An agreement to promote sports science and education has been signed between the Kazakh Olympic Committee and Nazarbayev University. Together they will pool their resources to develop the entire sports infrastructure and the various components that make up sport, as the best way to develop sport is to ensure that athletes are surrounded by the best tools and resources.

Zhanar Utesheva, Secretary General of the National Olympic Committee, and Massimo Pignatelli, Vice President and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Nazarbayev University, signed the Memorandum of Cooperation.

The cooperation will focus on sports science and education. The agreement includes the implementation of joint educational projects, international seminars and master classes for athletes, coaches, referees and officials. It is essential to focus on sports medicine and all the medical knowledge needed to achieve maximum sporting development. 

To this end, they will also focus on the development of scientific projects in sports medicine and rehabilitation. The memorandum also provides for the establishment of a sports school at Nazarbayev University. The school will train future specialists in the field of sports science and education.

"This Memorandum once again confirms the beginning of an important long-term partnership with Nazarbayev University that will advance sports science and education," said National Olympic Committee Secretary General Utesheva.

"This agreement also represents a shared vision of combining the National Olympic Committee's practical knowledge with the University's academic excellence and experience. I am confident that this cooperation will be a significant step in the development of sports education in Kazakhstan," she added. Nasarbajev University (NU) is an autonomous research university located in the capital, Astana. It was founded in June 2010 by the former President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev. It is an English-language institution with an international faculty and staff.

Nazarbayev University began admitting students to its undergraduate programme in autumn 2010. On 22 December 2010, the Parliament of Kazakhstan passed a law granting the University a special status. This law was later incorporated into the Law on the Status of Nazarbayev University, Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools and Nazarbayev Foundation on 19 January 2011.

As part of this arrangement, the University became administratively independent of the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan. The relationship between the Olympic Committee and the University is strengthened by this agreement. It unites their efforts for the benefit of sport.