Shoqan School, founded by Kenges Rakishev and Aselle Tasmagambetova, places three Kazakhstan Students at Harvard and UC Berkeley in the first year of its Mentorship Program

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ALMATY, Kazakhstan, April 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Three students from Shoqan Walikhanov School in Almaty have been admitted to Harvard University and UC Berkeley in the first year of a Mentorship Program established by the school's founders, Kenges Rakishev and Aselle Tasmagambetova.

This is the first mentorship program of its kind in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

Shoqan School opened in Almaty, Kazakhstan, in 2020 as a nonprofit school. It is named after Shoqan Walikhanov, a nineteenth-century Kazakh explorer and scholar.

The Shoqan Mentorship Program was created to offer a high-intensity, individualized academic track designed to help students gain admission to elite global universities, and it was opened only to already top-performing students.

Rakishev and Tasmagambetova established the mentorship program to help students from Kazakhstan enter top international universities and then return to support the country's development. 

They work on intensive SAT preparation, receive deep one-to-one support for CV and portfolio development, and specialized coaching on supplemental essays. They also prepare for the IELTS exams, participate in summer courses at Brown University, MIT, and Harvard, and receive extensive training in essay writing.

Each student applies to about 20 of the top-ranked universities and is advised by a full team of six to eight mentors. The team offers ongoing coaching on idea development, writing, and interview prep. Tailored SAT tutoring, as well as internship placements, are also offered to students to improve their preparation for university and provide practical experience.

Luminary Education, a British education consultancy run by Max Doyle and Charles Perrott, was commissioned by Shoqan School to design and implement the mentorship program.

Together with the school's Founders, four students from a 22 applicant shortlist were selected to take part in the mentorship program after completing a rigorous application and presentation process. 

Founded just five years ago, Shoqan School is already becoming one of Central Asia's top schools and provides a high-quality education for over 1,300 children.

"From the beginning, our vision for Shoqan School has seen that the key to future success is a personalized education that recognizes each student's unique capabilities and ambitions. In today's world, where no two learners are alike, this individual focus is essential for long-term relevance and real impact," explained Tasmagambetova.

Tomiris Ospan was admitted to Harvard Business School as an economics major.

Arman Sabyrzhan gained admission to Harvard's mechanical engineering program with a full scholarship.

Kamila Zhandildayeva was admitted to UC Berkeley's highly selective Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology (MET) program. The program received 127,000 applications for 200 places this year.

Aruzhan Asyl was admitted to University College London's Foundation program, the UK's most highly selective Foundation program.

Shoqan School will expand personalized learning programs starting in grades six and seven, beginning in the fourth quarter of 2025.

"It's been a long road for each of the students and a battle juggling their school studies alongside the demands of US College applications. For most students outside of the US, getting into an Ivy League institution is a very challenging task and it is exactly these types of unique initiatives which make it possible,” said Doyle.

On February 12, 2024, Rakishev and Tasmagambetova announced that they would fully fund the education of any Shoqan School student admitted to universities ranked among the top ten globally, as rated by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.

Funding is administered by the Saby Charitable Foundation, which was also founded by both Rakishev and Tasmagambetova in 2002.

Kenges Rakishev (Almaty, 1979) is the Chairman of the Fincraft Group, a majority shareholder of Fincraft Resources, listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE).

He has been a member of Kazakhstan's Forbes List since 2012.

Internationally, he is known for making investments in natural resources and technology companies across the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States; with a current focus on energy security project investment.

Tasmagambetova (Atyrau, 1979) is considered one of Kazakhstan's leading philanthropists and ecologists. She has worked for 20 years to promote and support health, educational, and environmental projects in the region.

A Professor of Environmental Law, she heads the Saby Charitable Foundation. She is also the founder of the Central Asian Institute for Ecological Research (CAIER) and the Center for Research and Rehabilitation of the Caspian Seal.

Contact

[email protected]

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f0f88259-f820-44b6-b86b-90484a92be4a