Scientific projects

Project name: АР19679687 Analysis of big data (Big Data) and processing of text on the basis of reviews of travelers with the aim of improving tourism of Kazakhstan at the world level.

The importance of the project is although Kazakhstan is a geopolitically favorable country, rich in natural and cultural heritage sites located along the Great Silk Road in Central Asia, the country’s tourism destinations still do not reach the level that can compete with developed countries. Secondly, in the field of tourism, there is a shortage of data analytic specialists (Big Data analytic), who can reveal the problems of all components of tourism in Kazakhstan, processing tourists’ reviews necessitate Big Data Analytics.

The aim of the project is a complete text analysis generated by travelers across Kazakhstan in three main pillars of the tourism industry, called accommodation, food and beverage, and attractions. This Project contains several data analytics tools to pinpoint the situation of the tourism industry in Kazakhstan, determine advantages and disadvantages in perspective of contemporary tourism implementations, find the issues, relationships between issues, relatively better situations, suggest improvements and enhancement measures that need to be taken in eye of travelers by running text analysis and statistical modeling.

Project objectives is the scope of the project includes the execution of three main components: determining the competitiveness, performance and demand conditions of the accommodation, food and beverage and attraction sectors as components of the Kazakhstan tourism industry relative to their global, regional (Central Asian) and Silk Road competitors.

Amount of grant financing: 69863374.32 tenge: 2023 year –19407850 tenge, 2024 year – 25415444,6 tenge, 2025 year – 25040079,8 tenge.

Expected results

1. 3 (three) articles will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific publication with not less than 35 (thirty-five) percentile according to the Social Science Citation Index or Arts and Humanities Citation Index of the Web of Science database and (or) CiteScore of the Scopus database;
2. 4 (four) articles will be published in peer-reviewed foreign and (or) domestic editions recommended by the National Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities.
3. 1 (one) scientific monograph will be published based on the research results.

Information about performers

The development of tourism education and tourism in general will contribute to the mobility of tourism personnel in the context of the region’s developing economy and social sphere. This is particularly relevant for the Turkestan system of professional tourism education, which is based on local tourism values (the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi). This system is currently undergoing positive progressive changes both temporally and spatially, initiated by the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Turkestan is one of the oldest cities (which highlights the prospects for tourism development in this region) and simultaneously serves as the administrative center of the country’s youngest region. In October 2020, the city was presented in its new status.

By signing the historic decree on the establishment of the Turkestan region in 2018, the former President of Kazakhstan, Leader of the Nation N.A. Nazarbayev, tasked the development of the city as a cultural and historical center of the entire Turkic world. Currently, plans for constructing and creating new tourist sites are being implemented. A total of 57 tourist routes have been developed, focusing on historical, ecological, cultural, entertainment, and educational tourism.

For the effective operation of these tourist routes, the saturation of Turkestan’s tourism sector with highly qualified personnel possessing the necessary language training will play an important role.

The scientific novelty of this project is determined by the following contradictions inherent in the modern educational process in foreign language training for tourism specialists:

• Between rapidly developing digital and ICT technologies and the insufficient development of implementing research results in this field into the practice of teaching foreign languages to tourism specialists;
• Between the requirements for ensuring the quality of foreign language education in tourism aimed at developing communicative-cognitive competence and the lack of systemic didactic, technological, and methodological bases for implementing communicative and cognitively oriented methods of teaching English to future tourism specialists.

In this regard, the relevance of the project’s idea is revealed – conducting a series of studies on improving the digitalization system of foreign language education in tourism and the communicative-cognitive competence of tourism undergraduates.

Project Goal: Scientific-pedagogical and methodological justification of effective ways to enhance the communicative-cognitive competence of tourism specialists in English language teaching using digital tools as a factor for successfully implementing higher education programs that meet international standards.

Grant Funding:

The total grant funding for the entire project implementation period amounts to 70,058,964 KZT, including:

• 19,621,004 KZT for 2023;
• 25,185,296 KZT for 2024;
• 25,252,664 KZT for 2025.

