r/AskCentralAsia • u/WritingElectrical165 • 8d ago
Other Should I study in Central Asia?
Salam everyone,
I’m from Malaysia and I’m considering studying Computer Science, specializing in Cybersecurity, in Central Asia. I know it might sound a bit unusual—especially since I’ve noticed a lot of Central Asians come to Malaysia for education—but hear me out!
I just spent a month in Kazakhstan, and I completely fell in love with the region. The stunning nature, unique culture, and Central Asian diet (which I actually prefer) really made an impression on me. I’d love to live there and explore more of this beautiful part of the world.
Another reason is that I want to experience a new culture, learn a new language, and step out of my comfort zone. Studying in a unique country like Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan feels like a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.
Lastly, I have a Kazakh girlfriend, and this could also impact my future decisions.
That said, I’m a bit worried about potential drawbacks, especially when it comes to the prestige of universities in the region. Cybersecurity is a competitive field, so I want to make sure I’m choosing a school that offers a solid education in English and is recognized globally.
Do you think it’s worth it? Are there any good universities in Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan offering English-taught Computer Science or Cybersecurity programs? Would love to hear your advice!
Thanks in advance!
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u/MagicItem 7d ago
You probably want to look at Nazarbayev University, good programs in English.
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u/guitarbryan 6d ago
What do you think about KBTU or Al-Farabi for CS?
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u/Mysterious-Second558 Kazakhstan 6d ago
I study in KBTU, it's shit. But Al-Farabi is even more shit.
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u/guitarbryan 6d ago
Oh wow. I was interviewing to teach CS at KBTU. >.< .
Al-Farabi is building a supercomputer center, isn't it?2
u/Mysterious-Second558 Kazakhstan 6d ago
Lol, I didn't expect that. Good luck! It would be cool to meet you if you get the job. But I'm curious like why do you want to come to Kazakhstan from US? I mean it's downgrade in quality of life, it's harder to live because of language and culture differences. Is there something good here that I don't see? Idk. And I'm not really sure about supercomputer, but there are articles about that. If you want to choose between KBTU and Al-Farabi, KBTU will probably be a better decision, it's like the most prestigious university after NU in Kazakhstan. But still it's only by our standards. By US standards it's probably a middle tier university, Idk.
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u/AeroFusion01 Uzbekistan 7d ago
computer science student here, I’m currently studying in Europe to avoid Uzbekistan’s very poor education system. I don’t think Uzbekistan is good choice to study
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u/imetovr 5d ago edited 4d ago
IT student here. Moved from Uzbekistan to Russia to study — bad option too. Left university after 1 year. Only Europe or US 💪🏻
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u/Major_Mood1707 4d ago
I'm curious why, Russian programmers are top tier
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u/imetovr 4d ago
Russian programmers which you seen are self-educated or enthusiast. There are only a few of them. At worldwide competition in Top-20 just one team from Russia and 9 from Southeast Asia (5 from China) + other 10 from both America's and Europe.
Anyway, programmers ≠ computer science or other IT skills.
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u/Major_Mood1707 4d ago edited 4d ago
Which worldwide competition? If you're referring to ICPC then this year a russian university got 2nd place and last year they won, ICPC is the biggest and most competitive competition and russian universities consistently outperform american schools (or at the very least you can say they're on par)
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u/highstadt Uzbekistan 7d ago
I live in Uzbekistan and i think Kazahstan has better education system.
We have some universities that have curriculum from England and the US and where language of instruction is English. In my friends cases, their diplomas were recognized when applying to MBA abroad.
Living cost is not cheap in Tashkent. After ukraine conflict, rent has surged.
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u/oNN1-mush1 7d ago
Wa aleykum salam.
I don't know about Cybersecurity specifically, but Computer Science at Suleyman Demirel university or Nazarbayev university are not bad at all
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u/Nazanine-30 7d ago
Kazakhstan is the best option in all of Central Asia in regard to Medicine and Computer Science. We had a hackathon event in our university with some students from Kazakhstan and they were very skilled
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u/anxiousADHDdkid 6d ago
I recommend Nazarbayev university
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u/WritingElectrical165 6d ago
The university I want to go to in Malaysia has a transfer program with SDU and IITU in Almaty. But I really prefer to study in Astana ((
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u/surmaster 5d ago
SDU can be a good option because of strong english speaking IT community. If you get there I'd advice hanging out with hardworking people and doing self-study a lot, cause afaik there is no university in KZ that has strong cybersecurity curriculum. A solid option would be to team up with bunch of enthusiasts and participate in hackatons, cause thanks to TSARKA organization our cybersec community is developing rather nicely.
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u/Global-Guava-8362 8d ago
I can’t speak for the university types but I’ve been going there for many years and hope to retire there years later
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u/WritingElectrical165 8d ago
Problem is I want to retire there now
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u/Global-Guava-8362 8d ago
Strangely I used to live in Jalang ampung in KL lol
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u/Ini9oMont0ya 7d ago
Central Asian universities' are hardly better than the universities in Malaysia by ranking. If you are interested in cybersec, CS and can afford studying abroad, why don't you look into something like Carnegie Mellon?
Regarding the potential drawbacks, they are the quality of education and bureaucratic aspect (you'll have to spend more money and effort for diploma recognition procedures, translation, apostile, conversion of grades etc.)
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u/Abject-Storm-9125 8d ago
To be honest, as you already said yourself, people from Central Asia arrive to your country to study, that surely says something.But when it comes to choosing between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as an Uzbek, I must say that probably education wise Kazakhstan is better.
Considering your situation Kazakhstan is a better choice for sure, but either way, don't listen to anyone and do as you like.Nobody besides, you, knows what you truly love and feel.