Biography and experience
Ospanova was born in 1987 in Taldykorgan, graduated from the Kazakh-British Technical University, and also studied at Imperial College in the UK and Quantic Business School in the USA. Having worked for international corporations such as Microsoft, Ericsson and RELX Group, she has also held important positions in government agencies and the quasi-public sector. As head of the Center, she implemented programs aimed at improving university rankings and improving educational processes in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the CIS.
Bolashaq program
The Bolashaq International Scholarship, established by the President of Kazakhstan, provides Kazakhstani students with the opportunity to study at leading foreign universities. The program is designed to support the development of highly qualified personnel for Kazakhstan and improve access to global education.
Previous scandal at the Center
Previously, the Center for International Programs found itself at the center of a lawsuit over debt under the Bolashaq program. In 2024, guarantees from the guarantors of former scholarship recipient Valeria Gavrilenko led to a conflict: the Center demanded that the guarantors reimburse the multimillion-dollar debt after Gavrilenko illegally withdrew her assets and moved abroad. The trial ended with a peace agreement, according to which Gavrilenko agreed to repay the debt.
