Psychology for a Changing World
On April 17th 2026 speakers from around Kazakhstan, and the world, will meet together in Almaty to explore current themes, theories, and future developments in Psychology. Within Kazakhstan, psychology is growing field, with great potential to provide solutions to a wealth of issues. In addition, psychology is a rapidly evolving field. This conference will be an excellent opportunity to hear about advances in academic and therapeutic psychology, as well as discuss practice issues relevant to Kazakhstan, such as registration and professional standards. Submissions of presentations on psychology research and themes are welcomed from both local and international delegates.
About
Where: The conference will be held at KIMEP University, 2 Abai Ave., Almaty 050010.
When: Thursday 16th April, 9 AM – 5 PM.
Language: The official language of the conference is English. All presentations will be delivered in English.
Format: The conference will be held fully in person. There will be no option for virtual attendance or online presentations.
Abstract Submission
Abstracts should be submitted via the Oxford Abstracts platform:
https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/81799/submitter
Important Dates:
- Abstract submission deadline: 22 March 2026
- Notification of acceptance: by 27 March 2026
- Final registration deadline: 12 April 2026
Participant Registration
Participants may register using the following form:
https://forms.gle/Uf2Z9RNNnTLiJQ4S9
Registration Fee: 25,000 KZT
After submitting the registration form, participants will receive a confirmation email along with detailed payment instructions.
Please do not make any payment until you receive official confirmation and payment guidelines from the organizing committee.
For any inquiries contact nurbeine.k@kimep.kz
Guest Speakers
Plenary speaker:
Dr Ahmed Moustafa, Bond University, Australia
Addicts are trapped in the present: cognitive studies
Dr. Ahmed Moustafa is Professor of Psychology and Computational Modeling at School of Psychology, Bond University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. Prior to moving to Bond University, Ahmed lived and worked in Sydney, USA, Qatar, and Egypt. Ahmed conducts research on computational and neuropsychological studies of addiction, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, PTSD, depression, Alzheimer’s disease. He has published over 240 papers in high-ranking journals including Science, PNAS, Journal of Neuroscience, Brain, Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, Nature (Parkinson’s disease), Neuron, among others. Ahmed has obtained grant funding from Australia, USA, Qatar, UAE, Turkey, and other countries. Ahmed has recently published eleven books. In the last 10 years, Ahmed has published collaboratively with 71 colleagues, and has more than 510 co-authors, from 35 institutions in 14 countries. Ahmed is now editor-in-chief of Discover Psychology, a new journal by Springer Nature. Ahmed’s h index is 65 and number of citations is over 18,000 (Google Scholar).
(In-person presentation in English)
Invited guest speaker: Dr Jingtao Zhu, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona & ClicAsia, Centre d´Estudis Orientals
How we learn syntax and meaning: Insights from first and second language acquisition
Dr. Jingtao Zhu obtained his PhD in Cognitive Science and Language from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and lectures in linguistics at the Department of Catalan Philology at UAB. He is co-founder and executive director of ClicAsia, Centre d’Estudis Orientals (Barcelona and Madrid), and a research member of the Pathology and Language Acquisition Lab (CLT/APL). He serves on the board of the Chinese Association in Spain. Since 2024, he has been an expert member of the Spanish Society for Applied Linguistics and a senior advisor at the Cátedra China Foundation (Madrid).
(In-person presentation in English)
Invited guest speaker: Dr Liia Merzon, Varjo Technologies and Aalto University, Finland
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and How to Measure It
(virtual presentation in English)
Dr. Liia Merzon completed a PhD at Aalto University in the Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering. They hold a BA in Clinical and Counselling Psychology and an MSc in Neuroscience. Their research background is studies of human attention, eye movements, and ADHD.
Invited virtual speaker
T.B.C.
Invited guest speaker: Dr. Alina Gutoreva, Kazakh-British Technical University, Kazakhstan
Psychological Effects of Isolation: Preparing for the Kazakh SANA Space Program
Dr Gutoreva collaborates with the Aerospace Committee of Kazakhstan on the creation of the International Astronaut Training Group and the development of neurotechnologies related to space missions. She was a delegate from Kazakhstan to the UN Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. She researches the interaction of human cognitive and behavioral activity and artificial intelligence (AI), known as human-AI interaction. Specifically, her research group develops AI to model human cognitive processes such as decision-making, planning, and cognition. In her research, she uses methods from experimental psychology, cognitive and behavioral sciences, and machine learning.
(In-person presentation in English)
Invited guest speaker: Dr Matthew Hall, KIMEP University, Kazakhstan
Upskirting, spycamming, homosociality, and craftmanship: A thematic analysis of perpetrator and viewer interactions
As an interdisciplinary scholar, Dr. Hall has published in areas as diverse as health, cognitive enhancement, body modification, and disability. Since 2017, his research has largely focused on digital and immersive gender-sexual violations, examining perpetrator motivations and impacts on victim-survivors, the (dis)continuities between digital and material world violences, abuses, and violations, and the role artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, and extended reality play in these. The implications for organisations, social welfare workers, social marketing, legislation, education, and policy are considered. He has consulted for a range of organizations, such as the independent non-departmental UK Government body, the Law Commission. He has also worked extensively with the media.
(In-person presentation in English)
Conference Program
TBA