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Good practice Imported

NURIS — Nazarbayev University's Research, Innovation and Startup Cluster

Kazakhstan · Astana · See the Kazakhstan profile · See the Astana profile

Evidence: Descriptive / self-reported Top 98% 33/100 · Ask Evidence Copilot about this practice

NURIS combines a tax-advantaged technopark, startup accelerator and commercialisation office at Nazarbayev University. It reports 257+ startups and KZT 3bn raised, but most figures are self-reported and measure startup financing, not IP licensing.

257+
Startups supported
KZT 3 billion
Follow-on funding raised by supported startups
100+
Activities run per year
400+
NU faculty involved
2,929 sqm
Technopark floor area
30+
Resident companies in Technopark
157
Startups supported (earlier account) (since 2016)
US$1 million
Grants awarded (earlier account) (since 2016)
NURIS — Nazarbayev University's Research, Innovation and Startup Cluster

Details

Maturity
Established
Promoter
Nazarbayev University
Period
2016-present
Keywords
university technopark, startup incubation, IP commercialisation office, special economic zone tax incentives

Context

NURIS is Nazarbayev University's innovation and commercialisation arm in Astana, combining a Technopark (leased lab/office space inside a Special Economic Zone with tax incentives), a startup accelerator running cohorts since at least 2016, and a university Commercialisation Office intended to evaluate research for licensing or spin-off potential. The Technopark occupies 2,929 sqm and hosts over 30 resident companies.

Objectives

The cluster aims to support the commercialisation of university research and the growth of resident startups through combined tax, space and mentoring incentives.

Activities

Per the university's current site, NURIS has supported 257+ startups that have collectively raised KZT 3 billion in follow-on funding, running 100+ activities a year and involving 400+ NU faculty.

Results

An earlier independent account (Startups Magazine, UK trade press) reported the same programme at an earlier stage: 157 startups since 2016 and USD 1 million in grants, a growth trajectory roughly consistent with the newer figures.

Conclusions

This is the weaker-evidenced end of this batch: nearly all hard numbers trace back to the university's own site or a single trade-press article, with no independent government, World Bank or academic evaluation of NURIS's tech-transfer performance located. The published figures measure startup financing and activity counts rather than licensing of university IP specifically; the Commercialisation Office's own output has almost no public quantitative reporting, and founding-date accounts are inconsistent across sources (2013 vs. 2016 vs. 2018 appear for different sub-programmes), suggesting evolving branding rather than one clean start date.

Implementation
Indicative cost
Medium (€50k–€500k)
Time to results
Medium (1–3 years)
Staffing & skills
NURIS Technopark management staff, startup accelerator mentors and trainers, university Commercialisation Office staff evaluating licensing/spin-off potential, 400+ participating NU faculty

Conditions for success

  • Special Economic Zone tax incentives lowering costs for resident companies
  • combining physical technopark space, an accelerator programme and a dedicated commercialisation office under one university umbrella
  • stable university funding sustaining operations since at least 2016

Common failure modes

  • the Commercialisation Office's own output (technologies disclosed, patents licensed) has almost no public quantitative reporting despite that being its core stated function
  • the model is tightly bound to Nazarbayev University's unique Special Economic Zone tax status, making replication elsewhere uncertain

Commonly funded by

National / regional programmes

Indicative funding routes for practices of this type — always check each programme's current calls and eligibility rules.

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Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

Attachments

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