Presidential Research and Education Fund

PRESIDENTIAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION FUND POLICY

OVERVIEW

The AUCA Presidential Research and Education Fund (PREF) was established in 2019 as a unique initiative designed to support discrete projects from faculty, students, and staff for research and educational activities through the Office of the President at AUCA. The Fund especially welcomes seed funding for new initiatives at the University, multidisciplinary projects, and those involving AUCA students are strongly encouraged. Despite the unexpected COVID pandemic, and its negative impact on the feasibility of the projects, over the last two academic years 29 projects initiated by the faculty, students, and staff were funded within the PREF Grant. 22 research projects have been implemented successfully. The other seven research projects are in the process of getting implemented and finalized.

These positive results of two years encouraged us to continue this program, and launch two new rounds of funding during the 2021-2022 academic year. We are now announcing the request for proposals for the first round of PREF 2021-2022 funding.

DEADLINES

1st round

Call for proposals: July 29, 2021

Proposals submission deadline: September 10, 2021

2nd round

Call for proposals: December 10, 2021

Proposals submission deadline: January 15, 2022

NOTE: The funding for projects approved within the 1st round must be disbursed by December 20, 2021. However, work may continue on the project after this date with the approval of PREF Manager Umut Kydyrgychova in Spring 2022.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Full-time AUCA faculty
Full-time AUCA active students (both bachelor and masters)
Full-time AUCA staff members
Current part-time faculty can apply if students are involved in the project.
Those who have been awarded PREF funding in Spring 2021 are not eligible to apply. Recipients of PREF awards 2019-2020 and Fall 2020 are eligible to apply.

FINANCE

The Office of the President will make awards up to $2500 USD per project in Fall 2021, tax-inclusive.

Please be aware that the principal investigator for the project is responsible for carrying out logistics as well as administrative and financial procedures and reporting related to the PREF project. Executive Officer to the President, HR, and Finance Offices will consult and assist you in resolving any questions that may come up. However, in case you have never administered documents at AUCA, it may be useful to include a team member responsible for managing administrative processes.

TOPICS

There is no restriction imposed on the possible topics of your initiatives. Nevertheless, based on the last three rounds of experience, we encourage you to think about the project’s social impact while designing your proposal. We are specifically interested in seed funding for new initiatives that may be scalable or potentially create a long-lasting impact through proof of concept, especially in Kyrgyzstan and Central Asia, including Afghanistan and Iran.

Among possible topics to be proposed, but certainly not limited to these:

Art, history, and culture of Central Asia and its neighbors;
Future governance challenges resulting from climate change;
How inclusive is AUCA as an institution of higher education?
How to energize Kyrgyz citizens and students about the imminent and huge risks of climate change?
Technological change and its impact on mental and physical health;
What are the unique characteristics of nomadic peoples and cultures?
What have we learned about online/hybrid education and its potential role in the future?
What promotes and what obstructs creativity and innovation in higher education?

Project results may also be very diverse; from the production of new high-tech goods to traditional and non-traditional art forms, documentaries and videos, and even more standard academic studies.

From the table below you can see how diverse were the PREF projects implemented in the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years.

Names of PREF winners	Title of the project
Aida Abdykanova, Associate Professor Jyldyz Bekbalaeva, Library Director Tolgonai Kozhokanova, Electronic Service Assistant	Beyond Plain Visualization: 3D Modeling of Historic Buildings in Karakol
Tamo Chattopadhay, Associate Professor Zarlasht Sarmast, Undergraduate student	The Voices of the Afghan Students at AUCA
Prof. Rustam Orozbaev	An order of polarizing microscope with transmitted and reflected illumination
Mukaram Toktogulova, Associate Professor Prof. Elira Turdubaeva	Media Representation of Islam and Muslims in Kyrgyzstan
Michael Brady, Associate Professor	The foundation needed for AUCA to be competitive in attracting a large research grant that will help children on the autistic spectrum
Prof. Uulkan Kambaralieva, Daniyar Karabaev, Assistant Professor	Online Kyrgyz language course for beginners
Anguelina Popova, CTLT Director Jarkyn Shadymanova, Associate Professor Emil Begimkulov, Assistant Professor	The value of liberal arts education: AUCA alumni perspectives and curriculum design opportunities
Ms. Anastasiya Lysogorova	Participation in International Film Festival in Rotterdam
Prof. Amadeus DeKastle	Digitization of the National Academy of Science Herbarium with AUCA Students
Anastasiya Valeeva, Assistant Professor	Data Art
Bermet Talasbek, Program Manager Begimay Abdraeva	Startup Bootcamp
Saniya Toktogazieva, Associate Professor Kanykei Kasybekova, Assistant Professor	“The Casebook on Constitutional Chamber of the KR: 15 major decisions” as a promotion and internationalization of rule of law and constitutionalism in Kyrgyzstan
Vladislav Pak	Augmented reality as an educational tool for children with developmental delays
Mukaram Toktogulova, Associate Professor Baitur Toktosunov, Graduate student	Tengrian believes/practices in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan.
Gulmira Duisheeva, Assistant Professor	Development of a Kyrgyz language textbook for students whose first language is English
James Plumtree, Assistant Professor	Singing the Song of the Land You Are In: Local Dissemination of the Findings of the AKYN Project
Mairambek Nurgaziev, Associate Professor	Problems, Progress and Prospects of Organic Farming as a means of Sustainable Agriculture in Kyrgyzstan.
Prof. Sergey Sklyar, Prof. Syrgak Kydyraliev, Elena Burova, Assistant Professor	Compilation and preparation for publication of the collection AUCA Mathematical Olympiads for secondary school students.
Saikal Anvar kyzy, Assistant Professor	Blockchain Technology in Kyrgyzstan
Prof. Hannepes Taychayev	Implementation of international law by domestic courts of Kyrgyz Republic
Olga Tarabashkina, Instructor	Role of Gender and Social Media in Kyrgyzstani Parliamentary Elections October 2020
Aida Abdykanova, Associate Professor Montana Reid, Undergraduate student	Mapping of Issyk-Kul Rock Art: Prevention and Preservation
Ruslan Rahimov, Associate Professor	Unheard voices of people of Kyrgyzstan
Chynara Ryskulova, Associate Professor Anguelina Popova, CTLT Director	Accreditation of undergraduate programs at AUCA: lessons learned and way forward
Jyldyz Bekbalaeva, Library Director Aijamal Sarybaeva, Assistant Professor	Oral Histories Collection at AUCA
Talgat Dzhumashev, Graduate student	Forward - to the past. Satellite images of the Chui region from 1960 to the present day
Mingoiim Nishonova, Administrative Assistant	On the Edge of Bishkek: Highlighting Ecological Problems Through Creative Writing and Visual Research.
Adina Sulumbekova, Undergraduate student Kamila Kurbonmamadova, Undergraduate student	Climate Change in Kyrgyzstan: Short Movie Series Project
Begaiym Esenkulova, Associate Professor	RESPONSIBLE MINING AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD: Balancing the Protection of Investors’ Rights and Advancement of Sustainable Development in the Kyrgyz Republic

HOW TO APPLY

Your PREF Application form should be completed and submitted online via Google Form accessible HERE

The PREF Application form includes some narrative and a budget, including personal information of applicants (faculty, staff, and student). In case your project proposal is approved, you might be required to provide a more detailed budget.

All application forms should be submitted online following the deadline of September 10, 2021.

You will receive an email from Umut Kydyrgyhova, Executive Officer to the President, once your application form is received by the Office of the President. For any information contact Umut at kydyrgychova_u@auca.kg.

We look forward to your application forms!