Entrepreneurial Education and Youth Development in Central Asia: Kazakhstan

Abstract

This chapter discusses entrepreneurial education in Kazakhstan, based on the case of the School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SEI) of the Almaty Management University (AlmaU). Provided that the President of Kazakhstan defined stimulation of entrepreneurship among communities in Kazakhstan, the business community as well as higher education institutions began to build academic programs around entrepreneurship. The School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (SEI) of the Almaty Management University (AlmaU), also previously known as the International Academy of Business has been the first to launch entrepreneurship-related academic programs. AlmaU has the opportunity to learn from models and best practices of teaching entrepreneurship in universities all over the world and focus on integrating the most relevant content. The following chapter focuses on the entrepreneurial initiatives promoted by SEI - student start-ups, meet-ups, the ‘Ecosystem of Student Entrepreneurship’ project, which are aimed at educating future leaders, market influencers and market shapers who would advocate positive socioeconomic and sociocultural changes in Kazakhstan.