Graduate School of Public Policy

On 6 June 2018 a team of graduate students, Ilyas Khangozhin, Bakhyt Zhekey, Aidos Koldasov and their faculty supervisor, Assistant Professor, Dr. Michael Waschak from the Nazarbayev University Graduate School of Public Policy (GSPP), traveled to the Baikonur Cosmodrome to observe the successful launch of the Soyuz MS-09 mission to the International Space Station.

At GSPP, students are required to develop an original research project as one component of their degree in the Master of Public Administration program. While in Baikonur the students conducted interviews with ROSCOSMOS leadership, flight engineers, cosmodrome staff, visiting tourists and members of the local community to learn more about the current status of the facility and Kazakhstan’s potential future role in the aerospace industry.
The team members hope that their project entitled, “The Comparative Advantage of Kazakhstan in the Aerospace Sector,” will provide guidance for government policy makers seeking to improve Kazakhstan’s economic development and future in space. The research project is supervised by Nazarbayev University, Assistant Professor, Dr. Michael Waschak.