«SAP Next-Gen Labs» Innovative laboratory will be opened in KazNU

At the largest business exhibition «SAP in Kazakhstan», which was held in Astana, an Agreement on joining of Al-Farabi Kazakh National University to the «SAP» University Alliance has been signed. On the basis of the University, an innovative laboratory «SAP Next-Gen Labs» will be deployed to solve the tasks of business and economics of the country, as well as train teachers and students in new IT technologies.

More than 3,7 thousand educational institutions from 112 countries of the world participate in the academic program of «SAP». It introduces students and teachers with the «SAP» software and technologies for the digital transformation of the economy and business, including solutions for the Internet of things, large data, blocking, analytics, robotics and machine learning.

«The Head of State set the task for us to adapt education to the needs of the new industrialization and develop our own ecosystem of developers for innovative solutions. At the first stage, the training materials provided by «SAP» will be integrated into the curriculum. This will provide students a competitive advantage when working in a company, which requires employees who already have the skills of developers and analysts with knowledge of «SAP» solutions. At the second stage, a hub will be created for the implementation of specific business tasks in the new academic year, and the «SAP Next-Gen Labs» will form it's nucleus», - highlighted Bolatzhan Kumalakov, Head of the Department «Artificial Intelligence and Big Data» of Al-Farabi KazNU, Head of programs for interaction with «SAP».

«SAP Next-Gen Labs» innovation labs help students find ways to solve specific business problems posed by SAP partners and customers in the world's largest universities. These design structures are aimed at developing students' entrepreneurial and design skills, project-oriented thinking, emotional intelligence through the development of prototypes of innovative products and solutions, the customers of which are the largest companies, including Kazakhstan. «The leading Kazakhstani university - Al-Farabi KazNU - is the leader of the National rating of the country and is included in the top 250 best universities of the world. Training of professional staff for the growing economy of Kazakhstan is inconceivable without the latest technologies in training and providing practical knowledge for students, and we are happy to provide such an opportunity to our new partner», - noted Maksim Lamskov, Executive Director of «SAP Kazakhstan».

In 2018, for the first time in Kazakhstan a competition entitled «SAP Coder» on development of business applications will be organised. Start-up projects, companies interested in innovations and digital technologies will be able to participate in it, which should become an additional driver for the introduction of digital technologies in Kazakhstan.