Temirtau Higher Polytechnic College: Global Trends and Unique Specialties
Temirtau Higher Polytechnic College is one of the leading educational institutions in Karaganda region, combining a strong academic foundation with genuine hands-on practice. Today, THPC is transforming into a high-tech educational hub that blends international integration with the training of unique specialists in industry, energy, metallurgy, information technology, and other fields. The college's educational process is built on the integration of digital technologies, environmental innovation, and modern competencies in strategic resource management.
A powerful material and technical infrastructure, together with the drive of a close-knit college team for positive change, is helping THPC develop across multiple fronts – including the internationalization of education. Today, the college's ecosystem allows it both to train specialists for our country and to enroll international students.
International Partners of the College and Integration with China
International cooperation opens broad opportunities for the college's strategic development and enhances the quality of the educational process. Through partnership programs and academic exchange, students and faculty gain access to advanced global expertise, innovative teaching methods, and modern technologies. Over years of international integration, Temirtau Higher Polytechnic College has built lasting ties with leading foreign educational centers, including:
The KNAUF Training Center LLP (Germany), with which the college works on studying modern construction technologies and enhancing teachers' professional competencies;
– Lipetsk Metallurgical College (Russia), a partnership aimed at exchanging experience in training technical specialists and organizing practical training;
– Académie de Paris (France) – this collaboration provides an opportunity to become acquainted with international experience in vocational education;
– Minsk State College of Construction Engineering and Technology (Belarus). Cooperation with this college is focused on exchanging experience in training construction specialists, improving practical training, studying modern construction technologies, and enhancing teachers' professional skills;
– The Industrial-Pedagogical College branch of the Republican Institute of Vocational Education (Belarus). Here, cooperation is aimed at improving teachers' professional competence.
– Beijing Changping Vocational and Technical School (China) – cooperation and exchange of experience in training specialists, familiarization with modern technologies, and the development of academic mobility for students and teachers, among other areas.
Participation in international internships and grants strengthens the institution's reputation on the global stage and helps foster a multicultural educational environment.
The main result of this cooperation is that students gain hands-on experience with cutting-edge equipment, teachers receive international certifications, and updated curriculum modules are introduced. Ultimately, this ensures the training of the world-class specialists.
THPC ranks among the top 20 colleges in Kazakhstan actively developing direct partnerships with China. The college offers Chinese language courses in collaboration with the Tang International Education Group to enhance students' language proficiency, while partnerships with Chinese colleges enable students to participate in academic mobility programs.
On May 14, 2026, Temirtau Higher Polytechnic College hosted the signing of a Memorandum establishing the Alliance for the Innovative Development of Vocational Education between Kazakhstan and China.
The alliance was initiated by THPC and Beijing Changping Vocational School. Additional 16 colleges from the Republic of Kazakhstan also joined the Alliance. Members of the Alliance will work to create an international educational and technological space that fosters human capital development, drives innovation, and builds lasting ties between colleges, research centers, and industrial enterprises of the two countries.
The creation of the Alliance will strengthen Kazakhstan's role as a center of engineering and technical expertise and innovation within the Central Asian TVET (technical and vocational education and training) system, supporting workforce development, expanding international partnerships, and introducing advanced technologies. Particular attention will be given to the following areas:
– unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies;
– new energy and transport systems;
– artificial intelligence and digital security;
– modern water technologies, hydraulic engineering, and land reclamation;
– "green" and resource-saving technologies;
– metallurgy;
– agriculture;
– light industry;
– services and maintenance.
Among the college's near-term plans is the opening of a center at THPC for the repair and maintenance of computers and household appliances from Xiaomi, Lenovo, and other global brands. A working gathering with Chinese partners is expected soon, at which further steps for cooperation with the above-mentioned brands will be planned.
The shift from training towards service and production is in high demand amid the rapid growth of the electric-vehicle market, modern electronics, and renewable energy. Training specialists to service electronic equipment, EVs, and solar systems will help close the acute shortage of qualified engineering personnel, while the prospect of localizing the production of solar panels and 3D-printed components will ensure technological sovereignty, reduce logistical risks, and create flexible, import-independent manufacturing.
WorldSkills: A Global Benchmark Reflecting the College's Standards
A crucial bridge connecting international cooperation with practical workforce training is a WorldSkills movement. Participation in the movement allows the college to objectively assess the quality of its specialists' training, independently measure how well students' skills meet rigorous international standards, and establish direct contacts with international experts.
WorldSkills standards are directly reshaping THPC's educational ecosystem: curricula are modernized to meet championship requirements, and the college's laboratories are equipped with cutting-edge equipment – from 3D scanners to high-precision CNC machines.
A clear testament to the college's high level of training is the fact that Temirtau Higher Polytechnic College serves as a key venue for hosting the regional stages of the WorldSkills Karaganda professional skills championship. The most recent regional stage concluded in June, with the THPC team taking first place in the overall team standings among all colleges of Karaganda region. The winning THPC students formed the core of the regional team. Their main goal is to perform successfully at the upcoming WorldSkills Kazakhstan’s championship, traditionally held at the end of the year, in order to secure a place for Temirtau's students on the national team at future international competitions.
