From April 6 to 10, AlmaU held AlmaU Research Impact Week – a series of events that brought together researchers, experts, and members of the academic community to discuss modern approaches to evaluating research impact and the role of science in socio-economic development.
The program included lectures, workshops, and masterclasses.
On April 6, a seminar titled “Digital Traces in Socio-Economic Research: Opportunities, Limitations, and Methodological Challenges” was delivered by A.T. Moldabekova, PhD, Head of the Zertteu LAB at the Institute of Economics of the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Participants explored modern approaches to using digital data in research, its analytical potential and limitations, and discussed key methodological challenges, including issues of reliability, representativeness, and ethics.
On April 7, a workshop titled “Using Scopus and Elsevier Tools to Write a Successful Academic Paper” was held with the participation of Rabiga Kozhamkul, Central Asia consultant at Informascope. Participants received practical recommendations on selecting relevant journals, analyzing research trends, increasing publication visibility, and effectively using scientometric indicators.
On April 8, a masterclass on the commercialization of scientific developments and preparation of grant applications for innovative projects took place. Speaker Doszhan Alibekuly Akalim, Deputy Director of MashSvar LLP, shared methodologies for preparing competitive proposals and experience in implementing projects from idea to industrial application. Participants learned about commercialization stages, grant requirements, market potential assessment, technology readiness levels (TRL), and collaboration with industry partners.
The key event of the week was the AlmaU Research Impact Dialogue discussion platform held on April 9. The Vice-Rector for Research and Commercialization at AlmaU, Renata Kudaibergenova, delivered a welcome speech, emphasizing the importance of shifting from formal metrics to meaningful evaluation of scientific contribution.
Among the keynote presentations was the talk “Evaluating the Impact of Scientific Research and Ways to Improve Efficiency” by Rimma Sagiyeva, Doctor of Economics, Associate Professor, Chief Analyst at the Analytical Center for Scientific and Technical Development of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the President. She presented modern approaches to measuring research impact and improving research performance.
Alisher Aldashev, PhD, Professor at the International School of Economics of KBTU, delivered a talk titled “Academic Market for Lemons,” addressing the decline in research quality under the dominance of formal metrics. He demonstrated how excessive focus on quantitative indicators (publications, indices, rankings) may lead to the crowding out of high-quality research and the growth of low-quality publications, as well as long-term risks for academia.
The panel discussion “Publish or Perish? From Metrics to Real Research Impact” focused on a critical analysis of existing research evaluation systems. Participants discussed the influence of scientometric indicators on researchers’ behavior and explored approaches to assessing real research impact. The discussion was moderated by Daniyar Medetov, PhD, Director of the Institute of Entrepreneurship at AlmaU.
The panel featured:
● Rimma Sagiyeva, Doctor of Economics, Associate Professor, Chief Analyst at the Analytical Center for Scientific and Scientific-Technical Development of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan;
● Alexey Belyanin, PhD, Director of the Laboratory of Behavioral Economics, AlmaU;
● Gulnaz Alibekova, PhD, Director of the Scientometrics Lab, Candidate of Economic Sciences;
● Alisher Aldashev, PhD, Professor at the International School of Economics, KBTU;
● Yerbolat Orazbekuly, PhD, technobroker, member of the Council of Young Scientists of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan under the President, Director of the Commercialization Center at Turan University.
The event also included an award ceremony recognizing AlmaU faculty members for their significant contribution to the development of science at the university.
The week concluded on April 10 with an online masterclass titled “Academic Integrity in the Age of AI: How the Antiplagiarism System Supports Authors and Reviewers.”
On the same day, a student video competition “Scientific Video Show” was held as part of the “Research Design” course.
AlmaU Research Impact Week became an important platform for knowledge exchange, discussion of current challenges in science, and strengthening of research culture.