KIMEP University

KIMEP University (formerly: Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics, and Forecasting) is a private university founded in 1992 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

History
KIMEP was founded in 1992 under the instructions of then-President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Its campus in south-central Almaty occupies the premises of the former Higher Party School of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. It was among the first private institutions of higher education founded in the former Soviet Union. Nazarbayev appointed Chan-Young Bang, his former economic advisor, as the institute's first executive director.

The first MBA and MA in Economics programs were launched in 1992 and the MPA program began enrolling students in 1993. The first class, consisting of 81 MBA and MA students, graduated from KIMEP in 1994.

In 1998 the International Executive Center was created with the help of McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In 1999 KIMEP introduced its first four-year bachelor programs in Business Administration and Social Sciences. 424 students enrolled in the undergraduate program.

In 2001 KIMEP became the first institution in Central Asia to implement an American-style course credit system for all academic programs.

Over the course of the decade, KIMEP launched new master's degrees, a Doctor of Business Administration program, a leadership certificate and many professional programs. Enrollment increased tenfold, thus the campus saw significant renovation, including the addition of a new library, an academic building and a gym.

In 2000, Chan-Young Bang became president of KIMEP, a position he still holds today. In 2004, KIMEP became a private, non-profit educational institution, with a 60% stake held by Dr. Bang and a 40% held by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

In 2008 the institute awarded nearly 600 bachelor's degrees and 152 master's degrees.

On January 26, 2012 the institution was renamed to KIMEP University.

Divisions and programs
KIMEP has four academic colleges and two learning centers:

Colleges
The Bang College of Business (BCB) is the oldest (since 1992) and largest college within KIMEP University and offers Bachelor of Science degrees in Management, Marketing, Finance, Accounting and Business Information Systems, Master of Business Administration as well as Masters and PhDs degrees in management, marketing, accounting and finance areas. In 2022, the Bachelor in Finance program received the European Foundation for Management Development Program (EFMD) accreditation, making BCB the first and only business school to have received the EFMD program accreditation in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.{https://www.efmdglobal.org/accreditations/business-schools/efmd-accredited/efmd-accredited-programmes/} Dr. Nejat Capar serves as the Dean of the Bang College of Business.

The College of Social Sciences (CSS) consists of four departments:


 * Department of Economics
 * Department of International Relations and Regional Studies.
 * Department of Media and Communication
 * Department of Public Administration

It offers bachelor and masters’ degrees in: economics, international relations, journalism, public and municipal administration, PhD programs in economics and in public administration and dual degree programs with Humboldt University Berlin (Master of Economics and Management Science) and with Yonsei University (Master of Global Affairs and Policy).

The Department of International Relations is member of an international consortium that offers a joint Erasmus Mundus international masters’ degree in Central & East European, Russian & Eurasian Studies.

Prominent faculty members at CSS are Nadeem Naqvi, PhD, Francis Amagoh, PhD, Aigerim Kalybay, PhD, and Dr. Gulnara Dadabayeva. Dr. Gerald Pech serves as dean of the College.

The School of Law, established in 2010, is a Member of the International Association of Law Schools. It offers two undergraduate Law degree programs: a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) and a Bachelor of International Law (B.I.L.). Each program has a minor in Public Law and in Private Law. Both may lead to eligibility to practice law in Kazakhstan. The programs also feature required Experiential Learning in the KIMEP Legal Clinic, Ask-A-Lawyer Project and/or international moot court and moot arbitration competitions. The Law School offers a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree with tracks in either International Commercial Law or International Human Rights Law. The current Dean is Richard Linstrom, J.D.

The College of Humanities and Education (CHE) was established in 2019. The College offers four bachelor's degree programs: Two Foreign Languages (TESOL), Translation Studies, Cognitive Science, and Psychology; and three graduate programs:  MA in Foreign Languages (TESOL) and MA in Education Policy and Management, PhD in Education Policy and Management. The CHE also offers the English Foundation, Academic English and General Education courses.

The founding and current dean of the College is Juldyz Smagulova, Ph.D.

Learning Centers
The Language Center offers the English language foundation course, which most students must take upon entry to KIMEP. The Language Center teaches courses in English, Russian, Kazakh, Chinese, Korean, German. It offers a master's degree in teaching English as a second language (MA in TESOL). First-year undergraduates at KIMEP take interdisciplinary courses from the Language Center as a part of the general education program.

