That’s on full display in Astana as Chief Executive John Lee’s delegation wrapped up the Kazakhstan leg of his Central Asian tour with a visit to Nazarbayev University (NU) on Wednesday.
Two individuals on the NU campus – a Hong Kong-born engineering professor and a local Kazakh startup founder – believe the story lies not just on a government level, but also in student exchanges, educational technology innovation and a new business corridor between Astana and Hong Kong.
For the past eight years, Annie Ng, an associate professor at NU’s School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, is one of the few Hongkongers working in Kazakh academia.
Ng said the chief executive’s visit is a long-overdue catalyst.
“I think this is a very good start. I believe there will be more MoUs and more collaborations with different university institutes in Hong Kong with NU and Kazakhstan – not just for research, but also other education programmes or short courses,” she said.
Ng sees Kazakhstan as a pivotal player under the Belt and Road framework, but notes a gap in Hong Kong’s engagement compared with the mainland.
While there has been a growing number of mainland tourists and entrepreneurs in Almaty and Astana, she said Hongkongers remain conspicuously absent and should explore opportunities in Kazakhstan.
“Young people will be more interested here and explore something new – not a typical country to visit. Kazakhstan, Central Asia, we are also close to other Central Asian countries,” she said.
For Hong Kong businesses, she said, the potential is tangible. “A lot of things are developed in Hong Kong but not here. They can find a lot of room to expand their business.”
Nurken Bolatov is chief operational officer of Artisan Education, a startup based on the NU campus that produces engineering kits and a web-platform for learning robotics, programming and STEM.
Bolatov’s company has already been accepted into the ideation programme at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks (HKSTP).
“For us, I hope it’s a great opportunity and experience to try our products in another region, with other students, and get some more feedback,” he said.
But his ambitions for Hong Kong go beyond market testing.
He sees the city as a manufacturing gateway. “There are a lot of manufacturers in Hong Kong and in China, so probably it would be great for us to cooperate with them so we can produce a lot more of our products.”
He also hopes to tap into Hong Kong’s talent pool. “As I know, there are a lot of strong universities in China and in Hong Kong. Probably it would be helpful to find some potential team members to get into our project.”
His startup is already piloting its products in several countries, including South Korea, Türkiye and the UK.
