With +20  speakers, 400 participants and 112 new students coming together to discuss the impact of AI on leadership and other critical issues, the 2026 inVision U Forum got the fledgling university’s academic year off to a flying start. 

Laptops ready, projects launched

In Almaty, Kazakhstan, it’s time for students to unsheathe their laptops and get studying. But for some, it’s not just academia as usual:  inVision U’s first ever undergraduate cohort, and its second Foundation year, are joining those hitting the lecture halls – or maybe not!

Rather than traditional lectures, these students will work through a “four-year startup accelerator”, learning from industry professionals and tackling actual challenges facing businesses and nonprofits. 

Some 112 students from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Yakutia have been selected for their leadership potential. inVision U will carefully nurture this cohort with a project-based curriculum (and support them with scholarships).

As inVision U’s founder – our CEO Arsen Tomsky – points out, there are two kinds of people who really change the world: geniuses and leaders. And while one can’t systematically churn out geniuses, it is possible to shape good leaders; people with the skills, knowledge and inclination to improve their communities and industries.

The Forum commences

At the 2026 inVision U Forum, students, academics, business leaders and public-sector representatives got straight into the trenches. Following welcome speeches by several leading government figures, a full day of panels tackled ideas around leadership,including:

“What kind of leaders are needed in the mid-21st century?” –  In this first session, Arsen joined public figure Maulen Sagatkhanovich Ashimbayev, Brian Uzzi  (Professor of Leadership at the Kellogg School of Management) and Armanzhan Baitasov (Publisher of Forbes Kazakhstan) for a panel moderated by Vyacheslav Abramov, founder of Vlast.kz, and inVision U’s head of Digital Media & Marketing.

“How to Find Future Leaders? Does AI Change Approaches to Leadership Discovery and Development?” Umut Bolatkhanovna Shaikhmetova (Chairperson of the Board of Halyk Bank Kazakhstan) took to the stage along with Ulan Usenov (chemistry popularizer and teacher) and two of inDrive's leaders -  Ksenia Verba (Director of Global Impact Programs) and Vera Solomatina (SVP People and Culture) Vitaly Volyanyuk, Co-Founder and CEO of Digital Business moderated.

And in a second panel focusing on the impact of AI, “How is AI changing the world of work and what does this mean for universities?” Ahmed Evin (Senior Fellow at Istanbul Policy Center) joined Abdessamad Fatmi (CEO and Founder of Erudite Counseling), Aliya Asanbekova (Head of IT Program at inVision U) and Alan Greenberg (Head of Education Podcasting, iTunes U, and Apple Education) for a session moderated by the President of inVision U, Andrew Wachtel.

Today Almaty, tomorrow the world

The launch of inVision U is only the beginning. Arsen’s long-term vision extends beyond the borders of Kazakhstan, eventually culminating in  a network of campuses around the world – including one in his homeland, Yakutia. 

With a foundation program in collaboration with Satbayev University, inVision U took its first steps; now with the Bachelor’s program underway, this vision takes flight.