Expected Results:

• 1 article or review in a peer-reviewed scientific journal indexed in the Social Science Citation Index, Arts and Humanities Citation Index, and/or Web of Science database, or having a CiteScore percentile of at least 35 in Scopus;
• 4 articles or reviews in peer-reviewed foreign and/or domestic journals recommended by the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education;
• Alternatively, 1 article or review in a peer-reviewed scientific journal indexed in the Social Science Citation Index and included in the 1st or 2nd quartile by impact factor in the Web of Science database, or having a CiteScore percentile of at least 65 in Scopus;
• Alternatively, 2 articles or reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals indexed in the Arts and Humanities Citation Index of the Web of Science database;
• 3 presentations at international conferences;
• 1 monograph titled “Enhancing Communicative-Cognitive Competence of Tourism Undergraduates: Theory and Practice” (working title);
• 1 textbook or educational manual titled “Business English: Tourism Industry” (working title);
• Electronic educational materials on English for tourism undergraduates;
• A professional development course for English language teachers training tourism undergraduates;
• 1 copyright certificate.

Project Team:

Results of the project for 2023,2024,2025 years

Articles or reviews in peer-reviewed foreign and/or domestic journals recommended by the Committee for Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education

1. Ризаходжаева Г.А., Акешова М.М., Нышанова С.Т., Нұрмағанбетқызы Н., “Туризм саласы мамандарын даярлаудағы оқу туризмінің рөлі” Дене тәрбиесінің теориясы мен әдістемесі № 2(72) 2023, Алматы, 2023. https://doi.org/10.48114/2306-5540_2023_2_64
2. Ризаходжаева Г.А., Акешова М.М., Абдуламит И., Муссабекова Г.З., Impact and effectiveness of mobile applications in teaching. – 3i – Интеллект, Идея, Инновации. – №4, 2023. – С. 251-259. https://doi.org/10.52269/22266070_2023_4_251
3. Ризаходжаева Г., Нурмаганбеткызы Н. // Коммуникативті және когнитивті құзыреттілікті қалыптастыру процесіндегі цифрландырудың маңызы // Вестник Евразийского национального университета имени Л.Н. Гумилева. Серия Педагогика. Психология. – No 3(144)/2023. – с. 204-214. https://bulpedps.enu.kz/index.php/main/article/view/9
4. Ризаходжаева Г.А., Маккамбаева Ф. // Perspectives of tourism students on the development of foreign language reading through scaffolding // Вестник Евразийского национального университета имени Л.Н. Гумилева. Серия Педагогика. Психология. – No 3(145)/2023. – с. 208-216.
5. Akeshova  M.,  Rizakhojayeva  G., Torbik E.M. Towards  Using  Mobile  Applications  in Foreign  Language Teaching// Iasaui  universitetіnіn  habarshysy. –2024. –No2   (132). –B. 273–282. https://doi.org/10.47526/2024-2/2664-0686.61
6. Rizakhojayeva Gulnara Abdumajitovna, Saipullayeva Makhinur Abdimutalipovna, Akeshova Madina Murzakhanovna, Nyshanova Saltanat Tynybekovna, Bingöl Zekeriya // Mobile-assisted language learning in training tourism specialists // Дене тәрбиесінің теориясы мен әдістемесі.. – No1(75). – 2024. – C. 53-59. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48114/2306-5540_2024_1_53  http://46.34.130.122/index.php/tmfk/article/view/496
7. Ризаходжаева Г. А., Акешова М.М., Оразали И. Ш., Альжанова А. О. Instructional design in fostering tourism specialists’ communicative and cognitive abilities // Известия КазУМОиМЯ имени Абылай хана. Серия Педагогика. 2024. – Т. 73. – №. 2.  https://bulletin-pedagogical.ablaikhan.kz/index.php/j1/article/view/1147 DOI: https://doi.org/10.48371/PEDS.2024.73.2.004
8. Ризаходжаева Г., Шалабаева Л., Джаббарова С. Investigating The Attitude Of Tourism Students Towards The Use Of Digital Tools In Developing Communicative Skills And Creativity //Bulletin of the International University of Tourism And Hospitality. – 2025. – №. I (7). – С. 187-196. https://www.doi.org/10.62867/3007-0848.2025-1.16
9. Акешова М., Дүйсебаева Г., Нышанова С. Enhancing Tourism Specialists’ Еnglish Proficiency Through Digital Technologies: An Experimental Study //Bulletin of the International University of Tourism And Hospitality. – 2025. – №. I (7). – С. 31-40. https://www.doi.org/10.62867/3007-0848.2025-1.03

