Organisational structure of the Institutional Effectiveness unit within the Office of the Provost
Meet the team
Duncan Priestley | General Director of Institutional Effectiveness
Email: duncan.priestley@nu.edu.kz
Phone: + 7 (7172) 70 90 51
Dr Duncan Priestley joined Nazarbayev University in October 2013 as Head of Academic Quality Enhancement in the Office of the Provost. He currently holds responsibility for Institutional Effectiveness, including quality assurance and enhancement, institutional research, and institutional evaluation/accreditation. He has also acted Vice-Dean Teaching and Learning in the School of Engineering.
His academic qualifications include a BSc (Hons) in Geology from the University of Liverpool, a Postgraduate Degree in Education and a PhD in Acoustical Oceanography from the University of Hull. After twenty years’ experience in UK universities and naval academies, he spent three years in Abu Dhabi as Associate Dean of the UAE Naval Academy.
He was a founding member of the Centre for Oceanographic Research and Education at the University of Plymouth, and his scientific research focuses on the applications of acoustics in the shallow ocean. Recent studies have examined the impact of atmospheric and oceanographic variability on both sonar and radar propagation in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. His research interests also include teaching, learning and academic quality in the international higher education context.
Aizhan Mussina |Associate Director of Institutional Effectiveness
Email: amussina@nu.edu.kz
Phone: + 7 (7172) 70 61 36
Ms Aizhan Mussina joined Nazarbayev University in 2011. As a founding member of the Office of the Provost, she combined operational management of the unit with the development of internationally benchmarked policies and procedures for academic quality assurance and enhancement.
Coordination of institutional effectiveness, including institutional evaluation, ranking and accreditation, and institutional initiatives for enhancing teaching quality are key aspects of her current role.
Her academic qualifications include a M.A in Educational Leadership and Management (Distinction) from the University of Nottingham and an Executive MBA from Nazarbayev University. She completed the International Quality Assurance Programme from the UK QAA. She is a Certified Project Management Associate (International Project Management Association).
Dr Matthew Courtney | Head of IR&A
Email: matthew.courtney@nu.edu.kz
Phone number: + 7 (7172) 70 66 59
Dr Matthew Courtney (PhD, Education) serves as the Head of the IR&A unit. Dr. Courtney is an educational assessment expert, psychometrician, and statistical software developer from New Zealand. His PhD focused on identifying the predictors of international university student success and completion across Australasia. After completing his PhD, he worked as a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at The University of Auckland for two years in the Quantitative Data Analysis Research unit at the Faculty of Education. Thereafter, he worked as a Research Fellow in the Assessment Research Center at The University of Melbourne. Prior to joining the IR&A unit, he has worked for three and a half years as an Assistant Professor at the Graduate School of Education, NU. Dr Courtney has published extensively in fields of student learning, assessment, statistical software development, and curricula evaluation and remains committed to advancing institutional research and effectiveness in Central Asia.
Aigerim Baikenova | Senior Data Officer
Email: aigerim.baikenova@nu.edu.kz
Phone number: + 7 (7172) 70 90 18
Aigerim Baikenova serves as the Senior Data Officer within the IR&A unit. She obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Kazakh-British Technical University and Master’s degree in IT Management from the University of Nottingham. As Data Reporting Officer, she is responsible for reporting official University statistics internally and externally through data digests, statistics profiles and dashboards. Aigerim is also responsible for extracting data from databases, cleaning and/or making the data available for further processing by other IR analysts.
Assel Zhakibayeva | Data Analyst
Email: assel.zhakibayeva@nu.edu.kz
Phone number: + 7 (7172) 70 89 69
Assel Zhakibayeva serves as Data Analyst within the Institutional Research and Analytics unit of Institutional Effectiveness, Office of the Provost. She is responsible for conducting analytical studies to support data-based academic decision making at Nazarbayev University.
Assel obtained a Master’s degree in Ecological Applications from Imperial College London. She worked on the implementation of the TIMSS assessment in Kazakhstan and analysing student achievements. Assel has extensive experience in the development and implementation of biology curricula and course plans, methodological materials and textbooks at the secondary level of education of the Republic of Kazakhstan and in the Centre for Educational Programmes - as a branch of AEO Nazarbayev Intellectual Schools.
Diana Kalemeneva | Survey Coordinator
Email: diana.kalemeneva@nu.edu.kz
Phone number: +7 (7172) 70-58-78
Diana Kalemeneva is a dedicated professional with a background in educational leadership and research. She graduated with a Master of Science degree from Nazarbayev University in 2023, specializing in Educational Leadership: School Education.
