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Nazarbayev University (NU) is seeking to appoint a Dean of the School of Engineering and Digital Sciences. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to build on a strong international reputation for research, teaching, and impact. 
The University

Times Higher Education ranked NU in the top 30 percent in the 2024 World Universities Ranking. NU is ranked first in Central Asia and in the top 10 among ASEAN universities.

Established in 2010, we are the flagship research-intensive University for Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The capital city of Astana is linked to both Asia and Europe and has a mission to develop a knowledge economy, based on strong and robust institutions.
NU is an autonomous English-Language university with a mandate for world-class research, teaching, and innovation. We have international faculty from 61 countries and international students from 35 countries who create a strong and ambitious scholarly community and are willing to take leadership roles. 

The University offers doctoral, master's, and bachelor’s programs to around 7,200 students in Sciences and Humanities, Business, Education, Engineering and Digital Sciences, Medicine, Mining and Geosciences, and Public Policy. NU also provides a Foundation Studies program for pre-bachelor, pre-master, and pre-doctoral students.

The University hosts the most advanced scientific research laboratories in the region, with over 70 laboratories and a data center.

Over its first thirteen years of operation, the University built a range of close strategic partnerships with top-ranked international universities including - Duke University (Fuqua School of Business), University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cambridge University, University of Pittsburgh, National University of Singapore (Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy), University of Pennsylvania (Graduate School of Education), Colorado School of Mines and University College London.

Graduates from Nazarbayev University are routinely accepted to masters and doctoral programs, on full scholarships, to prestigious universities, including Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Chicago, University of Arizona, University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign, Humboldt and London School of Economics.

Founding President, Shigeo Katsu served in the World Bank for twenty-five years where he rose to become Vice President of the Europe and Central Asia Region. The Provost and Acting President, Ilesanmi Adesida, was previously Dean of Engineering and then Provost of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As the University enters its second decade, there is a renewed focus on building an international reputation based on top-of-the-class research, teaching, and innovation. 

The School

The incoming Dean of the School of Engineering and Digital Sciences (SEDS) will have the opportunity to accelerate recent achievements in research, with a focus on interdisciplinary collaborations, research-integrated teaching, student research, and collaborations with industry and with local and regional universities.

The School is preparing for program accreditation with ABET. 

The School offers these programs: 

• Undergraduate programs in Chemical and Materials Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Robotics Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science.


• Masters programs in Chemical and Materials Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Masters in Engineering Management, Masters in Biomedical Engineering, Masters in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Masters in Robotics, Masters in Computer Science, Masters in Data Science.


• PhD programs in Chemical Engineering, Robotics Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering and PhD program in Science Engineering and Technology.

The School emphasizes technical excellence and creative problem-solving, and teaches core curriculum compulsory courses in computer science to all undergraduate students.

Faculty are all research-active and are strongly encouraged to publish in Q1 journals. More than 25% of papers published by NU scholars are co-authored with students.  

SEDS has approximately 100 faculty members. From the Postdoctoral scholar rank and above, all faculty possess a Ph.D. degree.  Around 46 percent of the faculty holds the rank of Associate Professor or higher. 

The School considers it important to create opportunities for female faculty in senior and leadership positions. The proportion of female faculty is around 14% and is expected to grow. 

Benefits
The successful candidate will have a multi-year renewable contract, no mandatory retirement age, a competitive compensation and benefits package, including accommodation, health care (including for dependents). and flights home per year for the candidate and dependents. The campus has a Montessori school for younger children, and several English language international schools are available in the city. International candidates have a ten percent flat taxation rate. Visa expenditures and delivery of personal belongings to the campus are also covered. Expatriation and repatriation support. 

For further information, please contact Nurgul Ularkhanova, Director of the Department of Human Capital Development Nurgul.ularkhanova@nu.edu.kz; or Dr. Loretta O’Donnell, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, loretta.odonnell@nu.edu.kz.

This position will be open until filled.