Kusto Group’s Yerkin Tatishev Becomes Chairman of Kazakhstani University

The founder of Kusto Group, Yerkin Tatishev, was recently appointed Chairman of the Board of Trustees of AlmaU University in Kazakhstan.

After several years on the board of the institution, Yerkin Tatishev wrote about his new position on Kusto Group’s Instagram page at the end of May.

“This is a great honor and responsibility for me. Our mission is AlmaU 2.0 in the next 10 years based on a 35-year foundation,” he wrote.

“Great transformations of higher education are taking place in the world. It is very important not only to be in the trend of changes, but to be at least a role model of a higher education institution in Central Asia. I am sure that this is a real goal,” he added.

In his new role, Yerkin Tatishev will work on developing AlmaU, ensure quality improvement and arrange fundraising activities along with the rest of the Board of Trustees.

Furthermore, the Kusto Group founder will represent the board’s interests to relevant stakeholders, determine current and future tasks and make sure they are completed as well as organize the activities of the board.

Yerkin Tatishev heads pioneering Kazakhstani business university

AlmaU is a shorter version of Almaty Management University, which is located in Kazakhstan’s largest city, Almaty. 

Founded in 1988 as the Almaty School of Managers, AlmaU boasts several titles. It is the oldest private university and business school in Kazakhstan while it is also a pioneer of business education.

In 1996, the institution changed its name to the International Academy of Business before it became a university in 2014 and was named the Almaty Management University.

The university that Yerkin Tatishev of Kusto Group has now become the chairman of has its main focus on leadership, entrepreneurship, integrity, sustainability and responsibility.

AlmaU consists of the Graduate School of Business, School of Hospitality and Tourism, School of Management, School of Digital Technologies, School of Economics and Finance, School of Politics and Law, School of Media and Film, School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, AlmaU Sharmanov School of Health Sciences, Center for Creative Industries, Urban Center, Sports Management Center and a Language Center.

Classes at the university are held in English, Kazakh and Russian.

Kusto Group’s other educational endeavors 

It is far from the first time that Yerkin Tatishev has involved himself in educational matters.

Kusto Group is currently finishing its Koktobe City project outside of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Inspired by Europe, it is a city-within-a-city with everything that families need within reach.

This includes the High Tech Academy, which already opened in 2017. High Tech Academy draws inspiration from Finnish teaching methods, as Yerkin Tatishev and the school’s principal, Tatiana Magambetova, looked into various educational systems before settling on Finland. 

They visited schools across Europe, the United States and Singapore, seeking inspiration and input. Ultimately, they were captivated by the Finnish approach, which places significant emphasis on ensuring the physical and emotional safety of children while cultivating a comfortable learning environment for them.

In addition to the Finnish methods, the Kusto Group founder and the principal of High Tech Academy also found the American teaching methods intriguing.

Tatiana Magambetova has explained that High Tech Academy incorporates the Finnish method in elementary school and the American method in middle and high school. The primary focus is on deeply learning concepts that can be applied in various contexts. 

She underlined that their priority is to prepare children for real-life experiences.

The Soviet Union meets 2023 at Almaty’s High Tech Academy

The school compound at High Tech Academy consists of five blocks, namely the preschool, elementary school, middle school, high school and the Budokan sports and arts center. These blocks are interconnected by a spacious atrium.

To ensure convenience for the students, each block is equipped with locker areas, clothing hangers and shoe shelves. The school’s interior design was purposefully created to accommodate the Finnish shoe-free method commonly practiced in schools, allowing students to freely walk around without shoes.

Given the importance of lighting to Tatiana Magambetova, Yerkin Tatishev and Kusto Group, each block includes a light well in the middle of it to ensure maximum use of natural lighting.

Specialized classrooms, such as the chemical lab, kitchen, music halls and art space, are primarily located within the middle and high school blocks, providing students with opportunities to explore various subjects.

The Budokan sports and arts center stands out among the blocks, offering high-quality facilities for sports and artistic activities.

“We, the children of the Soviet Union, remember that there was such a cool place – the House of Pioneers. There, you could swim, do aeromodelling and look at chess along the way,” Tatiana Magambetova noted.

The Budokan sports and arts center combines the features of a House of Pioneers and a community center.