The 70-year history of the Mining Faculty of the Karaganda Technical University named after Abylkas Saginov begins from the moment it was opened in 1953, along with the formation of the Karaganda Mining Institute. The first deans were Petr Ivanovich Kiryukhin and Aleksey Nikolaevich Lebedev, who for eight years, until 1961, laid the brunt of the first steps in the formation, creation of human resources, material and technical base, construction of educational buildings and dormitories, as well as the methodological basis of education faculty disciplines.
A great contribution to the development and formation of the Faculty of Mining and the training of highly qualified mining engineers was made by Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, Hero of Socialist Labor A.S. Saginov, who headed the institute and the department “Development of mineral deposits”. Now Karaganda Technical University has been named after him, which is the pride of the entire team, both the faculty and the university as a whole.
Saginov A.S., Obukhov Yu.D., Kashikov Sh.K., 1978
In subsequent years, the deans of the Faculty of Mining were: Lebedev A.N. (1957-1962), Kenzhin Z.M. (1963-1964), Samsonov M.T. (1964-1968), Valstein G.I. (1968-1988), Smagulov Z.M. (1988-2000), Samartsev G.I. (2000-2004), Isabek T.K. (2004-2008), Baimuldin M.K. (2008-2009), Obukhov Yu.D. (2009), Arystan I.D. (2009-2014), Ozhigin S.G. (2015-2018). From 2018 to the present, the faculty is headed by Ph.D. Zholdybaeva G.S.
Dean Gennady Isaakovich Valshtein and his deputies, Ibatolla Dairovich Arystan (1982-1989) and Farit Kamalovich Nizametdinov (1987-1991) and others who worked with him actively and with great dedication for a long time, left a noticeable mark on the development of the faculty, and others, who subsequently effectively used gained experience and skills in the organization of educational, scientific and educational work, heading various departments of the university.
During this period, a new mining building was built, educational laboratories were equipped with new stands and educational devices, a large number of teaching staff defended doctoral and candidate dissertations. For the first time, the institute began training mining engineers in the state language. The faculty has consistently occupied a leading position among the faculties of the university.
Asset of the Mining Faculty, 1980: 1st row – Grashchenkov N.F., Obukhov Yu.D., Valshtein G.I., Suslov V.V., Ermekov M.A.; 2 row – Sattibaev A.S., Borisenko Yu.N., Podorvanova N.S., Fesenko A.A., Anisimov A.N.; 3 row – Root E.G., Khodzhaev R.Sh., Mamontov A.Ya., Selivanov A.M., Akhmetzhanov B.A.
The first graduation of mining engineers took place in 1958, and in just 70 years of its existence, the faculty has trained more than 20 thousand mining engineers.
Today, this is a modern, located in a separate building, subdivision of the Karaganda Technical University – the Faculty of Mining. There are 4 graduating departments at the faculty: Development of mineral deposits (head of the department, associate professor, PhD Imashev Askar Zhanbolatovich), Mine surveying and geodesy (head of the department, corresponding member of the NAGN RK, Honorary Worker of KSTU, Ph.D. Khmyrova E. N.), Geology and exploration of mineral deposits (Head of the department, PhD Isataeva Farida Muratovna), Mine aerology and labor protection (Head of the department, associate professor, Ph.D. Zholmagambetov Nurbek Rysbekovich).
During the existence of the faculty, the list of educational programs for training specialists has significantly increased in accordance with the needs of the country’s national economy to improve the economy and improve the welfare of the people of Kazakhstan.
The introduction of new innovative educational programs and technologies at the departments of the faculty is achieved by the development and implementation of 5 EP Mining, Oil and Gas Engineering, Geodesy and Cartography, Geology and Mining Engineering, Ecology, including the remote online program of St. Petersburg Mining University with the support of the UNESCO Center for Postgraduate Support engineering personnel according to the system of international professional attestation and certification.
The high level of training of specialists for the production of mining industries directly depends on the quality of the teaching staff of the faculty and the university as a whole. The faculty of the Mining Faculty consists of 113 people, including 8 Doctors of Science, 35 Candidates of Science, 18 PhD, 44 Masters. The average age of the teaching staff is 43 years, the level of degree is 53%. The Faculty has created and effectively operates the Dissertation Council in two areas: “Mining” and “Geology and Exploration of Mineral Deposits” to defend dissertations for the degree of Doctor of PhD. Every year, up to 10 PhDs are successfully defended at the dissertation council, thereby replenishing the youth personnel reserve of the faculty, university and other universities of Kazakhstan.
At the faculty, within the framework of international cooperation, the departments invite foreign scientists from universities with a high h-index, such as Ostrava Technical University (Czech Republic), Poznan Technological University (Poland), Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine), Center for Russian and Central Asian mineral research (Russia), etc.
Within the framework of the “Corporate University” consortium, economic contractual work is carried out on orders from such enterprises as the Department of Management of ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC, Zhairemsky GOK JSC, KazZINC JSC, Sokolovsko-Sarbai Production Association JSC, etc. Annually, economic contracts are concluded by the departments of the Mining Faculty in the amount of more than 200 million tenge.
