Shakarim University and Murdoch University: from an international agreement to the development tasks of the Abay region
On August 17 in Astana, at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Shakarim University and Murdoch University (Australia) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan Sayasat Nurbek.
The signing became the central event of the official visit of the Murdoch University delegation to Kazakhstan and opened a new stage of cooperation between the two universities. However, the negotiations that followed showed that the significance of the agreements reached is much broader than traditional inter-university partnership
The center of joint work is the Abay region, its personnel, scientific and technological needs and the possibility of attracting international competencies to solve specific problems of the region.
On August 18, in Semey, akim of the region Abay Berik Uali met with a delegation from Murdoch University. The meeting was attended by Murdoch University Deputy Vice-Rector for Global Affairs Simon John McKirdy, Vice-Rector of the Institute for Food Industry Development Peter Mostyn Davis, Murdoch University Dubai Campus Executive Director and Director of Strategic Partnerships Mohamed Abdulkhalek Mohamed Ba, as well as Shakarim University Rector Duman Orynbekov.
One of the central topics of the negotiations was the prospect of opening a branch of Murdoch University in the Abay region. The parties also discussed joint scientific research, academic mobility, development of educational programs and double degree programs, training of specialists and the possibility of introducing advanced developments into production.
Thus, the Memorandum signed in Astana moved to the level of specific tasks at the next stage of negotiations.
Why Abay region?
The choice of main areas of cooperation is directly related to the economic specialization of the region.
The Abay region is historically a large agricultural territory, where livestock farming, veterinary safety, increasing agricultural productivity, deep processing of products and food security are of strategic importance.
This is where Murdoch University’s competencies gain particular practical value.
Murdoch University is recognized as one of Australia's strong universities in the fields of veterinary medicine, animal health and animal husbandry. Training of specialists and scientific research are carried out at the School of Veterinary Medicine and research centers working in the field of animal health and productivity. Practical training includes students working with farm animals on working university farms and in veterinary clinics.
Murdoch University's veterinary programs are internationally recognized and accredited by specialized organizations in Australia, the UK and the USA.
The university's research includes animal health and welfare, biosecurity, livestock reproductive efficiency, meat quality, sustainable parasite management and antimicrobial resistance.
Therefore, we are not just talking about the coincidence of the educational programs of two universities. The scientific competencies of the Australian partner directly intersect with the tasks facing the agro-industrial complex of the Abay region today.
It is at this intersection that it is planned to develop further cooperation - from training of specialists and joint research to technology transfer and implementation of scientific developments directly into production.
Branch as part of regional development
Particular attention at the meeting with the regional akim was paid to the prospect of opening a branch of Murdoch University on the basis of Shakarim University.
Berik Uali expressed support for the initiative and said that the regional akimat is ready to consider the possibility of providing a plot of land in the Smart City area for the construction of a separate branch building.
According to the head of the region, cooperation with the Australian university is considered in direct connection with the economic objectives of the region.
- The Abay region is historically an agricultural region, including one specializing in livestock farming. Thank you for your interest in developing partnerships and friendly relations with the Abay region. The development of education and science, the introduction of advanced technologies and the strengthening of international cooperation for these purposes are among the key areas for our region. In this regard, we attach particular importance to the partnership with Murdoch University, which has high world-class scientific potential and international experience,” noted Berik Wali.
The head of the region also emphasized the practical importance of the possible opening of a branch:
- We view collaboration with Murdoch University as a strategically important opportunity that brings together education, science and industry. For these purposes, the regional akimat fully supports the initiative to open a branch of Murdoch University on the basis of Shakarim University. This will open up wide opportunities for training international-level specialists, conducting joint scientific research and introducing advanced technologies into production.
New production projects in the region make this model of cooperation particularly relevant.
In the Zhanasemey district, the construction of a large meat processing plant with a capacity of 11,400 tons of meat and highly processed products per year is being completed. The enterprise will be equipped with modern Australian technologies.
Thus, there is a direct relationship between the development of production, training of specialists and scientific support of the industry. A new enterprise needs not only technology and equipment, but also qualified personnel, modern veterinary competencies, research in the field of quality and safety of products, livestock breeding and processing.
Berik Uali also drew attention to this:
- The successful implementation of such projects requires not only modern technologies, but also qualified specialists, high-quality scientific research and education based on international experience.
From international partnerships to specific projects
The memorandum between Shakarim University and Murdoch University provides for academic mobility of students and teachers, joint scientific research, development of joint and double-degree educational programs and organization of scientific internships for young researchers.
A separate area is associated with the international scholarship “Bolashak”. The possibility of scientific internships for Shakarim University researchers at Murdoch University was previously explored by the parties together with JSC Center for International Programs Bolashak.
