Alumni « Graduate School of Public Policy

Welcome to NU GSPP Alumni Community!

You are one of over 433 GSPP alumni and over 6000 NU alumni!

Your alumni membership gives you an opportunity to continuous engagement with NU GSPP and all NU alumni!

NU GSPP alumni membership gives you a free membership at NU Alumni Association and many other benefits.

Overview

In 2023 NU GSPP Alumni number reached 433. Of these, 226 completed Master in Public Administration program, 194 Master in Public Policy program and 13 Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy. The overall employment rate is 87.5%.

MPP Graduation and Persistence Rates 2013-2021
Year	Initially Enrolled	Graduated within 2 years	Graduated within 3 years	Graduated within 4 years	Total Students Graduated and Persisting to Graduation
2013	22	19			19
2014	18	18			18
2015	14	13			13
2016	24	21	1		22
2017	21	21			21
2018	26	25			25
2019	23	18	2		20
2020	40	35	1		36
2021	26	20	1		21

MPA Graduation and Persistence Rates 2015-2021
Year	Initially Enrolled	Graduated within 2 years	Graduated within 3 years	Graduated within4 years	Total Students Graduated and Persisting to Graduation
2015 Spring	15	10	1		11
2015 Fall (2-year program)	16	12			12
2016	16	14			14
2017	32	27	1		28
2018	34	27	1	2	30
2019	41	36	4		40
2020	55	51	2		53
2021	40	36	1		37

Year	Program	Employment rate within 6 months of graduation
2022	MPP	86.5%
2022	MPA	94.7%

NU GSPP alumni community have different backgrounds and occupations. NU GSPP graduates of all cohorts work mostly in quasi-public, private sector, public sector and international organizations. The employer organizations include Executive Office of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Prime Minister’s Office, Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Akimat of Astana, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Aerospace Committee of the Ministry of Digital Development, Defence and Aerospace Industry, Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development, Ministry of Information and Communications, Ministry of Agriculture, National Bank, Anti-corruption agency, Sovereign Wealth Fund «Samruk-Kazyna», JSC, Baiterek Holding and national companies like KazMunayGas, Kazatomprom, Transtelecom, Republican Center for Health Development. GSPP alumni also work in universities and academies like Nazarbayev University, Academy of Public Administration, KazGUU, Karaganda State University; Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), UN organizations (UNDP, UN Volunteers, UNICEF, UN Woman), Islamic Organization for Food Security, World Bank, US and British Embassies in Kazakhstan and private companies in Kazakhstan and abroad.

NU GSPP alumni community is diverse and include the citizens of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

NU GSPP Alumni Engagement

NU GSPP Alumni Chapter was established in 2017 to unite all alumni and provide a platform that supports members throughout the country. The Chapter is engaged in social and professional activities to strengthen network among NU GSPP alumni, current students and School, as well as promote NU GSPP. Alumni Chapter has its bylaws and NU GSPP Alumni Committee.

GSPP Alumni network has become an effective tool in recruiting and attracting talented and promising students for the NU GSPP degree and Executive Education programs. NU GSPP alumni are engaged in both School and NU Open House Days, as well as in Orientation week activities. They are NU GSPP and NU ambassadors both at local and international levels. We also have our ambassadors in Armenia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and India. They promote the School and University and recruit bright promising students.

Active and valuable involvement of alumni and their employers was noted during final Accreditation stages both by the Accreditation Commission of the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation (EAPAA) and the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation (COPRA) of the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs, and Administration (NASPAA). This positively affected the decision in awarding accreditation to GSPP Masters programs by the EAPAA in 2019 and the NASPAA in 2023.

NU GSPP regularly updates alumni on upcoming School plans and events. Annual Joint Valedictory Reception and Alumni Reunions are platforms for bringing together the alumni, updating them on School’s development, as well as strengthening our alumni professional network. These events also serve as useful points of contact between fresh graduates and alumni which will be helpful for future employment and career progression.

