CASIB serves as a platform for fostering scientific and innovative collaboration between Germany and the countries of Central Asia.
Overview: About CASIB
Central Asian Sustainable Innovation Bureau
The official opening of the CASIB (Central Asian Sustainable Innovation Bureau) project office took place in June 2019 ahead of a CLIENT II stakeholder conference in Almaty, which was attended by more than 100 people from the fields of science, politics, and business from six countries.
Since its establishment, CASIB has been active in networking efforts within the region. The office supports researchers in finding project partners, establishing contacts for research collaboration, and identifying stakeholders to ensure the sustainability and commercialization of project outcomes. Additionally, CASIB informs the BMFTR/ DLR PT about developments in the regional science sector and assists in organizing and implementing activities such as contact and networking trips, informational events, and project meetings.
During the project’s implementation period, CASIB has established numerous contacts with institutions and actors from academia, politics, and business, collaborated in various fields, and developed an extensive regional network for research cooperation.
Motivation & Goals: Motivation and Goals
The overarching goal of continuing CASIB’s engagement in the region is to support the intensification of scientific and research cooperation between German and Central Asian partners. This aims to contribute to the initiation and maintenance of reform processes in the context of the necessary ecological, economic, and social transformation toward sustainable development.
Key Activities
- Key Activity 1
Strengthening scientific cooperation between Germany and Central Asia
- Key Activity 2
Establishing the German Higher Education and Research Hub Central Asia (at MLU)
- Key Activity 3
Providing local support for BMFTR and DLR Project Management Agency
- Key Activity 4
Monitoring and informing on science and research developments in the region
- Key Activity 5
Supporting project consortia, universities, and companies in initiating cooperation
- Key Activity 6
Networking German-funded research and innovation projects in Central Asia
- Key Activity 7
Coordinating cross-border exchange and knowledge-transfer activities
- Key Activity 8
Promoting German research excellence and project results in the region
- Key Activity 9
Ensuring MLU’s long-term presence in Central Asia
Action Fields
- Action Field 1
On-site support for the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)
- Action Field 2
Networking, project initiation, and coordination
- Action Field 3
Communication and public relations
- Action Field 4
Sustainability
- Action Field 5
Knowledge transfer
Team: Our Team
- Head
Dr. Peter Liebelt
Dr. Peter Liebelt has been the head of the Representative office of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Kazakhstan and the Central Asia Sustainable Innovation Bureau (CASIB) since 2019. He also represents the DFG as Liaison Scientist for Central Asia. Peter Liebelt received his doctorate from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, where he also taught and managed research projects in the fields of land use and soil science and climate change (funded by the DFG, the Volkswagen Foundation, and the BMFTR).
- Project Coordinator
Dr. rer. nat. Gerd Schmidt
Dr. rer. nat. Gerd Schmidt is the project coordinator for CASIB and has been a research associate in the fields of geoecology, environmental and hydrogeology at the Institute of Geosciences and Geography at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg since 2005. His research focuses on geoecology, hydrogeography, and regional water and material cycles. Previously, he worked at UFZ Leipzig-Halle in the field of hydrogeology and urban landscapes. In 1997, he earned his doctorate with a thesis on the environmental impacts of the Mansfeld copper shale mining. Dr. Schmidt has extensive experience in university cooperation and research collaboration with Central Asia and the entire post-Soviet region.
- Project Assistant
Assiya Sagymbay
M.Sc. Assiya Sagymbay is a project assistant at CASIB and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg Representative Office in Kazakhstan. Since March 2022, she has been significantly involved in supporting various projects aimed at promoting scientific and research cooperation between Germany and Central Asia. With a Master of Science in Regional Process Management (German-Kazakh University in Almaty), Ms. Sagymbay has extensive expertise and experience in international relations and project management.
- Project Assistant
Raushan Amanzholova
M.Sc. Raushan Amanzholova has been a project assistant for CASIB and the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg Representative Office in Kazakhstan since 2024. Ms. Amanzholova is a researcher and lecturer at the Kazakh-British Technical University in Almaty with over 10 years of experience. Her academic focus is in the fields of electrical engineering and water management. Through her participation in numerous projects (including collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on the Hydrogen Sustainable Water Use Program and involvement in other international initiatives such as the BMBF CLIENT II funding program), training, conferences, and publications on electrical engineering, sustainable water management, climate change, and digitalization of education, Ms. Amanzholova has extensive research and teaching expertise and has a strong understanding of the regional higher education landscape.
- Finance and Administration
Dorothee Kley
Dorothee Kley, a long-time employee of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in the area of finance, heads CASIB and the representative office of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Kazakhstan in the area of administration and finance
Contact: Contact
CASIB – Central Asian Sustainable Innovation Bureau
Zheltoksan street 111A
050040 Almaty (Kazakhstan)
Mobile (Kazakhstan): +77051169029
E-Mail: info@casib.eu