The priority areas of cooperation are veterinary medicine, agriculture, food security and food technology.
Negotiations between the two universities began in February 2026. At the first working meeting, the parties identified the main areas of interaction and agreed to prepare a Memorandum. In April, negotiations moved on to the development of specific mechanisms, including the organization of scientific internships for young scientists and researchers.
The signing of the document at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan brought this work to a new level.
It is also important that the partnership is developing in line with government policy on the internationalization of higher education, attracting strong foreign universities to Kazakhstan, expanding international scientific cooperation and training personnel for the new economy.
At the same time, a model is being formed in the Abay region in which international cooperation receives a specific territorial and economic link.
Region represents needs. The university concentrates education and science around them. The international partner brings competence and technology. Production becomes a platform for their practical application.
That is why the program of the visit of the Murdoch University delegation was not limited to negotiations in Astana.
In Semey, Australian partners got acquainted with the research and innovation infrastructure of Shakarim University. The regional part of the program also provides acquaintance with the production capabilities of the region. This approach allows a foreign partner to see not only the university, but also the territory, its economy and specific tasks for which Murdoch University’s competencies may be needed.
The potential of two universities
Murdoch University is an Australian public research university, ranked 422nd in the QS World University Rankings 2027. Its strengths in research and education include veterinary medicine, agriculture, animal health, food security and food technology.
Shakarim University, in turn, develops educational and research areas in the field of agriculture, veterinary medicine, food technology, engineering and technological development of the region.
IN THE Sustainability Impact Ratings 2026 Shakarim University is represented on 15 of the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. According to SDG 2 “End Hunger” the university is included in the world group 201–300, and according to SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth” - 301–400.
The coincidence of the scientific competencies of the two universities with the economic specialization of the Abay region allows us to consider the partnership not only within the framework of the classical internationalization of higher education.
The prospect of a Murdoch University branch is also not significant in itself. Its potential value is determined by the ability to integrate international educational and scientific competencies into the economic system of the region - to train specialists needed by the region, conduct research together with production, ensure technology transfer and create new growth points.
Two days that determined further work
Summarizing the results of two days of work with the Murdoch University delegation, Shakarim University rector Duman Orynbekov noted that the main result was the movement from general agreements to the formation of a specific model of cooperation.
- If we sum up these two days, the main thing for me is that we are no longer just talking about cooperation between two universities. Yesterday in Astana, with the participation of the Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek, we consolidated our intentions with a Memorandum. Today in Semey, together with the akim of the Abay region, Berik Uali, we discussed the practical side: what programs the region needs, what research we can conduct together, where the competencies of Murdoch University can be applied in production and what the presence of an Australian university should be in the region, - Duman Orynbekov noted.
According to the rector, support for the project at the state and regional levels is of particular importance.
- The position of the regional leadership is important to us. Support for the initiative to open a branch of Murdoch University on the basis of Shakarim University and the willingness to consider the possibility of providing land in a Smart City means that we are no longer talking about a separate university project. We see an opportunity to build a long-term system in which the interests of the state, the region, universities and the real sector are united around the specific tasks of the economy.
Duman Orynbekov emphasized that the two-day negotiations made it possible to see specific points of such interaction.
- Possibilities and needs coincided here very precisely. The Abay region is developing livestock farming and deep processing of agricultural products. A large meat processing complex is being built in the region using Australian technologies. Murdoch University has serious competencies in veterinary medicine, animal health, animal husbandry, quality and food safety. Shakarim University has a scientific base, specialists and knowledge of the territory. Our task is to correctly combine these opportunities and get a concrete result: new educational programs, international-level specialists, joint research and technologies that will work directly in the region.
The next stage will be the translation of the agreements reached into a specific action plan.
- The signing of the Memorandum did not end the work - it has only just begun. Now it is necessary to determine educational programs and research projects, mechanisms for academic mobility and scientific internships, and substantively study the issue of the branch. For us, the main indicator is not the number of signed documents, but the result that our students, scientists, enterprises and the region will receive. It is by this that we will evaluate the effectiveness of this partnership, - summed up the rector of Shakarim University.
Two days of negotiations outlined the contours of a much larger project than traditional interuniversity cooperation. In Astana, the institutional basis of the partnership was established; in Semey, its regional and economic logic was defined.
The next stage is the practical implementation of the agreements: the creation of programs, the launch of research, training of specialists, technology transfer and further development of the presence of Murdoch University in the Abay region.
It is the transition from the signed document to the system operating in the region that should be the main result of the partnership between Shakarim University and Murdoch University.
