Graduate School of Public Policy

The official online closing ceremony of the “Leader of the New Formation” program, implemented by the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Public Policy (hereinafter – NU GSPP), the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan in partnership with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore took place from September 7, 2020 to November 14, 2020. 

50 high-level civil servants including vice-ministers, deputy akims of regions, cities and districts, heads of Departments of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as reservists of the President’s youth personnel reserve took part in the “LNF” program.

The closing ceremony was attended by the Rector of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Yerlan Abil, Dean of the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Public Policy – Weng Tat Hui, Director of the Institute for Professional Development – Margarita Kadyrova, as well as Vice Dean for Academic Affairs of the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Public Policy – Professor Colin Knox.

“There were 10 modules in total, 240 hours of training. The trainers held a series of sessions to develop an educational trajectory, directions of study, and course methodology. The main goal of the training was to improve the participants’ skills  required for the leaders of the new formation. And I very much hope that each student who participated in the training received the necessary knowledge and was able to further improve its potential and competencies”,– Yerlan Abil, Rector of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan noted.

“We strongly believe that good governance matters and we are thankful for this opportunity given to us through this partnership with the Academy to move forward in realizing our mission of improving the lives of the people of Kazakhstan. We hope you were given insights into the new trends of futures thinking, applying behavioral insights to public policy and the various ways of introducing innovations in policy making, public service delivery and governance that will help you to enhance your effectiveness for service to the nation of Kazakhstan,” – Weng Tat Hui, Dean of the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Public Policy highlighted.

During the 10-week course, participants built up their potential and expanded their knowledge horizons in three main blocks of competencies : “Global Vision”, “Effective Communications” and “Transformational Leadership” without interruption from their main duties. Due to the wide possibilities of online platforms, classes were held in various formats: from strategic sessions, interactive discussions, training to case studies and work in small groups.

In the course of online training, political civil servants took courses in management technologies, art and science of policy making, behavioral economics, scenario planning, design thinking, emotional intelligence and leadership, coaching and mentoring, and crisis communication.

Classes were conducted by leading business trainers and coaches of the Academy of Public Administration, including the rector of the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Yerlan Abil, Director of the CREATA consulting company – David Tuganov, Head of the ICU Representative Office in Kazakhstan, Central Asia and the United Arab Emirates, master coach – Galiya Bagdat , Head of the Center for Public Speaking “Nika” – Meruyert Zhunusbek, journalist, TV and radio host – Makhabbat Yessen, trainer in public speaking and communication – Zhanna Ibraeva. The trainers from the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Public Policy were Vice Deans of the NU GSPP – Colin Knox and Riccardo Pelizzo, NU GSPP Assistant Professor – Iftikhar Lodhi, as well as visiting professors from Singapore and Hong Kong: Basskaran Nair and Adrian Kuah from the Lee Kuan School of Public Policy of the National University of Singapore and Donald Low, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology..  

According to the course trainer Zhanna Ibraeva, creating a new curriculum for civil servants with excellent education, life and leadership experience required a lot of work. Especially when the external environment is undergoing very dynamic changes. The state needs leaders who can become part of a team, make quick decisions in non-standard situations, and go beyond the usual patterns.

“Critical thinking, creativity, creativity and an unconventional, creative approach to fulfilling the assigned tasks are one of the ingredients for the successful implementation of government reforms,” the coach emphasized.

Colin Knox, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs of the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Public Policy noted that during the online course, which lasted 2.5 months, a three-way discussion unfolded between academics and practitioners, allowing them to implement new ideas for the field of academic activity and continue international reforms and innovations in the public sector.

In the process of completing homework, the teams tried to surprise and motivate both each other and the course coaches. During the online training, students were able to show creativity and distinguish themselves from writing poetry in the form of a tautogram to expressing their opinion in the form of a rap in class, which was demonstrated to guests and trainers of the course within the online event.

“Many thanks to all organizers and coaches! It was a great project that gave me an opportunity to broaden my horizons and master new instruments. But, the most important thing is another conviction that we are surrounded by worthy people and true patriots! Good luck and success to everyone! After all, our success is a contribution to the success of our country!”, – Saken Shayakhmetov, deputy akim of the Pavlodar region, shared his emotions and impressions of the program.

Also, Marken Akhmetov, a reservist of the Presidential Youth Personnel Reserve, Director of the Department of Organizational and Personnel Work of the National Company “QAZEXPOCONGRESS” JSC, shared his impressions of the training:

 “For 10 exciting weeks, we, as part of the leading local and foreign specialists, took a unique course that allowed us to deeply immerse ourselves, extract high-quality insights that, if used correctly, can become the basis for rebooting the public administration system. Each of the topics presented deserves a separate detailed discussion, since it is a fundamental subject that requires scrupulous study. And now we are introducing the received tools into our daily activities”.

The program “Leader of the New Formation” was firstly announced by the First President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the Address “Growing welfare of Kazakh citizens: increase in income and quality of life” on October 5, 2018. Nursultan Nazarbayev commissioned the NU GSPP, and the Academy of Public Administration to deliver executive training for political managers and civil servants. 

For information:

Graduate School of Public Policy (GSPP). The Graduate School of Public Policy’s mission is improving the quality of life of the people of Kazakhstan and Central Asia by training leaders to improve governance through excellence in teaching, research and executive development that focuses on key policy and leadership challenges. GSPP maintains a strong strategic partnership with the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. GSPP incorporates scientific research into its teaching to provide one of the most innovative and progressive master’s and PhD programs in the Central Asian region. GSPP’s degree programs include the Master in Public Policy, Master in Public Administration, and the PhD in Public Policy. In 2019 GSPP received formal accreditation from the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation (EAPAA). www.gspp.nu.edu.kz

Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan was established by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan on May 31, 2005 for the purpose of training, retraining and advanced training of civil servants. The Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is a country’s higher educational institution with a special status, which provides training, retraining and advanced training of civil servants. www.apa.kz