Articles or reviews in a peer-reviewed scientific journal indexed in the Social Science Citation Index, Arts and Humanities Citation Index, and/or Web of Science database, or having a CiteScore percentile in Scopus 

1. Dinara Sarzhanova, Alibek Shokparov, Madina Akeshova, Gulnara Rizakhojayeva Do web-quest technologies enhance socio-cultural competence in a language learning environment? // International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies, 8(2) 2025, pages: 2129-2138.https://doi.org/10.53894/ijirss.v8i2.5642
2. Sarzhanova, D., Rizakhojayeva , G., Akeshova, M., Shakiyeva , A., Yessimgaliyeva , T., & Ibrayeva, L. (2025). The Impact of Information-Contextual Technologies on Shaping Foreign Language Teaching Proficiency in Prospective Educators. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(3), 852–862. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i3.8822

Conference proceedings

1. Rizakhojayeva G. Tashpulatova Sh. The role of digital tools in learning English // Proceedings of the 4th International Scientific Conference “European Research Materials” (November 2-3, 2023), Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2023, pp.121-127
2. Rizakhojayeva G.A., Abubakirova A.T. // Toward Enhancing Communicative and Cognitive Competence of Tourism Specialists // Proceedings of the 5th International Scientific Conference “Tourism and cultural heritage”. – Marmaris. – 2023. – p. 295-305.
3. Akeshova M. Rizakhojayeva G. Towards Enhancing Communicative-Cognitive Competence Of Tourism Specialists In Teaching Foreign Language // Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Advanced Research in Education https://www.dpublication.com/abstract-of-7th-educationconf/25-5347/
4. Rizakhojayeva G. Digitalization of Foreign Language Instruction: Tourism Students’ Action Research https://www.dpublication.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/26-5348.pdf
5. Ризаходжаева Г., Султанова Д. Қазақстандық студенттердің коммуникативті дағдыларын арттырудағы рөлдік ойын әдісінің тиімділігі // «Шетел тілін оқытудың өзекті мәселелері 2024» II Халықаралық ғылыми конференция . – Түркістан 2024. – 163-176 б . https://cifle.ayu.edu.kz/admin/ckeditor_files/files/CIFLE-Proceeding-2024.pdf
6. Akeshova M. Exploring the formation of communicative-cognitive competence of students in tourism field //AELTE 2024. – 2024. – С. 140. https://www.inoed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/AELTE-2024-Conference-Proceedings-3.pdf#page=140

Monographs and/or manuals

1. Ризаходжаева Г., Акешова М. // Communicative-cognitive competence in foreign language education: tourism specialists’ perspective. – Monograph. – 2023, Turkestan. – 210 p.
2. Manual “Bussiness English: tourism industry” approved at the meeting of the UMS of the International University of Tourism and Hospitality (minutes No. 10, 05/22/2024), and also sent for further consideration to receive the RUMS Stamp by the Scientific Council of the International University of Tourism and Hospitality (minutes No. 10, 05/25/2024). 

Others

1. The program of the advanced training course “Digitalization in the formation of communicative-cognitive competence”.
2. Teaching and methodological kit of the discipline English for tourism purposes III (ADTCI3207).

