Founded in 2010, Nazarbayev University (NU) is a Central Asian flagship academic institution with ambitions to achieve global recognition as a top-tier research university. Located in the heart of Eurasia, in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, it distinguishes itself through a fully merit-based admission system that seamlessly integrates professor-led teaching and research from a student’s very first day as a freshman.
NU is more than just a novelty; it’s a higher education institution dedicated to equipping graduates with the skills they need to thrive in an era of globalization and technological advancement.
Team members
Jean-François Caron
Jean-François Caron is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations where he teaches Political Theory. His research focuses on Central Asia. He is the director of the series “The Steppe and Beyond: Studies on Central Asia” with Palgrave MacMillan. He has published more than a dozen monographs and edited volumes.
Zhanibek Arynov
Zhanibek Arynov is an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Public Policy. Dr. Arynov obtained a Ph.D. degree in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews, UK. His research interests include Central Asian geopolitics, Kazakhstan’s foreign policy, EU-Central Asia relations, and international identity, image, and perception studies. He is currently working on a project related to the legitimacy and (de)legitimation of international organizations with a specific focus on the Eurasian Economic Union.
Alexei Trochev
Alexei Trochev is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities. He just completed a three-year research project called “In the GULAG’s Shadow: Producing, Consuming and Perceiving Prisons in the Former Soviet Union” and funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, in which he served as a collaborator in the team of researchers from the University of Strathclyde and the Higher School of Economics. His research focuses on informal dimensions of criminal justice reforms in post-Soviet states.
Daniel Scarborough
Daniel Scarborough is an associate professor of Russian history and religion, and director of the MA Program in Eurasian Studies at Nazarbayev University. His interests include the religious and intellectual history of the Russian Empire, the local history of Tver' and Moscow, and Christian-Muslim relations in late 19th-early 20th century Central Asia. Originally from Jacksonville, Florida, Daniel has conducted research in archives throughout Russia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. His monograph - Russia's Social Gospel: The Orthodox Pastoral Movement in Famine, War and Revolution - was published by Wisconsin University Press in 2022.
Maria Rybakova
Maria Rybakova (Ph.D. in Classics) is Assistant Professor in the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Linguistics. A former recipient of the Fulbright fellowship, she is an award-winning author of fiction and poetry whose books are translated into several European languages.