The Department of Ecology, Biology and Chemistry of A. Baitursynov Kostanay State University was established in 2021 with the merger of the Department of Ecology and the Department of Biology and Chemistry. Qualified award-winning science educators provide students with the breadth of understanding and skills needed to address environmental issues and create a sustainable future on a local to global scale, to apply biological and chemical concepts and skills to a variety of application areas.
Interdisciplinary educational programs in the field of biology, ecology and chemistry offer opportunities for the development of professional competencies in the disciplines of undergraduate, graduate, doctoral studies in Kazakh, Russian and English.
Students develop practical skills in the laboratories of chemical, biological, soil science, the entomological museum, the Smart Center, and the Biotechnology Innovation Center.
The peculiarities of educational programs in ecology and biology are that they are developed and improved within the framework of international educational projects Erasmus +, which ensures the competitiveness of graduates in the labor market.
All educational programs of the Department of Biology, Ecology and Chemistry are developed in accordance with the National Qualifications Framework, coordinated with the Dublin descriptors and the European Qualifications Framework. The modular curricula of the department's educational programs include disciplines that form both professional competencies and general cultural competencies of the 21st century. Undergraduate and graduate students acquire relevant knowledge in the subject area, analytical, research and language skills, develop leadership skills, cooperation and communication skills, innovative thinking, the ability to further continuous self-education and improve professional knowledge, skills and abilities. Currently, the educational programs of the specialties "Biology", "Ecology" occupy leading positions in the national rankings of universities in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The department actively cooperates with universities of near and far abroad, with public and private structures in the field of biology, ecology and chemistry. On the basis of interaction under cooperation agreements, contractual scientific research is carried out, regular meetings and round tables are held with leading specialists of the region, scientific seminars, lectures by foreign teachers and leading practitioners are organized.
The teachers of the department participate in the implementation of international educational projects Erasmus + in the field of reforming higher education. The results of the CIBELES, ECAP, SARUD, SUSDEV, SAGRIS, UnWaste projects are new and updated taught undergraduate and graduate courses in the field of the environment, the inclusion of world educational trends in the educational process: distance learning, new methods of learning and teaching, the spread of "green" skills, strengthening communication with employers, lifelong learning, interdisciplinary research, multi- and transdisciplinary educational approaches.
The department has a program of academic mobility of students and teachers. International academic mobility is implemented under the Erasmus Mundus educational programs, bilateral agreements with foreign universities. Undergraduate and graduate students of the department studied at the universities of Ostrava (Czech Republic), Warsaw, Lodz (Poland), underwent internships at universities in Russia, Latvia, Poland, Kyrgyzstan, educational and professional practice in Belarus, Russia. For internal mobility, students studied in Astana (ENU named after Gumilyov), Kokshetau, Taraz.
Teachers also undergo advanced training under the new innovative programs of JSC "Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools-Center for Pedagogical Excellence", FAO NCPC "ORLEU"-RIPKSO, language courses, KazNU named after al-Farabi, KarSU, within the framework of Erasmus + projects. Teachers underwent internships at universities in Belarus (Grodno), Latvia (Riga), Bulgaria (Sofia), Russia (Ufa, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Ulan-Ude), advanced training at universities in Poland (Krakow, Warsaw), Slovakia (Nitra), Austria (Vienna), Portugal (Coimbra), Germany (Witzenhausen).
Cooperation agreements have been concluded with the Steppe Institute of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Orenburg), the Association of Professional Ecologists of the Republic of Kazakhstan, universities of the Republic of Kazakhstan and abroad.
The department has a program of academic mobility of students and teachers with the State Humanitarian and Technical University of Orekhovo-Zuevo, RF.
Agreements on double-diploma education on the educational program "Biology" with the State Humanitarian and Technical University, RF, and on the educational program "Ecology" with the University of Vytautas the Great, Lithuania, allow obtaining two diplomas after training, which expands employment opportunities.
Traditionally, meetings are held with employers, where issues related to educational programs are actively discussed. Forms of cooperation - round tables, methodological seminars, advanced training courses, joint publications.
Graduates of the department work in general education and innovative schools in Kostanay, Kostanay and other regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management of the Akimat of Kostanay Region, in the Department of Ecology in Kostanay Region, in the Tobol-Torgai Basin Inspectorate for the regulation of the use and protection of water resources, in the branch of Kazhydromet in the Kostanay region, in the environmental services of enterprises of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in environmental private organizations, in the department of land relations of the Akimat of Kostanay, chemical laboratories of various enterprises and organizations.