The name of the project topic:

Study of the information potential of religious tourism facilities in the Turkestan region: development of a multimedia interactive atlas in 4 languages.

The project idea:

The ultimate goal of the idea is to group spiritual values in the memory of the nation. The basis of the idea is to establish the mausoleum of Khoja Akhmet Yassawi as a single complex in the memory of the nation by studying the cultural and historical monuments of the Turkestan region, such as the mausoleums of Arystan Bab, Aziz Baba, Isaac Bab, Uzun Ata, Badr Ata, Ibrahim Ata, Karashash Ana, Khizyr Tower in Sozak, Shardara and Sairam districts.

Being a spiritual teacher of the Turkic peoples, a preacher-sheikh who spread Islam, Khoja Akhmet Yassawi is one of the important factors that turned Turkestan into a center of religious pilgrimage. By raising the Sufism doctrine to the level of Tariqat and raising the human consciouseness to a new level, Khoja Akhmet Yassawi defined a new direction of spiritual development for the Turkic peoples and the human race as a whole, and directly contributed to the birth of the great Jalaladdin Rumi, Haji Bektash Uali, Jami, Sagdi, Navoi, etc

Today, the flow of people arriving in the Republic of Kazakhstan is growing. One of the tourist centers of the country is the Turkestan region. With its unique natural resources and original culture of nomadic people, it has enormous potential for tourism development in the international market.

The relevance of the problem is determined by the fact that the development of religious, cultural and educational tourism of the Turkestan region and the impact of a properly designed information base on the increase of the demand for religious, cultural and educational tours in the Turkestan region. The flow of tourists is increasing every year, but the tourism potential of the region can be further increased through professional promotion.

Through the scientific project of compiling an informative multimedia interactive atlas of religious tourism facilities in the Turkestan region, the features of sacred objects and objects of religious tourism, the motives of modern religious travel, the aspects of spiritual tourism related to religion and secularism will be studied on the basis of the views of domestic and foreign scientists.

The requested amount of grant funding: 89,805,484 tenge.

Project name:

AP23488900 Automatic detection of cyberbullying among young people in social networks using artificial intelligence

In the context of the growing problem of cyberbullying among youth, especially on social networks, this project aims to develop automated systems that use artificial intelligence to detect and prevent such incidents. The main goal of the project is to create an effective tool capable of identifying cases of cyberbullying in real time, which will allow timely measures to be taken to protect potential victims.

The problem of cyberbullying is caused not only by the widespread use of digital technologies and social networks, but also by the difficulties in defining the boundary between a joke and aggression, especially among young people. Therefore, the study is aimed at an in-depth analysis of the linguistic features, behavioral patterns and contextual factors characteristic of cyberbullying.
The goal of the project is to develop an advanced cyberbullying detection system based on machine learning algorithms to improve the digital safety and psychosocial well-being of youth in the social media environment.

Project objectives:

1. Developing a parser to collect data using keywords: The first task is to create a parser that automatically collects text data from social networks using keywords related to cyberbullying. This will ensure the collection of targeted data for subsequent analysis and training of models.
2. Manual annotation of data into classes: An important task that involves manually classifying the collected data to create an accurate training dataset. This will provide a high-quality training dataset for training machine learning models.
3. Development of a dataset containing examples of cyberbullying in the Kazakh language: Creation of a specialized dataset in the Kazakh language, which will be used for training and testing models specific to this linguistic and cultural context.
4. Development of machine learning models for detecting cyberbullying in the Kazakh language: Development and configuration of machine learning models specially adapted for detecting cyberbullying in texts in the Kazakh language.
5. Developing deep learning models to detect cyberbullying in Kazakh: Using more sophisticated deep learning models that can take into account more subtle nuances of language and context to more accurately detect cyberbullying.
6. Development of a deep model of a hybrid architecture for detecting cyberbullying in the Kazakh language: Creating a hybrid model that combines various approaches and deep learning technologies to improve the accuracy and efficiency of cyberbullying detection.
7. Improving the developed model using an attention mechanism: The final task involves refining and optimizing models using attention mechanisms, which will allow the system to more accurately focus on key aspects of the text related to cyberbullying.
Amount of grant financing: 59772298 tenge: 2024 year –20324888 tenge, 2025 year – 20115170 tenge, 2026 year – 19332240 tenge.

