Kazakhstan, Belgium to set up mirror laboratory for AI and math at ALEM.AI center
As part of the official visit of the President of Kazakhstan to the Kingdom of Belgium, a package of strategic agreements has been signed to develop scientific and educational, innovative and technological cooperation between Kazakhstan and EU, Qazinform News Agency learned from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of AI and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev and Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek attended the signing ceremonies.
One of the key outcomes of the visit became the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the Serikbayev East Kazakhstan Technical University, KU Leuven, SIM² - KU Leuven Institute for Sustainable Metals and Minerals and Astana Hub autonomous cluster fund.
The parties intend to use AI for modeling metallurgical processes, analyzing geological and production data, predicting the properties of new materials, and optimizing technological chains for processing critical raw materials. This approach will accelerate scientific research and shorten the path from laboratory developments to industrial implementation.
The memorandum provides for joint research in the field of sustainable mining, processing and recycling of critical materials, industrial digitalization, academic mobility, implementation of international projects, conferences, summer schools, and technology transfer.
The agreement develops cooperation initiated within the TiBrerium project of the Horizon Europe program, which brought together European and Kazakhstani organizations in the field of critical raw materials and sustainable technologies. For Kazakhstan, this opens opportunities to move from raw material exports to the joint creation of knowledge, technologies, and high value-added products.
An important outcome was the signing of a memorandum of understanding and cooperation between the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Ghent University.
The memorandum is aimed at developing mathematics as the fundamental basis of artificial intelligence, mathematical modeling, and engineering computations. The central element of the agreement will be the creation in Kazakhstan of a mirror laboratory in mathematics, AI, modeling, and engineering computations.
The laboratory will be established at the International Center for Artificial Intelligence ALEM.AI as a joint project of the Ghent Analysis & PDE Cente and the Institute of Mathematics and Mathematical Modeling of the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The scientific coordinator from Ghent University will be Professor Michael Ruzhansky. On the Kazakhstani side, coordination will be provided by Mahmud Sadybekov, Director General of the Institute of Mathematics and Mathematical Modeling.
The mirror laboratory will operate in a distributed format, providing Kazakhstani researchers with access to scientific expertise, methodology, and joint research with Ghent University. This model will enable to set up sustainable international research teams and scale up cooperation in line with the needs of science and industry.
In addition to creating the laboratory, the agreement provides for academic exchanges, including under the Bolashak program, conferences, seminars, lectures, intensive schools, professional development programs for researchers and students, as well as the launch of joint research and startup projects.
The International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) plays an important role in implementing the agreements. ISTC will contribute to the development of international scientific cooperation, the formation of consortia, preparation of joint projects, and expansion of partnerships between Kazakhstani organizations and European research and innovation structures.
Participation of ISTC will strengthen the practical implementation of agreements, including through attracting international expertise, developing science diplomacy, and supporting new projects in artificial intelligence, critical materials, engineering technologies, and training of scientific personnel.
The signed agreements are part of a unified program of rapprochement between Kazakhstan and the European Union in the field of science, innovation, and high technologies. During the visit, issues of Kazakhstan’s association with the Horizon Europe program, development of deep-tech, engineering education, commercialization of research, and international scientific cooperation were also discussed.
New partnerships with KU Leuven, SIM², Ghent University, Astana Hub, and ISTC create an institutional foundation for strengthening the country’s scientific potential and expand opportunities for Kazakhstani scholars and engineers to join the European Research Area.
Earlier, Qazinform reported that Minister of Foreign Affairs Yermek Kosherbayev held negotiations with his Belgian counterpart Maxime Prévot in Brussels.
