At NUFYP, learning extends beyond the classroom. Our faculty continuously engage in professional development, research and international academic communities to ensure that students benefit from current knowledge, innovative teaching approaches and a high-quality learning experience.
The 2025–2026 academic year brought a wide range of achievements across professional recognition, research, teaching and academic engagement. Here are some of the highlights.
Our faculty continued to strengthen their professional expertise and recognition in higher education:
What do these recognitions mean?
Our faculty contribute to international research across education, artificial intelligence, ethics, physics and engineering. Their research not only contributes to new knowledge but also brings current developments and perspectives into the classroom.
Highlights from the academic year include:
Faculty research is also receiving recognition for its wider academic impact.
Alejandro Acuyo-Cespedes was ranked among the top researchers in Kazakhstan based on research impact measured through Web of Science and Scopus citations for 2021–2025:
#37 in Education
#95 in Social Sciences
Scopus and Web of Science are leading databases that track academic research worldwide. Citation counts indicate how frequently a researcher's work is referenced by other scholars and provide one measure of research influence and reach.
For our students, this means learning from faculty who are actively contributing to research and bringing the latest knowledge and perspectives from their fields into the classroom.
Professional growth also means engaging with the wider academic community. Throughout the year, our faculty presented research, exchanged ideas with colleagues and stayed connected with developments in their fields.
At the heart of all these achievements is our faculty's commitment to creating engaging and supportive learning experiences for students.
Shanon Smith was nominated by students for a teaching award and received outstanding student course evaluation feedback during the 2025–2026 academic year.
Student recognition is a meaningful reflection of the impact our faculty make in the classroom and the learning environment they create for NUFYP students.
The achievements of 2025–2026 reflect just a snapshot of the many ways our faculty continue to grow and contribute to the NUFYP community.
We congratulate all our faculty members on another successful academic year and thank them for their commitment to teaching excellence, impactful research, continuous professional development and service to the wider academic community.
Their continued growth helps ensure that NUFYP students learn from educators who are not only dedicated teachers, but also active researchers, professionals and members of the global academic community.
The 2025–2026 academic year brought a wide range of achievements across professional recognition, research, teaching and academic engagement. Here are some of the highlights.
Professional Recognition
Our faculty continued to strengthen their professional expertise and recognition in higher education:
- Susan Finlay — awarded BALEAP Fellowship (TEAP Accreditation)
- Elmira Tursunkhanova — awarded Advance HE Senior Fellow (SFHEA)
- Alejandro Acuyo-Cespedes — awarded Advance HE Senior Fellow (SFHEA)
- Assel Sadykova — awarded Advance HE Fellow (FHEA)
- Anna Sin — awarded Advance HE Fellow (FHEA)
- Michael Johnson — awarded Advance HE Fellow (FHEA)
- Benjamin Thomas — received competitive Advance HE Fellowship funding
What do these recognitions mean?
- BALEAP Fellowship (TEAP Accreditation)
- Advance HE Fellowships (FHEA & SFHEA)
- Advance HE Fellowship funding
Research That Shapes Teaching
Our faculty contribute to international research across education, artificial intelligence, ethics, physics and engineering. Their research not only contributes to new knowledge but also brings current developments and perspectives into the classroom.
Highlights from the academic year include:
- Alejandro Acuyo-Cespedes and Matthew Courtney — Student AI Resistance: Status Anxiety and Trust in Kazakhstani Higher Education, published in the Q1 journal Asian Education and Development Studies.
- Elmira Tursunkhanova and Alejandro Acuyo-Cespedes — Toward More Sustainable Plagiarism Policies in an AI Higher Education Environment: A Student-Informed Case Study, published in the Q1 Journal of Academic Ethics.
- Maksim Kozlov and collaborators — two publications on gain-managed nonlinear fiber amplifiers in Optics Express and Optics Letters, both Q1 journals.
- Maksim Kozlov and Colin J. McKinstrie — two publications on mathematical methods for optics and Hamiltonian dynamics in the Canadian Journal of Physics (Q3) and Journal of Modern Optics (Q4).
- Elmira Tursunkhanova — co-authored a submitted book chapter, AI and Assessment Integrity in Kazakhstan: Insights from Teachers.
Recognition Beyond the Classroom
Faculty research is also receiving recognition for its wider academic impact.
Alejandro Acuyo-Cespedes was ranked among the top researchers in Kazakhstan based on research impact measured through Web of Science and Scopus citations for 2021–2025:
#37 in Education
#95 in Social Sciences
Scopus and Web of Science are leading databases that track academic research worldwide. Citation counts indicate how frequently a researcher's work is referenced by other scholars and provide one measure of research influence and reach.
For our students, this means learning from faculty who are actively contributing to research and bringing the latest knowledge and perspectives from their fields into the classroom.
Sharing Knowledge and Staying Current
Professional growth also means engaging with the wider academic community. Throughout the year, our faculty presented research, exchanged ideas with colleagues and stayed connected with developments in their fields.
- Elmira Tursunkhanova — presented a co-authored paper on AI and plagiarism policies in higher education at the Centre for Innovative Learning and Teaching (CiLT) and chaired a session at the Nazarbayev University Annual Research Conference (NUARC).
- Shanon Smith — presented research on using AI to support learning in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at the International Conference on Education and Linguistics in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
- Kairat Ismailov and collaborators — presented conference papers on teaching numerical methods at the 22nd International CDIO Conference in Liverpool, UK, and on fuel cell efficiency through thermal management at the 14th International Conference on Nanomaterials and Advanced Energy Storage Systems (INESS 2026).
- Assel Sadykova — chaired a session on ethical research at the Central Eurasian Studies Society (CESS) Regional Conference 2026.
Teaching Excellence
At the heart of all these achievements is our faculty's commitment to creating engaging and supportive learning experiences for students.
Shanon Smith was nominated by students for a teaching award and received outstanding student course evaluation feedback during the 2025–2026 academic year.
Student recognition is a meaningful reflection of the impact our faculty make in the classroom and the learning environment they create for NUFYP students.
Looking Ahead
The achievements of 2025–2026 reflect just a snapshot of the many ways our faculty continue to grow and contribute to the NUFYP community.
We congratulate all our faculty members on another successful academic year and thank them for their commitment to teaching excellence, impactful research, continuous professional development and service to the wider academic community.
Their continued growth helps ensure that NUFYP students learn from educators who are not only dedicated teachers, but also active researchers, professionals and members of the global academic community.