Freedom Holding Corp. to support construction of new campus at SDU University

SDU University near Almaty has conducted a groundbreaking ceremony to construct a new campus that will be built with the support of Freedom Holding Corp. The company will allocate more than $3.9 million for the project.

«High-quality education is one of the pillars of a progressive society. By joining this initiative, we are proving that we are ready to support and facilitate the comprehensive growth and development of the current and future generations of the people of Kazakhstan. In our holding, we fully understand how big the role of the business is in the social life of the country including the field of education, which is why we are glad to be part of this project,» CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. Timur Turlov said during the ceremony.

As he noted, the quality of infrastructure can be crucial for students’ education.

«Once the construction of the new campus at SDU University is completed, it will strengthen the infrastructure of the university which has already recommended itself as one of the leaders in the sphere of IT. The move is also expected to facilitate the learning process in the sphere of finance,» Turlov highlighted.

Freedom Holding Corp. is going to cover all $3.9 million related to the construction of the new campus via its Freedom Shapagat Corporate Fund.

What will the new SDU University campus look like?

The new campus will have more than 5,600 square meters of floor size and will be equipped with Freedom Spaces, a set of labs where students will be able to use AI solutions designed for robotic engineering, cybersecurity, competitive programming and machine learning.

«We are also going to open an interactive center for financial literacy on the new campus where students will learn more about basic principles of investment and trading from Freedom Academy experts. The new campus will serve as a hub for research in the sphere of fintech innovations and allied fields as well as a venue for various workshops and conferences. Along with all the necessary conditions for an effective learning process, the campus will have comfortable spaces for leisure,» SDU University representatives said.

The university has decided to build a new campus due to a significant increase in the number of students and new academic programs by SDU.

According to Alimzhan Igenbayev, the rector of SDU University, Kazakhstan needs a new generation of specialists and managers flexible enough to adjust to these changes.

«SDU University is one of the first higher education establishments in Kazakhstan that switched their academic programs to English. We have been preparing specialists in the sphere of IT, engineering, pedagogics, law, social sciences and business for more than 27 years now. This is why we know what we are going to achieve through cooperation with international partners, academic institutions and businesses. We are relying on feedback from industries, executives and business owners as they hire specialists we’ve prepared. This is one of the crucial elements of the dynamic development of SDU University,» he highlighted.

This idea was fully supported by Governor of the Almaty region Marat Sultangaziyev, who also attended the ceremony at SDU University. He recalled that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for the Almaty region to be a center of scientific and educational initiatives.

«Young people play an important role in the development of the region and implementation of strategic plans. The development of higher education in our region is crucial as academic facilities bring life into different communities and facilitate their prosperity. SDU has contributed a lot to the development of the region, for instance. Last year, we created a new department for youth policy under the administration of the Almaty region because about 30% of our residents are under the age of 35. We are going to solve youth problems with the help of a two-year plan based on analytical data,» the official said.

Currently, there are more than 8,000 students (bachelors, masters and PhDs) at SDU University. The construction of the new campus is expected to be completed in the fall of 2024.

This is not the first academic project supported by Turlov, as he financed the construction of a new campus of the IQanat school. The project is designed for talented children from different regions and rural areas who managed to pass contests organized by IQanat.