Photo: vk.com/kbtu_group
A state-owned company overseeing reclaimed assets has taken control of the Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU), Kursiv.kz reports. The prestigious institution was previously owned by the Nursultan Nazarbayev Educational Foundation, established by Dinara Kulibayeva, the middle daughter of Kazakhstan’s first president.
According to KBTU’s financial statements, the university changed ownership on February 27, 2025, after which the Nursultan Nazarbayev Educational Foundation ceased to be a shareholder.
Founded in 2000, KBTU’s original stakeholders included the government of Kazakhstan, the British Embassy in Kazakhstan, and the British Council. From 2003, the university was solely owned by the national oil company KazMunayGas. In 2010 and 2011, KBTU absorbed three scientific research institutes. In 2018, the university was sold to the Nursultan Nazarbayev Educational Foundation. Last year, prosecutors attempted to challenge the legality of that transaction.
KBTU is consistently ranked among Kazakhstan’s top universities. Its main building, located in central Almaty, was constructed in 1957. During the Soviet era, it housed the Council of Ministers of the Kazakh SSR, later serving as the seat of Kazakhstan’s parliament.
The news agency KazTAG notes that the university’s change of ownership came two months after a major fire broke out in the building. The blaze, which started on the evening of January 11, spread across an area of 120 square meters.
