Askar Sydykov

“The most valuable thing about AUCA is the development of critical thinking”.

Askar Sydykov

Askar Sydykov, graduate of the International and Business Law program (2012), graduate of the Master's program at the Law Department, University of Cambridge (UK) with a major in commercial and corporate law (2014), Executive Director of the Association of legal entities International Business Council, gave an interview about our program.

 

 

The program successfully combines the study of Kyrgyz law, the main provisions of international law, and legal skills, without putting an unnecessary burden on students with an excessive theoretical background and those subjects which they’ll probably never use in the future.

Our group was not very large, which allowed us to ask all the questions we were interested in. The amount of required reading and assignments was quite feasible. These enabled us to fully study, as well as actively participate in student clubs. In our senior year, we even had time to work on a part-time basis and to apply the acquired knowledge in practice.

 

The most valuable thing about AUCA is the development of critical thinking, when a person analyzes information and makes conclusions, learns to work with data rather than memorizing them thoughtlessly. All this is especially important in legal science, when it is necessary to analyze the case from all sides, to compare legislation with international practice and with the living reality. We had separate courses in critical thinking, legal skills, and working with databases, and for good reason. We often discussed not only among ourselves, but also with instructors, and everyone was comfortable with it. All this contributed to the development of so-called "soft skills" - skills of working with people, defending their point of view, making independent decisions. At the same time, there were many group assignments and this helped to hone teamwork skills, which are used in almost all spheres of activity.

Due to the specific credit system of AUCA, the range of specialized legal subjects was limited, but this did not stop us from sufficiently studying the basics of civil, criminal, and international law in 4 years of study (whereas in many other higher education institutions in the country the study period is 5 years). 
What makes AUCA's law program different is that students have the opportunity to master legal terms in English. This gives an advantage both for further study abroad and for practical work with foreign legislation, information sources, and international partners.

All of the above skills help students further develop both in their careers and in life.

 

 

I currently work as the Executive director of the International Business Council in Kyrgyzstan. This is a business association that brings together more than 100 organizations - the largest taxpayers of the country and development partners. We work to create a favorable investment climate in the country, develop and promote progressive economic reforms, defend the viewpoint of business on legislative initiatives, protect businesses when their rights are violated, help to attract investment, and develop cooperation between companies. As the head of the organization, I coordinate all these areas, develop and implement further goals and objectives of the association.

 

 

As Executive Director of IBC, I am a member of the following platforms for improving the investment climate, business environment, and public-private dialogue:

• Advisory Committee for Entrepreneurship under the Eurasian Economic Commission;
• the Committee on Industry and Entrepreneurship Development under the National Council on Sustainable Development of the Kyrgyz Republic;
• Business and Entrepreneurship Development Council under the speaker of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic;
• Business Development and Investment Council under the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic;
• and more than 10 other coordinating structures of government agencies and the private sector as well.

During my work in the International Business Council, I participated in the implementation of a number of projects to improve the investment climate in the Kyrgyz Republic, including the project "Systematic Analysis of Regulation" (together with the OSCE Center in Bishkek), projects to analyze the value-added chain in the construction materials sector, the introduction of stabilization regime in the Kyrgyz Republic legislation on investment, the formation of a long-term economic development strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic, etc.

 

 

I have received a personal watch on behalf of the Prime Minister of the KR, honorary diplomas of the Ministry of Economy of the KR, the State Service for Combating Economic Crimes under the Government of the KR, as well as numerous letters of thanks from the government agencies and business entities for my contribution to improving the investment climate, business environment, and fruitful cooperation.