In addition, KIMEP has an Executive Education Center (EEC), which offers certificate courses and professional development programs to adults and professionals in Almaty. It offers courses to high school students preparing them for the KIMEP entrance examination.

Rankings
In 2019, the Independent Quality Assurance Agency of Kazakhstan (IQAA) named KIMEP the best universities for humanities and economics in Kazakhstan.

License and attestation
KIMEP has a license to offer academic programs from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

KIMEP is in the process of applying for accreditation at international accreditation agencies. The Bang College of Business has received regional (level II) accreditation from the Asian Forum on Business Education, making KIMEP the first academic institution in Central Asia to receive this honor. The Department of Public Administration received accreditation from the European Association for Public Administration Accreditation.

In 2019 the university received an Institutional Accreditation from Foundation for International Business Administration accreditation (FIBAA) until 2025.

Campus
KIMEP's campus in south-central Almaty occupies the premises of the former Higher Party School of the Communist Party of Kazakhstan. It includes three main academic buildings, a library, sports center, dormitory, various fields, benches and other facilities.

Library
The Olivier Giscard d'Estaing Library (OGEL), named after the founding dean of INSEAD, has the largest English-language collection in Central Asia (approximately 64,000) in addition to large Russian and Kazakh collections (approximately 36,000 total). The main collection specializes in publications on business, social sciences, law and languages. It offers KIMEP students access to several electronic libraries and resources. The library has space for studying, an electronic resources laboratory and a large computer room. OGEL librarians have created a major database of reference materials on Central Asia, which they continually update.

Sports Center
In November 2010, KIMEP opened a new Sports Center. The 325-square-meter facility includes a basketball court, two fitness rooms and a yoga studio. Beginning in 2011, the Sports Center offered a variety of curricular and extra-curricular courses to students. Students have free access to the facility, which is open six days a week.

ExxonMobil Media Center
In October 2009, KIMEP launched a media laboratory for its journalism students. The facility was named the ExxonMobil Media Center after ExxonMobil Kazakhstan, which donated US$44,000 to pay for the center's equipment. The digital equipment enables students to work with internet publications, digital photography, cinematography, sound, editing, and advertising.

Student life
About 3,000 students enrol to KIMEP each semester. Roughly 50% of KIMEP students come from outside Almaty. International and exchange students enrol from more than 25 countries, including China, India, Kyrgyzstan, Peru, South Korea, Spain, Tajikistan, United States, and Uzbekistan.

The KIMEP Students Association is a student-elected body to represent the interests of students to the administration. The KSA participates with full voting rights on all management committees. The KSA is also responsible for organizing and providing funding for all student clubs at KIMEP.

There are more than 30 student clubs at KIMEP, including the Kimep Fashion Industry, eClub (Entrepreneurship Club), KIMEP Times, Kimep Voice, Future Business Group, KIMEP Film Society, Intellectual Debate Club, Math Club, Luca Accounting Club, Zhas Kenes Charity Group, CrEAteam and KVN. In addition, there is a weekly English Club.

The Leadership Development Program invites guest lectures from the business, politics, and academia in Kazakhstan and around the world to speak to students about personal development, leadership, and other issues.

Alumni
So farwhen? KIMEP has graduated more than 15,000 alumni. The KIMEP Alumni Association organizes events and networking for alumni of all programs. KIMEP alumni tend to work in the private and public sectors. According to a 2022 study, 93% of KIMEP graduates had full-time employment within six months of graduation.

Notable alumni include:


 * Alikhan Smailov, Prime Minister
 * Asset Irgaliyev (BAE 2008), The Chairman of Agency for strategic planning and reforms
 * Asel Karaulova (MBA 1994), President of Press Club of Kazakhstan
 * Rinad Temirbekov (MBA 1999), Director of Eurasia Foundation, Kazakhstan
 * Galina Umarova (MPA 2000), Vice President of Air Astana
 * Gani Uzbekov (MA 1997), Founder and CEO, S1LK
 * Dana Inkarbekova (MBA 1995), Country Managing Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers
 * Aigerim Khafizova (BSSPS 2010), Founder and CEO, Edgravity
 * Saken Zhumashev (MBA 2007), Country Managing Partner, KPMG
 * Aizhan Suleimenova (BAIJ 2014), Chief Editor, Forbes Women Kazakhstan
 * Aisha Shaya (BSS 2008), Co-founder, The Neue

Faculty and research
KIMEP has over 200 faculty members coming from more than 40 countries. KIMEP has 84 instructors, 77 of which have PhDs.

