EMSD students and staff attend GlaSCA-V Project Workshop in Almaty

October 2, 2015

Environmental Management and Sustainable Development (EMSD) students Aziz Aitbaev and Bayan Akhmet and Lab Assistant/Instructor Bakhtyiar Asanov attended the workshop “Stakeholder Engagement in Research” in Almaty, Kazakhstan on September 14-17, 2015.

Central Asian Institute of Applied Geosciences (CAIAG) received a research grant from The Volkswagen Foundation. The Volkswagen Foundation is the largest private research funder and one of the major foundations in Germany. CAIAG has been granted funding for the GlaSCA‐V project for a period of 3 years (2015‐2017). The American University of Central Asia’s (AUCA) Tien Shan Policy Center (TSPC) experts participants in the project. Two EMSD students are also involved in the project as volunteers, and they have been attending the GlaSCA-V Project Workshop.

A consortium of German and Central Asian universities and research institutions is addressing these questions in the GlaSCA‐V project. They aim to measure and model the contributions of individual runoff components in selected glaciered river catchments in the Northern Tien Shan. The geo‐scientific approach was combined with an assessment of the socio‐ecologic vulnerability of individual societal groups and economic sectors to changes in water availability and runoff regimes. The development and evaluation of adaptation measures was carried out with focus on the resilience of the local communities to projected changes in water availability. Special emphasis was put on the training and qualification of the young Central Asian researchers.

Over the course of the project, students and staff developed field-specific skill and knowledge through their research in hydrology, meteorology, and socio-economic impact assessment. The students will go on to internships within the projects, eventually using the position to conduct research for their Bachelor’s thesis.

EMSD student, Bayan Akhmet, shared her experience:

“I attended The "Stakeholder Engagement in Research" workshop funded by the Volkswagen Foundation Project, which took place in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Over the workshop I learned things that really informed my thoughts on my future profession. We learned how to find stakeholders and get them involved in your project. Every day we had team sessions in which we participated in several activities, for example, making brochures and conducting case studies; all our activities were related to the stakeholders' theme. I was particularly pleased that my own team had so many PhD students. They shared their experiences with past and ongoing projects. Most importantly, they shared their problems and how to solve them! Being a part of this project has helped me immensely in understanding what issues other countries face as well as grasping the similarities and differences of their unique problems. Exchanging experiences gave me new ideas of what I can and want to do after I graduate from AUCA.”

Another EMSD student, Aziz Aitbaev also told us about his experience at the workshop:

“I can say it was organized quite well. Everything at the conference was of the highest caliber. However, most interesting were the seminars, where the all the participants, including me, were involved in a unique exchange of knowledge, where the people were trying to find solution together by sharing their own experiences and examples. Another learning experience came from listening to all the case studies or examples which were presented by Master and PhD students related to Central Asia. The workshop totally changed my point of view. I met a lot of interesting people working in the field of environmental protection. The guest speakers, Prof. Mark Reed and Dr. Ana Attlee, demonstrated striking methods of teaching. It was like training for researchers by researchers. The observational data presented by these teachers hopefully will help us understand how to engage with stakeholders and policy makers to make a meaningful impact on society. This is one of the ways to create a link of environmental followers, which will work globally. I really appreciate this opportunity to be a participant of this workshop and, I hope, that these kinds of conferences will continue to surprise and push me forward in my academic career.”

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The Tian Shan Policy Center (TSPC) of the American University of Central Asia (AUCA) is a partner organization of the workshop. The cost of travel for AUCA students is sponsored by TSPC. EMSD Program Chair Dr. Zheenbek Kulenbekov appreciates the TSPC for facilitating this opportunity through their generous sponsorship.

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