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UCA voice: ‘This year was full of great memories, UCA has become our second home’ – Dias Kabykenov

Dias Kabykenov is 18 years old and was born and raised in the Almaty region of Kazakhstan. He is fond of free-style wrestling, chess, and the national board game togyzkumalak. Dias has won the Republican Presidential Olympiad in four subjects including mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology and graduated high school with honours.

Dias is studying Economics at the University of Central Asia (UCA). Before to joining UCA, Dias saw the University as an excellent opportunity to collaborate with classmates and help one another to succeed. Since childhood he has worked with accurate data and enjoys science, and aspires to find a good job in Economics after graduation from UCA.

This interview is part of a series featuring UCA undergraduate students’ reflections after completing their first year at the university. This series is a joint collaboration between the University of Central Asia and Aga Khan Foundation Canada.


Dias aspires to be a professional in the field of Economics.

How do you feel now that one year has been completed?
The first year passed very quickly. Typically, students look forward to summer vacation, but we're excited to get back to school because on campus there’s a different atmosphere and different priorities. We really have become one big family at UCA.

Do you feel like you have grown personally/academically after completing the preparatory programme?
I have changed a lot this year. I used to be shy about my English abilities, but thanks to our professors and the English-speaking atmosphere on campus, I have improved my theoretical knowledge and my practical English skills.

In addition to becoming accustomed to the immersive English campus environment, the preparatory programme prepared us for the second year of studies in several ways. We are ready for group work and our teachers developed in us a sense of responsibility. I think the second year will be easier because of the academic training we received this past year.

As part of UCA's five-year undergraduate programme, students complete an intensive preparatory programme year. Developed in partnership with Seneca College in Toronto, this programme is designed to help students attain the necessary English and critical thinking skills to succeed at the university level.


The University of Central Asia (UCA) was founded in 2000 as a private, not for profit, secular university through an International Treaty signed by the Presidents of the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Kazakhstan, and His Highness the Aga Khan; ratified by their respective parliaments, and registered with the United Nations. The Presidents are the Patrons of the University and His Highness is the Chancellor. UCA’s mission is to promote the social and economic development of Central Asia, particularly its mountain communities, by offering an internationally recognised standard of higher education, and enabling the peoples of the region to preserve their rich cultural heritage as assets for the future. UCA is supported by the commitment and partnership of the Aga Khan Development Network.