Rassima Salimbayeva, PhD

Professor and Head of the Environment and Sustainable Development Educational Program at Narxoz University, Almaty, Kazakhstan. In 2002, successfully graduated from the T. Ryskulov Kazakh Economic University (now Narxoz University), qualifying as an economist. Following graduation, enrolled in a PhD program specializing in the Economics of Nature Management and Environmental Protection, earned a PhD, and began teaching environmental disciplines in 2006.

Throughout their academic and pedagogical career, they have published over 55 scientific papers—including articles indexed in Scopus and Web of Science—as well as 3 textbooks and 3 monographs. Publications focus on economics, natural resource management, and ecology, with recent works addressing project management and sustainable development.

Possesses extensive research experience in ecology and sustainable development, with key project involvement including:

• 2015–2017: Researcher on the grant-funded project by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan: «New Silk Road: From Regional Cooperation to the Integration of Kazakhstan into the Global Economic and Political Space», focusing on environmental risks along the New Silk Road (including regional greenhouse gas emissions and transboundary water issues in Central Asia).
• 2023–2025: Grant-funded project by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan: «The Triune Concept of Sustainable Development (ESG): Business Interests in the Context of Balanced Regional Development» (Ongoing).
• 2024–2026: Project Manager for the grant-funded project by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan: «Development of a Methodology for Assessing Project Sustainability in Monocities in the Context of Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals» (Ongoing).
• 2025–2028: Project Manager for the R&D project: «Comprehensive Assessment of Environmental Components and Biodiversity in the Area Adjacent to the Production Infrastructure of RG Gold LLC (2025–2028)», funded under the R&D obligations of the gold mining company RG Gold LLC (Ongoing).

Completed research fellowships/internships at the University of Tuscia (Viterbo, Italy, 2014), Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russian Federation, 2016), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2020), and the University of Massachusetts Amherst (Amherst, USA, 2022–2023).