Time changes universities, but it does not change their purpose
Zhumatay URAZBAYEV
When we studied at the Semipalatinsk Technological Institute of Meat and Dairy Industry, the university faced different challenges. The country needed engineers, technologists, and specialists capable of ensuring the development of the food and processing industry. Our institute fulfilled this mission brilliantly. It provided us with fundamental knowledge, taught us to think like engineers, to make decisions, and to take responsibility for production and the quality of our work. It was this school that helped many of us succeed in our professions.
However, today, as I follow the activities of Shakarim University, I realize that a university cannot live only in the past, no matter how glorious it may have been. Times, technologies, and the economy have all changed, and the requirements for specialists have grown.
Nowadays, it is not enough to simply pass on knowledge. A university must create it, engage in research, collaborate with industry, implement innovations, and train specialists who will not just catch up with the world, but define its development.
That is why I am particularly glad to see how Shakarim University is evolving. Young lecturers and researchers are joining, working fluently with digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and modern equipment. This is perfectly natural; every generation must bring something of its own to the university. Our generation built the school of production, while today’s generation is shaping the school of innovation. Yet, there is no contradiction between us, because it is impossible to build the future without respecting the foundation laid by previous generations.
This is the strength of Shakarim University today: it does not abandon its history; it continues it.
Forty years later, we saw a different university. And our reunion after forty years became for me the best confirmation that Shakarim University is worthily continuing the work of our institute, preserving its best traditions, and educating a new generation of specialists who will build the future of Kazakhstan.
