ALMAU STUDENTS ABOUT HOW THE CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION HELPED THEM TO CREATE THEIR BUSINESS
Ksenia Yuzhaninova-Karadenizli, Director of AlmaU Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development
About AlmaU Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development
Entrepreneurial thinking is one of the main skills of the 21st century. First of all, it is responsibility for one’s actions, a desire to change reality for the better, not to run away from problems, flexibility of mind and critical thinking. The world is changing, and we need to think how to solve problems in the future, so we need new leaders who will find creative solutions.
In 2014, we opened Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development at Almaty Management University to develop entrepreneurial education in Kazakhstan. And for the last five years I have been managing this Center.
We are engaged in the academic direction and implementation of programs in the field of preparing entrepreneurial thinking. We launched Minor-Entrepreneurship program - this is when students’ main emphasis is placed on management or marketing and in addition they study entrepreneurship. That is, for four years, students have a list of subjects and certain tasks that must be completed in order to generate their project and learn how to manage it.
The second program, “Business Administration in the Field of Entrepreneurship,” is a full-scale four-year program for several areas. For example, a family business, which is common in Kazakhstan. And often, when the owners want to transfer the business to the children, they have no plan. And one more direction is general entrepreneurship, where the students create projects within four years, approach to management, team building and budget more deeply. The main goal is to create a business in four years and start up.
The students have the opportunity to go to Babson College, an educational institution in the United States, which, according to all ratings, ranks first in the field of training and education for entrepreneurship. They can also get additional financing for projects from sponsors.
Every student on our programs can go abroad and study the module there. It makes it possible to think globally and act locally.
Thanks to our Center, students do not waste time searching for themselves; they already know what they want and where they are striving. By the end of their studies, they are either invited to a good company, or they themselves create it. Our students are risky, flexible and want to change the world for the better.
About ERG events
Once a year, we send students who already have a business and problems with it to acceleration. Some of them cannot scale, increase sales or do not understand who their client is. For two months we work with the students and upgrade their projects.
Every year we spend a startup night - it is when during one night, one by one or in groups, students generate their ideas, together with mentors draw them up into projects and submit them to the jury in the morning. This idea came from the fact that leaving the comfort zone allows the brain to work differently and generate creative innovative ideas.
And, for the last three years, we have been implementing a project commissioned by ERG - "Ecosystem of Student Entrepreneurship." According to AlmaU experience, our Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development transforms eight classical educational institutions in Karaganda, Aktobe, Kostanay and Pavlodar into entrepreneurial ones.
Saltanat Kuanova, 18 years old, hometown - Almaty, student
Since childhood I love to create, but at the same time I did not want to be just an artist or designer. And I was always interested in the business sphere, so I realized that by combining these two interests I could get something new. Therefore, I had no doubt that I needed to go to AlmaU, because this is the best university in the country where they teach entrepreneurship.
I found out about AlmaU grant from Yerzhan Tatishev Foundation and won it. The fund fully pays for my studies, and I also have the opportunity to study under Minor-Entrepreneurship program. The organization of this program is fully engaged in Center for Enterprise Development and Innovation. And, my duties as a grantee include volunteering, so I am closely connected with the Center.
I launched a startup selling t-shirts with my own design. Each of them contains a Kazakh national ornament. I chose this direction because I consider myself a creative person.
The center helped me understand what I want, what I can and how to implement it with maximum benefit.
Most of all I like the fact that the Center finds an individual approach to every student. During this year I saw a lot of different students with different interests and desires. And the Center always gave advice or offered excellent opportunities, using its connections and resources.
I like to attend business breakfasts during which students in Minor-Entrepreneurship specialty can talk with many interesting personalities. For example, Ablai Yusupov, Nurken Rzaliev and Erkin Tatishev. And I got a lot of useful information at the trainings “7 skills of highly effective people” and “Emotional intelligence”.
Almas Toleubaev, 19 years old, hometown - Karaganda, student
I am in my third year at AlmaU University. I was lucky to win a grant from Yerzhan Tatishev Foundation for training under the program that they opened together with Center for Entrepreneurship.
I like that business coaches who teach us, are practicing business owners. Once a month, a business breakfast is held with successful entrepreneurs who share experience and knowledge. The center also helps to participate in start-up contests in Kazakhstan and abroad and organizes such events here.
In my first year, I created a website that helped students choose a university. My team and I participated in many competitions and even won cash rewards. Due to lack of experience and initially wrong actions, we had to suspend this project. Then I met a man who had grants.kz page, where he talked about grants, scholarships and internships for young people. It became interesting to me, and I suggested to do it seriously. Now the founder of the project Ismail helps us with advice, and on a daily basis we conduct the project with another freshman who also studies at our university. Now our Telegram channel has more than 19,000 subscribers, we are one of the most popular in Kazakhstan. And on Instagram we have a little more than 40,000 readers.
Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development has given me a lot and still gives. You may not want to be an entrepreneur in the future, but if you have ambition to be a top manager, you still need to be able to delegate, manage a team, and establish communications. “Business start-up”, “building a business model” and “business communication” subjects really helped me.
During my studies, my thinking changed, the frames of my thinking were erased, I saw that there are many opportunities. Besides the fact that I have a startup project, I work in one of the best companies in Kazakhstan - Chocofamily.
Ablai Yusupov, 26 years old, hometown - Ekibastuz, entrepreneur, general director of UPGRADE GROUP LLP, @yussupov
I entered AlmaU in 2011 to study Marketing. I had an active student life, I talked with everyone, acquired knowledge.
When I came up with the idea to create UpGrade School, the university helped me with premises, provided a room for my project and gave contacts to entrepreneurs that I needed. I still interact with the university, I am invited as a speaker and talk about me at conferences and meetings. This is a benefit for my personal brand.
I have two projects: UpGrade school, where we teach marketing and promotion on social networks. Over 4 years we trained 16,000 people and opened 2 branches: in Astana and Bishkek. My second business is “YUSSConsulting”, a consulting company. Now we provide business consulting on marketing and business processes of Zhansai Abdumalik Chess Academy, Vision Correction Center and other companies.
AlmaU Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Development strongly influences the development of the entrepreneurial environment, here real business projects are created.
Such centers are needed by young people, because at the initial stage, many of them lack funds, experience and discipline, and they need someone who will control and coordinate. Here, young people learn to understand the market, adequately evaluate their project, communicate, build communications, build a team. The main thing is that they gain enormous experience, which will help to make fewer mistakes in the future.
