Astana IT University Becomes First Kazakh University to Join MIT’s Global GLEEN Network

Astana IT University (AITU) has officially joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) prestigious Global Learning & Entrepreneurship Network (GLEEN), becoming the first university in Kazakhstan to enter this international ecosystem spanning North America, Europe, Africa, and Latin America.

The partnership gives the university far more than access to MIT courses - it introduces a full transformation framework used at MIT, including the Disciplined Entrepreneurship “24 Steps” methodology and the “15 Startup Tactics”, The Caspian Post informs via Kazakh media.

These tools will now shape the core of AITU’s revamped innovation and entrepreneurship programs across bachelor’s, master’s, and accelerator tracks.

As part of the initiative, AITU faculty will undergo intensive training at MIT, with the first group set to travel in January 2026. AITU students will also participate annually in StartMIT, while the university gains full access to platforms like MIT Orbit and Jetpack AI to help students build startup hypotheses, value propositions, and business models.

Rector Altair Akhmetov called joining GLEEN MIT a national-level milestone that will empower Kazakhstan’s next generation of innovators to create globally competitive startups and strengthen the country’s knowledge economy.

Earlier, the information went viral that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology may open a branch campus in Kazakhstan.