Dr. Salim Al-Malik, Director-General of the Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), visited the Eurasia National University (ENU) in Nur-Sultan, capital of Kazakhstan, during which he held a meeting with Dr. Yerlan Sydykov, President of the University, to discuss joint cooperation between ICESCO and the University, and addressed the faculty and a large number of students of the University.

During the meeting with the President of ENU, which is one of the largest universities in Kazakhstan, held today, Tuesday (September 13, 2022), Dr. Al-Malik affirmed that ICESCO attaches great importance to cooperation with universities to assist them in discharging their vital missions. He praised the great role Eurasia National University plays given that it was officially accredited as a research university by the Government of Kazakhstan, and ranked among the top 300 universities in the world, according to the QS ranking.

He reviewed the main thrusts of ICESCO’s vision and strategic orientations, and the most important programs and activities it is implementing, in cooperation with the competent authorities of its Member States, to achieve the common goals and promote cooperation between the countries of the Islamic world and others in the fields of education, science and culture.

The meeting discussed the establishment of a research chair for ICESCO at the Eurasia National University, cooperation in providing scholarships for students from the Islamic world, and organizing international conferences and symposia in areas of common interest.

For his part, Dr. Yerlan Sydykov, President of Eurasia National University, expressed his happiness about the ICESCO Director General’s visit to the University, and revealed that the University’s Higher Academic Council has decided to grant the highest academic degree to Dr. Salim Al-Malik, in appreciation of his distinguished efforts in the fields of education, science and culture, since he assumed the position of ICESCO’s Director General and for his support for scientific research and academic chairs.

After the meeting, the President of Eurasia National University accompanied ICESCO Director General on a tour of the University premises and thereafter joined the faculty members and a large number of university students. Dr. Al-Malik, then, delivered a speech in which he talked about the university of tomorrow and what universities should look like in the present. He pointed out that universities should adopt foresight thought to train generations capable of keeping pace with technological developments and Artificial Intelligence transformations, and of building a society of self-sufficiency and social justice.

ICESCO’s Director General stated that this would only become a reality through adopting urgent responses to change modes of thinking and ways of building international relations and drawing strategic plans, noting that the Islamic world abounds in scientific competencies that are capable of making a difference and enabling it to catch up with development.