The discussion was started by the presentation of Brendan Duprey, advisor of the Sustainable Kazakhstan Research Institute at Narxoz University. Among the guests of honor are Bambang Susantono, Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development, Asian Development Bank, and Giovanni Capannelli, ADB Country Director for Kazakhstan.
The Kazakhstan Research Institute for Future Studies and Forecasting (QRIFS) is an “experimental”, hands-on research laboratory designed to further explore the future and strategic forecasting in Kazakhstan, Central Asia and beyond. The main goal is rethinking how the future can and can be engaged, envisioned and implemented at the university level. QRIFS will integrate future forecasting into the general education curriculum, introduce additional specialization for the Bachelor of Business Administration, and offer thesis tracks for MBA, DBA and PhD programs at Narxoz University. QRIFS is currently located at Narxoz Business School. As the country's first higher education institution specializing in forecasting the future, QRIFS opens up new opportunities and releases content in three languages: Kazakh, Russian and English.