University life is a time of discovery, learning and striking a balance between studies and life, a period full of determination, setbacks and learning. A first-year student is a teenager of yesterday. At school, they were the oldest; at university, they’ve become the youngest. Everyone adapts differently in the first few months; some withdraw into themselves, whilst others enthusiastically throw themselves into student life.
Our university organizes numerous orientation events, and first-year students often participate actively in them.
We, the Department of Social Sciences, Humanities and Physical Education, are one of the units at our university that involve students in historical and cultural life:
– we immerse them in topics for independent research into historical materials, broadening their knowledge;
– we conduct fieldwork in specific museum collections, thereby enabling students to engage in this cultural discourse and recognize themselves not only as consumers but also as creators of cultural values and products; this is perceived by teenagers as their first meaningful step into the ‘adult world’ and as engaging with that world on equal terms.
For several years now, students and teaching staff have been working on the following museum themes:
– guided tours of the historic center of Almaty (formerly Verny) immerse visitors in the atmosphere of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, covering merchant houses, the Ascension Cathedral, the Green Bazaar and the old Cossack quarters.
– ‘Sacred Kazakhstan’.
– the Museum of Art and Folk Art of Kazakhstan, with a rich collection of paintings and sculptures created from the 16th century to the present day.
– the 28 Panfilov Heroes Historical Park in Almaty: memorials, the Eternal Flame, the Avenue of Heroes of the 316th Rifle Division, etc.
