Almaty Management University (AlmaU) hosted a Demo Day for digital solutions from the Department of Information Technology and Digitalisation, dedicated to the results and prospects for the development of the university’s IT ecosystem.
‘Digitalisation at AlmaU is seen not as a set of disparate tools, but as a sustainable infrastructure and management process aimed at improving the university’s efficiency, the quality of the user experience for students and staff, and information security,’ emphasised Zhanna Malikova, Director of the Department of Information Technology and Digitalisation.
A key element of the ecosystem is the AlmaUni platform, which functions as a single digital access point to all university services. The solution has made it possible to centralise digital tools, reduce the time spent searching for information, and form a technological basis for further scaling of services.
AlmaUni – user interface
As part of the development of the digital environment at AlmaU, a Single Sign-On (SSO) system has been implemented, providing a single point of entry to the university’s main internal services. The implementation of SSO has simplified user authorisation, reduced the load on technical support and strengthened access control.
The UniHelp digital platform became the basis for the transition to a managed IT support model with fixed SLAs, a transparent request processing system, and real-time analytics. The project was implemented within 2 months. As a result, the average initial response time was reduced, the loss of requests was minimised, and quality control was ensured at all levels of support.
UniHelp
The university has implemented a number of applied digital solutions aimed at optimising everyday processes:
- Booking service for reserving classrooms;
- Rent IT equipment rental system;
- Qevent event management platform;
- AlmaQueue electronic queue for the admissions committee;
- BirQadam platform for coordinating volunteers and organisers;
- Charity student mutual aid platform;
- CRM system for advising and supporting students;
- a unified digital channel for initiatives and feedback.
Booking
Rent
Qevent
Special attention is paid to the Adaptation service, a unified digital ecosystem of adaptation, knowledge, and services for students and staff. The platform reduces the workload on departments by providing a single digital space for accessing the University’s knowledge, services and processes, and helps to shorten the adaptation period for new members of the university community.
Аdaptation
The development of the AlmaU digital environment also includes the implementation of artificial intelligence-based solutions. These include chatbots for advising and career counselling, career guidance assistants, and the concept of a unified AI agent as a point of interaction between employees and university services. These tools are designed to speed up processes, personalise services and reduce the administrative burden.
AlmaU’s digital products are developed in accordance with international accessibility standards (WCAG), ensuring an inclusive user experience. An important part of the ecosystem is the involvement of students in the development and testing of IT solutions, which allows the educational process to be integrated with practical activities.
All digital solutions were implemented within a short timeframe – from two weeks to three months, including analysis and implementation stages. Large platform solutions, including AlmaUni, were launched within three months; digital support and adaptation services – within two months; and applied operational tools – within two weeks. Individual solutions, such as CRM for advising and AlmaQueue, were implemented within two weeks to one month.
The foundation for digital transformation was the re-engineering of the university’s IT infrastructure: upgrading server and network equipment, implementing clustering, backup, deployment automation (CI/CD) and modern virtualisation platforms, which ensured high fault tolerance and stability of AlmaU’s digital services.
DemoDay demonstrated AlmaU’s comprehensive and systematic approach to the implementation of digital technologies in educational, administrative and service processes. The solutions presented confirm the university’s strategic course towards the formation of a sustainable, secure and user-oriented digital environment that supports development and management efficiency.