legal status of universities did not provide opportunities to develop in accordance with the requirements of the time. In the previous format of “RGP on PVC”, when net profit was accumulated, part of the income was transferred to the budget. In the Nenets Autonomous Region - only for its development. And that's great ! Promoted the need for important amendments to the existing public procurement law by carefully studying and analyzing the situation. It’s no secret that if the winner of government procurement delays delivery times or refuses to fulfill contractual obligations, then prompt action adjustments are needed. All these moments worried me and did not give me peace. In addition, in addition to the administrative management of the university, I myself could not actually stay away from economic problems. I believe and believed that the autonomy of the university will lead to the fact that frankly weak universities will disappear in the country, and only universities with well-developed educational programs, modern educational infrastructure and the high creative potential of efficient professional employees will remain. And with all the strength of their souls, the university staff jointly implemented plans, largely ahead of future reforms. I consider the opening of a training laboratory at the city-forming enterprise of the regional center of Kokshetau-TOO Gormolzavod to be an achievement . In Kokshetau, activists remember how I publicly and openly from high stands defended my idea: advanced business structures in the region should cooperate more actively with the university, create the latest educational and scientific laboratories at the university, help acquire modern technological equipment, and for this they would be entitled to significant tax preferences. And in every possible way, through the power of his authority in society, he contributed to active interaction with enterprises in Kokshetau and the region. At all times, the criterion of truth is practice, and thus we created departments at leading factories, and directly attracted production workers to conduct classes for students and undergraduates. - You, Abdumutalip Abzhapparovich , a recognized scientist in the field of chemistry and chemical technology, the technologies you have developed are known abroad, and, importantly, many of them have been implemented in production and solve environmental problems. A little more about your scientific activities! - I have 13 copyright certificates and patents, more than 100 scientific articles and 2 monographs, and have trained several candidates of science. The range of scientific research in the field of related sciences concerns the processing of petroleum feedstock and its waste from an environmental point of view. I will not hide that I have always strived to be useful - and my authority as a professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Honorary Worker of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, academician of a number of scientific communities, has been gained through years of research. I am immensely happy that my developments in the field of chemistry and chemical technologies have been introduced into production. From an environmental point of view, the processing of petroleum raw materials and waste that I discovered is very relevant. A wide range of scientific research in related sciences has real practical benefits. - You are not only a famous scientist, public figure, education reformer, but you probably have a fairly wide circle of friends? - The ancient saying “The true price of a man is determined by the caliber of his enemies”, as it turned out, is tested by time, and today I can confidently say: “The true price of a man is determined by the scale of the personality of his friends.” “Life is a success if you succeed in traveling to people...” Friendship from my youth has been an important and joyful human feeling for me, that friendship that is “stronger than passion, more than love,” as the good old song says. The warmth of a loved one, a kindred spirit, that heals us physically and mentally is needed in our difficult times. I have long been convinced: the most devoted support in life is the selfless help of true friends who remain faithful to the common cause, scientific calling, and special plan to move forward. Former Secretary of State of the Republic of Kazakhstan, politician, writer Abish Kekilbayev , now deceased, called me “the rector of the new formation” - this high status from the lips of a prominent statesman of the country, I will not hide, is very dear to me. I am glad that I was able to motivate and lead the team, launch and implement ambitious projects, wherever I led, despite the differences in the mentality of the environment. In the east of the republic, in western Aktau or in northern Kokshetau , he tried to show flexibility and ingenuity in his approaches to working with people, primarily taking care of their comfort and social well-being. It is no coincidence that I was trusted to take care of the future of Kazakhstan’s youth - at different times to head three state universities of Kazakhstan, and in each of them to leave a good mark with good deeds. - Once upon a time, Sir Winston Churchill, the only politician awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, called someone who focuses on the next generation erudite. What do you think in this sense? - It is important for me that a person, especially a young man, has a unique range of thinking and an incredible breadth of outlook, can really have his own judgment, defend and defend his vision of the problem, his own opinion, and that in the future the young professional is a type of scientist - researcher in constant search that does not stop there . Let's not forget that we live in Kazakhstan, this is our country, and we are responsible for everything that happens to our homeland. This is our life, it is important that young people have this desire to do something significant for society. - Being a socially active person with a strong civic position, you, Abdumutalip Abzhapparovich , more than once represented the legislative power in a number of regions of the republic. Tell us about this side of your activity. - A versatile scientist, but in my opinion, he should not only gravitate towards the culture of the Great Steppe, study the philosophy of Eastern thinkers, be imbued with the historical destinies of the leaders of the Alash Horde, he should be concerned not only with the features of the Eurasian steppe civilization, but also with the present day of the republic. How and what people live and breathe, what it’s like for ordinary people today. I will not hide that parliamentary activities are not patronage of the arts, as others believe, nor the status of a wedding general who is invited to festivals and competitions. This is everyday, by the way, unpaid public work, sometimes invisible, called upon to carry out the orders of voters; it is not for nothing that the word “deputy” itself is translated as “sitting in front.” You are the chosen one of the people, a representative delegated by them, and this means that you will be responsible for the appeals of citizens in your honest name. - Abdumutalip Abzhapparovich , more than once in your speeches and articles you have emphasized your position regarding reforming the higher education system... - Yes, that’s right, in the modern world it is education that is rightly considered the leading factor in the stability and development of society. In practice, confirming this postulate, I took an active part in the development of the most important bills in Kazakhstan: “On Education” (1992), “On Higher Education” (1993), “On Education” (1999). Heading the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry, he did not remain a cabinet official or functionary, but tried to treat his duties with the utmost conscientiousness and responsibility during a difficult period of deep reforms. And when the system of competitive selection of school graduates was introduced on the basis of unified testing, and when the network of universities was being optimized, and when state education standards were being developed, classifiers of university specialties were determined. Science and education require constant development; universities must organize the educational process, providing it with the latest educational laboratories, innovative technological equipment, which must also be regularly updated. Analyzing current trends in the development of higher education in the country, in fact, he really brought the future of higher education closer. Both in today’s positive image and in the good name of the NAO “ Kokshetau University named after. Sh. Ualikhanov " is, undoubtedly, my dedication and my efforts. I note that the prestigious regalia and solid academic degrees of a titled scientist are just a mark on my resume for me. And in my memory, quiet, green Kokshetau is cozy, compact, comfortable to live in, and my time at the university was an opportunity to show my business skills and organizational leadership skills, to feel how the time of change feels here and to meet such wonderful people in this city. I am sure that I am well remembered by my colleagues who are grateful for our joint work and are always welcome within the walls of the university.
