Journey from training classrooms to the real power generation giants

AlES fires up the spark of the profession… AUES students completed their dual training at the CHPP-1 named after B.Orazbayev

Every year, the CHPP-1 named after B.Orazbayev ignites the spark of knowledge and practical experience for future power engineers. Traditionally, based on an agreement with Almaty University of Energy and Communications (AUEC), the enterprise provides dual training. This is not just an internship, but a real school of life for students, where university textbooks come to life, gaining the scale and power of a real production facility.

This year, students majoring in Thermal Power Engineering were given a unique opportunity to visit the city’s oldest power plant, the CHPP-1 named after B.Orazbayev.

This was the first time that third-year student Zhanbolat Tursynbay had visited the plant. He was particularly impressed by the boiler room, where he immediately felt part of a close-knit team. However, it was the huge boiler drum that left the biggest impression on Zhanbolat – its actual size was a real revelation that even the best textbooks cannot adequately convey.

His classmate, Nurdaulet Makhdot, who came to study in Almaty from Atyrau, had been drawn to machinery and engineering since childhood, which led him to the energy sector. As a third-year student, he particularly enjoyed courses on boiler installations, mostly because of the teacher, who had previously designed gas turbine installations (GTIs) himself and talked about them in a highly engaging manner. Nurdaulet was amazed when he saw the gas distribution units at CHPP-1, and when he found out that there were plans to build a GTU here in the future, he became even more enthusiastic. Like many others, he was struck by the contrast: “Everything seemed small in theory, but in reality it was different, just huge!”. He remembered the words of his mentors: ‘Each turbine, each boiler has its own personality, its own attitude.” And now Nurdaulet really wants to pursue a career at the CHPP-1 named after B.Orazbayev.

Nurasy Tolembay and Ersin Alen, who also interned at CHPP-1, were amazed by the scale of production. “We didn’t have a clue!”, they admit. The students are particularly grateful to their mentor, Galina Sergeyevna Suminova, a teacher in the Personnel Training Department, who patiently and thoroughly answered all their questions, helping them to connect theory with practice. Nurasyl shared his vivid impression: “When we studied theory at university, there were small pictures in the books. We imagined the size of the boilers, turbines… What we actually observed was completely different!” This practical experience reinforced his aspiration to work at AlES, particularly on the combined cycle gas turbine units currently being installed at the CHPP-2 named after A.Zhakutov.

Yersin was also impressed by the station. “I really enjoyed seeing everything for myself!”, he says. He was surprised that the actual production processes were different from what they had studied at university. Like Zhanbolat, Yersin singled out the boiler room as a place where he would like to work. He was impressed by the size of the station’s three turbines. But the main thing Yersin took away from the internship was a deep understanding of the path to becoming a truly skilled professional: “I think it’s right that after university we should come here as operators and start from there. Even though we have engineering degrees. That is, we must see everything from the bottom up, study everything in real life, look, touch with our own hands, and grow that way. Only then will we become high-class specialists.”

These stories are the perfect illustration of the value of dual education at AlES. This is not just a learning stage, it is the spark of a professional career, the first encounter with a future workplace, an understanding of the true scale of the profession and the importance of wise mentoring. Seeing the students’ eyes light up, seeing theoretical knowledge take shape in the form of giant boilers and turbines, seeing the dream of working here come to life – this is priceless.

AlES and AUES keep working together to train the next generation of energy professionals in Kazakhstan, giving students not just a degree, but a solid foundation and a passion for future professional success.