Expected results

1. 3 (three) articles will be published in a peer-reviewed scientific publication with not less than 50 (fifty) percentile according to the Social Science Citation Index or Arts and Humanities Citation Index of the Web of Science database and (or) CiteScore of the Scopus database;
2. 4 (four) articles will be published in peer-reviewed foreign and (or) domestic editions recommended by the National Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Information about performers

1. Abdrakhmanov Rustam Bakhtiyoruly – Project manager, leading researcher
2. Sultan Daniyar Rakhmankulovich – leading researcher
3. Tolep Abdimukhan Seilkhanovich – leading researcher
4. Toktarova Aigerim Bastarbekovna – leading researcher
5. Turymbetov Tursinbay Abdibekovich – senior researcher
6. Iskakov Tairzhan Bakhytbayevich – senior researcher
7. Ibraeva Zhanylsyn – Employee

The tourism sector holds significant importance for promoting Kazakhstan in a new format and creating a competitive state. This is due to several factors, including economic growth, support for small and medium-sized enterprises, infrastructure and investments, increasing international visibility and image, preservation of nature and cultural landmarks, substantial tax revenues, etc. It is worth noting that maintaining a balance between tourism development, its impact on the environment, cultural heritage, and the population of the region, as well as the preparation of qualified, competitive personnel in the tourism sector, can guarantee long-term sustainable development of tourism and maximize benefits for the country.

The idea of this project lies in finding ways to improve the training of tourism personnel, particularly facilitating their linguocommunicative creativity, which will contribute to the sustainable development of this sector, improve the quality of services for tourists, and create favorable conditions for economic growth.

The preparation of qualified personnel in the tourism sector plays a decisive role in the development of the industry. Firstly, it affects the improvement of service quality. Trained tourism specialists can provide high-quality services to tourists, which is essential for creating a positive experience and strengthening the reputation of the country or region as an attractive tourist destination. Secondly, it concerns effective promotion and management of tourism resources. Well-trained personnel, knowledgeable about tourist destinations, along with their effective promotion among tourists and increasing visitor flow, help develop and implement sustainable strategies for managing tourism resources to prevent resource depletion and minimize negative environmental impacts. Thirdly, it pertains to the creative potential of personnel — the development of new tourism products. Tourism specialists with linguocommunicative creativity can introduce new ideas and innovations into the diversity of tourism products and services, contributing to the diversity of offerings and the attractiveness of the destination. Fourthly, there is a financial aspect — increased revenues. Effective regulation and ensuring high personnel qualifications can become a source of income for both individual workers and the state as a whole, with the prospect of strengthening the destination’s position in the global tourism market.

Based on the above, the relevance of this project is revealed as a comprehensive and systematic study of issues related to increasing the competitiveness of specialists in the tourism sector and facilitating their linguocommunicative creativity.

Grant Funding Amount:

• Total funding for the entire implementation period: 74,188,702 (seventy-four million one hundred eighty-eight thousand seven hundred two) tenge
• For 2024: 24,792,603 (twenty-four million seven hundred ninety-two thousand six hundred three) tenge
• For 2025: 24,540,485 (twenty-four million five hundred forty thousand four hundred eighty-five) tenge
• For 2026: 24,855,614 (twenty-four million eight hundred fifty-five thousand six hundred fourteen) tenge

Project Goal:

Development of a model for facilitating linguocommunicative creativity of tourism specialists in foreign language learning, as well as creating didactic support for implementing the model using gamification and art therapy in education, to saturate the tourism sector with highly qualified personnel meeting international standards. 