NU GSPP ALUMNI CHAPTER BY-LAWS

NU GSPP Alumni Chapter Committee

	My name is Indira Kyilybayeva. I am a President of the NU GSPP Alumni Chapter Committee. I graduated from NU GSPP MPA in 2021. Beyond that I am a CFA holder and UCL Graduate 2016-2017 within Chevening Fellowship. Currently I hold the position of the Executive Director for Economic Planning and Analysis of Transtelecom JSC.
	My name is Zhanar Ismailova. I graduated from NU GSPP MPA in 2019. Entering this program was one of my best decisions in the recent 5 years :))) My working experience includes employment in the public affairs and government relations company, as well as the World Bank project in the sphere of pharmaceutical policy reforms in collaboration with the Ministry of Health. At the moment I work at NU GSPP as the manager of Executive education programs.
	My name is Nikita Shabayev, I graduated from our NU GSPP in 2021 with a Master’s degree in Public Administration. I am a UN Volunteers Country Coordinator for Kazakhstan. I am working on two main mandates of the UN Volunteers Programme: promoting volunteerism in the country and mobilizing UN Volunteers for UN Entities in the country. Beyond that I am a Co-Founder, a volunteer and a former President of the “Best for Kids” Public Foundation.
	I am Alpamys Assabayev, MPP Class of 2019 Alumnus. Currently working for the International Organisation for Migration (UN Agency), volunteer at the NU Alumni Association. Moreover, I had a chance to become “Bolashaq” alumnus. My working experience includes United Nations, quasi-government and civil service. My interests include international development, policy, governance, economics, prevention of violent extremism and terrorism. GSPP was a turning point in my life, with ever increasing demand to myself in terms of intellectual and applied development. Thanks to the staff, even toughest courses were interesting journeys and we still communicate, sharing knowledge and shaping the current Kazakhstan.
	Hi there! My name is Alexandra Matenova (Kogay) and I am an MPP 2018 graduate of NU GSPP. Short information about me. I am a life enthusiast and energetic campaigner. Former UNICEF and UNHCR employee. Coffee aficionado. NU GSPP admirer.
	My name is Madi Khanafiya, I graduated from our NU GSPP with a Master in Public Policy degree in 2021 and from NU PSIR with a Bachelor degree in 2019. As a student I was the GSPP Student Council Member and was named the regional winner of the 2021 NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition. I used to participate in several programmes and competitions including HPAIR Impact Challenge, CTBTO Youth Group, Hackathon by Prague Civil Society, Model OSCE, NU Red Crescent Society. I was a Tutor in “Hello Aul” Project by Alpha Academy and NU Social Development Fund 2021 and I am a Co-founder of “Education for All” inclusive educational centre since 2016. At the moment I am a senior manager of the office of educational programs at the Corporate Fund “International technopark of IT start-ups “Astana Hub”.
	My name is Aliya Kangozhina. I graduated from my favourite NU GSPP MPA in 2021. My work experience includes employment as project lead in uranium, construction industries. Currently I hold a position of Procurement associate in UNDP. I am a Co-Founder and a volunteer in former organization “Podari ydochku” for children.
	My name is Aikorkem Nurzhanova. I graduated from NU GSPP MPA in 2020. I have 10+ years work experience in Government relations (Oil and Gas) and Education Management (EdTech, Nazarbayev University). I enjoy yoga and running, climbed 5416m (Thorong La pass) in Nepal and run my first marathon (42km) in 2019.
	Hi! My name is Madi! Master in Public Administration, NU GSPP, Master of Arts (Hons) in International Relations, University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK, and Certified Interpreter, Herzen University, St Petersburg, Russia. Graduate of Astana Kazakh-Turkish High School. At present, I am the CEO and Founder of the Aido Education Agency. Before that I worked in different organizations. At Kazpost JSC I was responsible for the External Affairs and Government Relations. At KAZGUU University implemented internationalization strategy and academic mobility. In the field of research, assessed the effectiveness of government bodies with ERI. Organized “Astana EXPO-2017” as the Operational Director of the International Organizations pavilion. As a young Diplomat I also served our country at the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the International Organizations in Vienna and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan.
	My name is Yersin Anuarbek. I graduated from our NU GSPP with a Master in Public Policy degree in 2020. During my study, I tried myself as the President of NU GradUnion. Currently, I work as Assistant to the Vice-Provost of NU.

Alumni benefits

Benefits of being NU GSPP Alumni:

alumni ID card and access to campus;
access to NU Sports Center;
free library access (reading room);
lifelong University e-mail address;
automatic and free membership at NU Alumni Association;
access to all relevant information on the activities of the NU Alumni Association and participation in the managing affairs of the Association;
access to the Career and Advising Center services – professional development services; career counseling, including the assistance in employment and in the organization of internships; graduate application advising;
Since NU GSPP encourages lifelong learning, we invite all our Alumni to guest lectures, research seminars and annual conferences of the School;