The event was organized by the Qazaq Research Institute for the Future and Forecasting (QRIFS) of Narxoz University. The symposium was attended by domestic and foreign experts in this field.
The discussion was launched by the presentation of the Advisor to the Sustainable Kazakhstan Research Institute at Narxoz University — Brendan Duprey. Among the distinguished guests, Vice President of the Asian Development Bank for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Bambang Susantono and Giovanni Kapannelli — Director of the ADB office in Kazakhstan.
The Qazaq Research Institute for Futures Studies (QRIFS) is an “indisciplinary” research-based and practice-driven learning lab designed to further futures studies and strategic foresight across Qazaqstan, Central Asia, and beyond. Its primary aim is to re-imagine how futures can and might be engaged, envisioned, and enacted at the university level. QRIFS will integrate futures into the general education curriculum, build a minor option for the bachelor’s of business administration degree, and offer thesis-track options for MBA, DBA, and PhD programs at Narxoz University. At present, QRIFS is nested within the Narxoz Business School. As the country’s first higher-education institute focused on futures and foresight, QRIFS is breaking new ground and will release content in three languages: Qazaq, Russian, and English.