Answering the Challenges of Our Time
The global and national push for water conservation has prompted THPC to begin training specialists in rational water use, modern hydraulic engineering, and automated irrigation.
Today, water security has become one of the key state priorities in Kazakhstan and neighboring countries of the Central Asian region. Significant investment is flowing into modernizing the water sector, building reservoirs, reconstructing canals, and introducing digital management systems. The implementation of large-scale infrastructure projects of international and national significance depends directly on the availability of highly qualified specialists capable of solving problems of any level of complexity.
The college has established the only Water Management Competency Center in Karaganda region – a modern training and production facility designed for students to carry out practical and laboratory work using up-to-date production and technological equipment.
The Competency Center trains specialists in the program 07320500 – Hydraulic Engineering Construction, qualification 4S07320501 – hydraulic engineering technician.
The creation of the Center is especially relevant given the growing problems of water consumption and conservation, as well as the shortage of qualified personnel in this field.
The Center's main task is to train specialists who master modern water-saving technologies, are able to make rational use of water resources, and can design, build, and operate hydraulic engineering structures while meeting requirements for reliability and environmental safety.
The college works closely with the Kazakh National Agrarian Research University's Institute of Water Management and Irrigation (KazNUWMI). Together with the institute's scientists and instructors, the college develops its educational programs and works on establishing a professional standard for the water management field.
Practice-oriented training at the college will help students develop key professional competencies in demand across such areas of the water sector as water resource management, water supply and sanitation, and housing and utility services. This will ensure graduates' strong competitiveness and stability in the labor market.
A New Direction – Unmanned Aviation
On August 22, 2026, Temirtau Higher Polytechnic College held a grand opening of the "Drone School" Training Center for unmanned aerial vehicle operators. The Center will train operators of unmanned aircraft systems in accordance with the requirements of Kazakhstan's Civil Aviation Administration across three UAS (unmanned aircraft system) categories, tailored to the needs of real economic sectors:
– agriculture,
– industry,
– construction,
– surveying (geodesy),
– internal affairs agencies,
– emergency services, and other sectors.
The implementation of this project will build up Karaganda region's own workforce potential in unmanned technologies, provide enterprises with qualified specialists, and expand the use of UAVs across the region's economy.
"Drone School" has signed a memorandum of cooperation with Drone Pilot Academy, providing for the joint organization of training, retraining, and professional development of UAV operators, including on a commercial basis. The Center will become one of the college's most promising areas of the development and will contribute to the digitalization, technological advancement, and competitiveness of the Karaganda region.
The material and technical base of the "Drone School" training center includes one of today's top drone models. For students' practical training, a third-category drone from the XYG company is used, along with the second- and first-category drones from DJI.
New Chapters on the World Educational Stage
In recent years, our college has been actively developing international cooperation. It is important for us to see how leading educational institutions in other countries operate, learn from their useful experience, and remain open to cooperation ourselves. To feel more confident on the international stage and understand how correctly our core processes are structured, we decided to obtain an independent assessment of our work.
In 2025, the college successfully passed international institutional accreditation from the Académie de Paris for a period of three years.
For us, this was a remarkable result of extensive teamwork across the entire staff. In the course of preparing for accreditation, we once again carefully analyzed the organization of the educational process, the work of our teachers, how comfortable the conditions created for students are, our strengths, and the issues we still need to work on.
The main benefit of the accreditation we underwent is not only confirmation of a certain level of quality in the college's work. It has also opened up broader opportunities for international cooperation, finding new partners, and implementing joint projects.
Now we are converting the groundwork we have built up into tangible results: internships for teachers and students, academic mobility, joint projects, competitions, master classes, and a genuine exchange of experience.
It is particularly important to us that our students have access to the modern technologies and approaches used abroad today, and that they then apply the knowledge they gain in their professional work.
At the same time, we too have something to share with our foreign colleagues. The college has built up solid experience in practical training, cooperation with enterprises, and the organization of work placements.
That is why we see international accreditation not as the conclusion of a stage, but as the beginning of new work.
Why THPC Is the Right Choice
For students – rare and in-demand professions, international internships, real practical skills, and comfortable infrastructure, including a five-story dormitory with 100 places across 58 furnished rooms, where all conditions are provided for proper rest and successful study.
For international and Kazakhstan’s partners – a ready research and production base for joint projects in the most in-demand fields.
Contacts
For prospective students: 8 (7213) 95-34-26, temr-koll-7062@bilim09.kz For business cooperation: 8 (7213) 95-34-26
Saltanat AKBERGENOVA, Director of Temirtau Higher Polytechnic College Abai OMIRBAYEV, Deputy Director for Information Technology
ABSTRACT
Saltanat Akbergenova, Director of Temirtau Higher Polytechnic College, speaks about the key directions of the college's international cooperation and its integration into the global educational space. She shares the experience of transforming the college into an innovative, practice-oriented educational hub, and describes the launch of unique programs in unmanned aviation and water management, developed in response to global and national challenges.
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