Currently, Diana serves as a Survey Coordinator at Nazarbayev University within the Institutional Research and Analytics unit of Institutional Effectiveness, Office of the Provost. In this role, she plays a pivotal role in designing, revising, pre-testing, and implementing strategic surveys aimed at enhancing institutional effectiveness and improving educational outcomes.
With a keen interest in educational research, Diana focuses her efforts on providing insightful analysis in the field of education, particularly concerning students' learning abilities and academic performance.
Aliya Suleimenova | Associate Director of Academic Quality Email: aliya.suleimenova@nu.edu.kz
Phone number: + 7 (7172) 70 90 50
Aliya Suleimenova reviews new and modified academic programme proposals, manages the process of academic programme monitoring, and provides consultancy support to the academic community with regard to academic quality enhancement procedures. She received her Masters’ Degree in Educational Leadership from the University of British Columbia (Canada), and M.A. in History. She participated in Erasmus+ mobility program at the Doctoral College of the University of Brighton (UK, 2016) on the quality assurance and enhancement of doctoral programs. In 2018 she completed the International Quality Assurance Programme (QAA, UK). Aliya is a Certified Project Manager (Swiss School of Business and Management, Geneva, 2021). In 2022 Aliya took the "Enhancing Programme Leadership" course offered by AdvanceHE (UK). She plays a role of a K4 local expert in the World Bank Project "Model for Initial Teacher Education in Kazakhstan" (led by HAMK University, Finland).
Aliya Tuskeyeva| Academic Quality Enhancement Manager
Email: aliya.tuskeyeva@nu.edu.kz
Phone number: + 7 (7172) 70 26 58
Aliya Tuskeyeva obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Philology from Pavlodar State University and Master’s degree in Multilingual Education from Nazarbayev University. Her research interests are translanguaging and translanguaging pedagogy. Aliya has an extensive English language teaching experience. In 2016 she gained a Cambridge CELTA qualification (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in the Czech Republic. In 2017 she participated in a project run by the Ministry of Education and Science on trilingual policy promotion as a curriculum designer and senior instructor. Aliya will be mainly involved in supporting student engagement in academic quality enhancement and providing operational support to the Academic Quality Committee.
Elaine Sharplin | Head of Learning and Teaching
Email: elaine.sharplin@nu.edu.kz
Phone number: +7 (7172) 70-93-71
Elaine Sharplin is Head of Learning and Teaching and Professor of Education with responsibilities for collaboratively leading the Innovative Learning Hub. She is involved in the strategic management of the team and the planning and delivery of professional learning, based on 40 years experience of teaching in secondary and higher education, particularly in the field of Teacher Education. Elaine believes in providing diverse approaches to supporting professional learning through a range of modalities, including the creation of communities of practice.
Aiza Bissaliyeva | Online Learning Multimedia Manager
Email: aiza.bissaliyeva@nu.edu.kz
Phone number: +7 (7172) 70-57-25
Duncan Priestley | General Director of Institutional Effectiveness
Email: duncan.priestley@nu.edu.kz
Phone: + 7 (7172) 70 90 51
Dr Duncan Priestley joined Nazarbayev University in October 2013 as Head of Academic Quality Enhancement in the Office of the Provost. He currently holds responsibility for Institutional Effectiveness, including quality assurance and enhancement, institutional research, and institutional evaluation/accreditation. He has also acted Vice-Dean Teaching and Learning in the School of Engineering.
His academic qualifications include a BSc (Hons) in Geology from the University of Liverpool, a Postgraduate Degree in Education and a PhD in Acoustical Oceanography from the University of Hull. After twenty years’ experience in UK universities and naval academies, he spent three years in Abu Dhabi as Associate Dean of the UAE Naval Academy.
He was a founding member of the Centre for Oceanographic Research and Education at the University of Plymouth, and his scientific research focuses on the applications of acoustics in the shallow ocean. Recent studies have examined the impact of atmospheric and oceanographic variability on both sonar and radar propagation in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. His research interests also include teaching, learning and academic quality in the international higher education context.
Aizhan Mussina | Associate Director of Institutional Effectiveness
Email: amussina@nu.edu.kz
Phone: + 7 (7172) 70 61 36
Ms. Aizhan Mussina joined Nazarbayev University in 2011. As a founding member of the Office of the Provost, she combined operational management of the unit with the development of internationally benchmarked policies and procedures for academic quality assurance and enhancement.
Coordination of institutional effectiveness, including institutional evaluation, ranking and accreditation, and institutional initiatives for enhancing teaching quality are key aspects of her current role.
Her academic qualifications include a M.A in Educational Leadership and Management from the University of Nottingham and an Executive MBA from Nazarbayev University. She completed the International Quality Assurance Programme from the UK QAA. She is a Certified Project Management Associate (International Project Management Association).
