Impact beyond the classroom At the heart of NUGSB’s development lies a strong commitment to research. From the beginning, the partnership with Fuqua was designed not only to transfer teaching practices but also to foster a research culture that meets international standards. Joint projects between faculty at both schools span topics such as artificial intelligence in marketing, supply chain resilience and the challenges of emerging markets. These collaborations help to anchor NUGSB’s identity as a research-driven institution that connects local realities with global business trends. As one NUGSB faculty member, Francesco Rocciolo, reflects: “I’ve seen at first hand how adopting Fuqua’s approach to research has elevated our own standards and how our output finds its way into the classroom, with a focus on its relevance for business at large.” The results are tangible: NUGSB faculty are increasingly publishing in leading international journals, with their work informing policy debates and business practices in Kazakhstan and the wider region. This fusion of global rigour with regional specificity gives NUGSB research its distinctive edge, ensuring that the school contributes not only to international scholarship but also to the transformation of business practice in Central Asia. David Robinson, a Fuqua School of Business professor, has been involved since the start of the cross-continental collaboration and speaks of the continuing attraction of conducting research in the region. “Kazakhstan itself is a fascinating living laboratory, providing opportunities to develop highly relevant case studies and experiment with solutions to complex business problems that matter locally and globally.” By embedding world-class research into its foundation, NUGSB ensures that its impact extends beyond the classroom, helping shape both scholarly knowledge and real-world decision-making. The recipe for successful collaboration The Fuqua–NUGSB partnership has succeeded because of its deliberate design around clarity, trust and adaptability, with both institutions agreeing on a defined objective and timeline from the outset. The ultimate goal was not to create dependency but to build lasting capacity, enabling NUGSB to internalise world-class standards in teaching, research and governance. Plus, having such precise aims for the partnership provided every stage of its development with direction and urgency.
THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE: GLOBAL EXPOSURE IN ASTANA
From the outset, NUGSB has sought to place the student experience at the heart of its mission by combining world-class academic rigour with opportunities for global engagement. Inspired by Fuqua’s distinctive pedagogical model, NUGSB programmes emphasise case-based teaching and team-driven learning. Whether studying for the MBA, EMBA or MSc in finance, students are challenged to apply theory to practice, sharpen their analytical skills and develop the collaborative mindset essential for modern leadership. A cornerstone of this experience is an international residency that is built into all postgraduate programmes at the school. Residencies at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business have been pivotal to the MBA and EMBA, offering immersion in a top US business school environment and direct access to Fuqua’s extensive global networks. MSc in finance students, meanwhile, have travelled to major financial centres, with recent cohorts spending their residency at the London School of Economics (LSE). New residencies at HKUST will add a further dimension, by granting the NUGSB EMBA the benefits of networking opportunities with participants of the renowned joint EMBA offered by HKUST and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Equally significant is NUGSB’s commitment to internationalisation at home. With faculty coming from 12 different countries and holding PhDs from institutions such as INSEAD, Stanford and LSE, students encounter global perspectives in the classroom on a daily basis. Faculty members bring not only academic excellence, but also vital international networks that connect NUGSB to leading organisations and businesses worldwide. This means that students do not need to travel abroad to gain international exposure; the world quite literally comes to them in Astana.
16 Business Impact • ISSUE 5 • 2025
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