Notable faculty members include:
 * Amin Aloysius Ajab, Chair of the Economics Department, economics and development scholar, former deputy director and Head of Training at the United Nations African Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP)
 * Zhuldyzbek Abylkhoznin, a scholar of Kazakhstan History;
 * John JA Burke, former Rector and Professor of Law of the Riga Graduate School of Law, Latvia
 * Nadeem Naqvi, former chief economist at the World Bank Johannesburg.
 * John Dixon, public policy scholar.
 * Zhenis Kembayev, scholar of Public International Law, Law of the European Union and Constitutional Law of Kazakhstan, expert in the field of regional integration theory and regional integration processes in the post-Soviet states
 * Gavin Kretzschmar, PricewaterhouseCoopers Chair of Accounting, co-serves as Director of Finance and Risk at the University of Edinburgh, formerly the Finance Director of Standard Bank (SA) Retail
 * Kanat Kudaibergenov, mathematician
 * Tomas Balco, a tax expert and founder of the Central Asian Tax Research Center at KIMEP
 * Roman Podoprigora, frequent consultant to the Supreme Court and Ministry of Justice of Kazakhstan; Deputy Chair, Financial & Tax Law Research Institute, since 2008.
 * Vassily Voinov, statistician.

Partner universities
KIMEP has active partnerships with more than 95 universities globally. Last academic yearwhen?, 175 KIMEP students enrolled in study abroad programs, while KIMEP hosted more than 300 international students. Some of KIMEP's partner universities are:

KIMEP has established several dual-degree programs with universities outside of Kazakhstan. These include:
 * Humboldt University Berlin, Germany (MA Economics/MSc in Economics and Management Science)
 * University of Glasgow, UK (MIR/Master in Russian, Central and Eastern European Studies)
 * IESEG School of Management/Catholic University of Lille, France (MBA/MIB)
 * EM Strasbourg Business School/University of Strasbourg, France (BSc Business & Accounting/Bachelor in European Management)
 * Yonsei University, South Korea (MA Economics/Master in Global Economy & Strategy, MIR/Master is Global Affairs & Policy, MIR/MA Korean Studies, MIR/Master in Global Economy & Strategy)

Controversies
In 2006 certain former faculty members published letters accusing the university of corruption and cronyism. In a letter to the Chronicle of Higher Education, the former faculty members claimed contracts and salaries were "compromised" at the institution. Former faculty published another letter in the opposition newspaper Respublika which accused several administrators of professional misconduct and lack of qualifications. The letter addressed the awarding of KIMEP tenders to USKO, a company chaired by Dr. Bang.

Responding in the same newspaper, Bang claimed that the accusations by the former faculty were not true. He noted that in 2006, 95% of KIMEP employees said they would recommend the school as a good place to work. He said four faculty members were regrettably fired because "their actions did not correspond to the mission and goals of the institute". He noted that those faculty members who left KIMEP voluntarily usually did so for personal reasons or because their time in Kazakhstan had come to a scheduled end. The letter also pointed out that out of eleven on-going or recently completed construction projects at KIMEP, only two were done by USKO, and that all such projects at KIMEP are examined by an independent committee.

In September 2010, the Ministry of Education and Science issued a decree showing an intention to suspend KIMEP's license for six months. The Ministry cited technical issues such as student-teacher ratio, classroom sizes and the templates of diplomas for the suspension. KIMEP filed an appeal against the suspension in Astana and continued to operate. Observers pointed out that the university had been operating for almost two decades and suggested that the sudden emergence of this problem after such a long period was politically motivated. Two weeks later, the Ministry fully reinstated KIMEP's license, stating that all violations had been resolved. Zhansit Tuimebayev, the Minister of Education and Science who had issued the suspension of KIMEP's license, was moved to a different government position and replaced by Bakhytzhan Zhumagulov.