Every year, the qualifying stage of the student league of the largest International Championship “Case-in” (Moscow) is held at the Karaganda Technical University named after A. Saginov to solve engineering cases in the field of mining.
Having a very rich history, replenishing the ranks of the mining industry with highly qualified personnel, constantly improving and developing, the Mining Faculty will continue to be one of the leading divisions of both our order-bearing university and other technical universities in our country.
In 1958, as a result of the transformation of the Karaganda Mining Institute into a polytechnic university and the expansion of the range of specialties, the general educational department “Mine Ventilation and Safety Engineering” was established. From 1958 to 1962, the first head of the department was Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor N.F. Kremenchutskiy. From 1962 to 1974, the head of the department was N.F. Grashchenkov, a scientist and educator, a leading specialist in mining engineering, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor. The area of scientific activity of N.F. Grashchenkov was the justification of safe ventilation parameters for dead-end workings in coal mines and the creation of new technological schemes for tunneling. In 1974, the department split into two: the “Mine Aerology” department and the “Occupational Safety” department. The heads of the departments were elected as Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor N.F. Grashchenkov and Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor F.M. Gelfand, respectively. From 1977 to 1980, the “Occupational Safety” department was led by Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor V.P. Zhuravlyov. In 1980, the departments were reunited into the “Mine Aerology and Occupational Safety” (MAOS) department, headed by Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor N.F. Grashchenkov, who led it until 1992. In subsequent years, the department was led by: Candidate of Technical Sciences, Professor Yu.D. Obukhov (1992-1995), Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor A.K. Akimbekov (1995-2001), Candidate of Technical Sciences, Professor V.S. Kharkovsky (2001-2002), Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor Zh.K. Amanzholov (2002-2006), Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor Zh.G. Levitskiy (2006-2007), Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor P.V. Emelin (2007-2009), and Candidate of Technical Sciences, Professor N.Kh. Sharipov (2009-2015). Since 2015, the department has been headed by Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor N.R. Zholmagambetov.
The department has had a dissertation council on industrial and fire safety and pioneered scientific schools in industrial ventilation (N.F. Grashchenkov) and the prevention of technogenic emergencies (A.K. Akimbekov). Professor A.K. Akimbekov made a significant scientific contribution to the safety of machinery and technologies in the mining industry of the USSR and the Republic of Kazakhstan, particularly in solving problems related to ventilation, fire and explosion safety, and forecasting sudden coal dust emissions, with a main focus on forecasting and preventing technogenic emergencies. Under the scientific supervision of A.K. Akimbekov, 4 doctoral and 12 candidate theses were defended. From 1991 to 2001, A.K. Akimbekov was a member of the attestation commission of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan on industrial safety issues; from 2001 to 2008, he served as Chairman of the Dissertation Council D14.61.05 at the Karaganda State Technical University. A significant achievement of Professor A.K. Akimbekov was the launch of a funded project on the exploration and extraction of methane from coal mines.
Professor A.K. Akimbekov was the founder and chairman of the public association “Association of Specialists for Safe Life and Work.” The department continues to collaborate with the association, coordinating curricula, elective courses, and professional competencies. Over the years, many people have contributed greatly to the development of the department, including: Amanbaev D.A., Gumenyuk T.E., Malyarevsky V.M., Suslov V.V., Silaev V.V., Kuldilov L.N., Zhaisambayev N.A., Galiyev Zh.U., Tursunov M.Zh., Kirsik A.F., Ivanov V.V., Tursunov N.Zh., Smagulov M.N., Yralin A.N., Akimbekova N.N., Silaeva N.V., Furashova L.N., Nenakhov V.I., Samotyos A.G. Currently, the following professionals continue to contribute to the department’s success: Medeubayev N.A., Balabas L.Kh., Akhmetova A.Zh., Sattarova G.S., Tsoi N.K., Nurgalieva A.D., Kaliaskarova A.Zh., and others, as well as industry professionals such as Doctor of Technical Sciences Khodjaev R.R. and Candidate of Technical Sciences Gabaydullin R.I.
The department currently offers programs in “Life Safety and Environmental Protection” at the undergraduate and master’s levels. In the future, the department plans to open a program in environmental safety and a doctoral program in “Life Safety and Environmental Protection.” The department is home to scientific schools in industrial safety and reducing harmful emissions into the environment (Yu.D. Obukhov).
The goal of the department is to prepare in-demand specialists with the appropriate professional knowledge and practical skills, capable of making decisions to prevent and eliminate technogenic and natural emergencies, addressing issues related to rational natural resource use and labor protection. Over the last 10 years, more than 1,000 bachelor’s degrees have been awarded. Since 2016, over 40 master’s theses have been defended. In the 2022-2023 academic year, there are 243 undergraduate students and 16 master’s students enrolled.
Department graduates work as specialists in the development and operation of technological systems, emergency protection systems to prevent fire, environmental, chemical, radiation, and other hazards in enterprises and organizations across various sectors; as safety and ecology experts at large enterprises; as specialists in research institutes and design organizations.
Three faculty members have received the title “Best University Teacher of the Republic of Kazakhstan”: N.R. Zholmagambetov (2016), N.A. Medeubayev (2017), and N.N. Akimbekova (2018).