Expected Results:

• 1 (one) article in a peer-reviewed scientific journal indexed in the Social Science Citation Index or Arts and Humanities Citation Index databases of Web of Science and/or having a CiteScore percentile in the Scopus database of at least 35 (thirty-five);
• 3 (three) articles and/or reviews in peer-reviewed foreign and/or domestic journals recommended by the Committee for Quality Assurance in the Field of Science and Higher Education;
• At least 1 (one) article or review in a peer-reviewed scientific journal indexed in the Social Science Citation Index and included in the 1st or 2nd quartile by impact factor in the Web of Science database;
• At least 2 (two) articles and/or reviews in peer-reviewed scientific journals indexed in the Arts and Humanities Citation Index database of Web of Science;
• 1 (one) monograph titled “Linguocommunicative Creativity of Tourism Specialists” (working title);
• 3 (three) presentations at international conferences;
• 1 (one) textbook or teaching aid titled Linguocommunicative Creativity(working title);
• 1 (one) copyright certificate for an intellectual property object;
• A training course program for English language teachers;
• An elective course program on facilitating linguocommunicative creativity for tourism specialists;
• Electronic educational content for the training course and elective course programs. 

Project Team:

1. Gulnara Rizakhojayeva – Project Manager, Chief Researcher
2. Laura Shalabayeva – Chief Researcher
3. Ainur Azizova – Lead Researcher
4. Nurdan Nurmaganbetkyzy – Lead Researcher
5. Guzal Yusupova – Senior Researcher
6. Lazura Kazykhankyzy – Senior Researcher
7. Indira Orazaly – Researcher

Published Results for 2024–2025: 

Articles or reviews in peer-reviewed foreign or domestic journals recommended by the Committee for Quality Assurance in the Field of Science and Higher Education: 

1. Rizakhojayeva, G., Ganieva, R., Shalabayeva, L., & Akeshova, M. (2024). Current issues in teaching tourism students: barriers in reading foreign languages. Theory and Methods of Physical Culture, 77(3), 17–26. https://doi.org/10.48114/2306-5540_2024_3_17
2. Rizakhojayeva G., Rakhimova D., Shalabayeva L. Communicative Creativity of Specialists in the Field of Tourism and Hospitality in Turkestan: Indicator of Service Quality. Bulletin of the International University of Tourism and Hospitality, 2024, No. IV (6), pp. 134–141. https://doi.org/10.62867/3007-0848.2024-4/6.11
3. Rizakhojayeva G., Akeshova M. Linguistic and Communicative Creativity Model in English Language Learning: Implementation for Tourism Specialists. 3i: intellect, idea, innovation, 2025, Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 209–218. https://doi.org/10.52269/RWEP2522209
4. Rizakhojayeva G., Abdikhanova Zh., Bingol Z. The Role of Gamification in Learning English for Tourism Students. Bulletin of the Yasavi University, 2025, Vol. 1, No. 135, pp. 409–418. https://doi.org/10.47526/2025-1/2664-0686.174
5. Rizakhojayeva, G. A., Saipullayeva, M. A., Shalabayeva, L., & Alzhanova, A. O. The Impact of Scaffolding Approach on Advancing Communication Skills.  Series: Pedagogical Sciences, 2025, Vol. 76, No. 1. https://doi.org/10.48371/PEDS.2025.76.1.012 

International Conferences:

1. Rizakhojayeva G. Benefits of gamification in foreign language classroom: a study of tourism students in Kazakhstan. AELTE 2024, 2024, p. 130.
2. Rizakhojayeva G. Challenges in Foreign Language Learning Among Youth: a Comprehensive Analysis of Contemporary Barriers and Solutions. Proceedings of V. International Congress of Youth Researches, 2024, pp. 305–310.

Published Monographs and Textbooks:

Textbook Bridging Creativity and Communication: Gamification and Art-Therapy approved at the meeting of the academic council of the International University of Tourism and Hospitality (Protocol No. 5, December 24, 2024).