Invensys endows Chair in Information Technologies in Kazakhstan. Here's the release:
MAY 22, 2009/LONDON -- Invensys Process Systems (IPS), a global technology and consulting firm, today announced that it will help establish a new academic Chair of Information Technologies at the Kazakh-British Technical University (KBTU) in Almaty as part of its ongoing strategy to develop and improve engineering skills in Kazakhstan. It is an important milestone in IPS' relationship with KBTU. The company has invested more than US$100,000 (or 15 million KZT) since 2007, helping to improve the curriculum and development of 1,000 future engineers.
"The ability to draw on skilled local graduates is crucial to developing our business in Kazakhstan, particularly with our work on the Kashagan EP Project," said Nick Pomeroy, IPS Country Manager, Kazakhstan. "Due in part to our commitment, KBTU's students receive invaluable practical and technical training using the latest technologies within the industrial sector. We look forward to relying on local expertise as we help our clients resolve important industrial issues that have a global impact."
IPS investment in the new Chair represents US$50,000 (or 7.5 million KZT) per year to KBTU, with plans for the next five years already in place. This follows the opening of a fully equipped, IPS-funded training facility at the University in 2008, which features the latest IPS technologies, including its sophisticated Infusion(tm) Enterprise Control Systems technology.
Professor Iskander Beisembetov, Rector of KBTU, explained, "We are very happy to have such a strong collaboration with IPS because we are both interested in creating the next generation of engineers and managers for this country, this region and for the global marketplace. The IPS Professorship assists both organisations in integrating higher education and industry to successfully develop new programmes and training initiatives. KBTU is proud to have this association with IPS."
The University has now adapted the undergraduate program to fully incorporate these advanced IPS technologies. David Lal, KBTU Dean, Masters Programmes, added, "We are indebted to IPS for funding such a facility. This type of cooperation really helps our academic staff to ensure that the next generations of Kazakh engineers are productive from the moment they graduate - it is a real plus to the existing undergraduate programs".
"We have had a presence in Kazakhstan since 1998 and over the years have established a strong connection with KBTU. So much so that IPS technologies now form part of the IT curriculum. This enables us to employ new graduates with an existing knowledge of our technologies straight into our Graduate Deployment Program," said Stuart Batchelor, IPS President, Europe. "This is a win-win situation: IPS gain access to the top students who are already partly skilled and the students gain experience by performing intellectually stimulating project work immediately on leaving the University. Graduates from KBTU that have been part of this program have already been deployed in Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain and Nigeria. As the projects currently in progress within Kazakhstan come to fruition, the industry will have a pool of highly skilled and experienced Kazakh engineers ready to be deployed in country."
