From Theory to Practice: Industrial Internship of Hydrology Students

From 18 May to 20 June 2026, third-year students of the 6B05210 – Hydrology educational programme at the Department of Physical and Economic Geography, Institute of Natural Sciences, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, completed a two-stage industrial internship.

The first stage took place from 18 May to 9 June 2026 at RSE “Kazhydromet”. At the beginning of the internship, students were introduced to the structure of the organisation, its main areas of activity, internal regulations and safety requirements.

During this stage, students worked in several groups and areas. One group processed archival hydrological data by transferring information from hydrological yearbooks into Microsoft Excel and preparing tables on water levels and discharge values. Another group constructed hydrographs and analysed the temporal dynamics of river flow based on the processed data. Some students worked with official hydrological station data from the Kazhydromet website, where each student was assigned 10–12 stations for data processing and systematisation. In addition, another group carried out GIS mapping by creating maps of hydrological stations across the regions of Kazakhstan, linked to administrative boundaries.

The second stage of the internship took place from 10 to 20 June 2026 in the Republic of Uzbekistan at the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek. After safety instructions, the students became familiar with the university’s activities, academic programmes and research areas.

As part of the fieldwork stage, hydrological and meteorological studies were conducted at the Charvak Reservoir and in the Ugam River basin. The students measured flow velocity, water depth and water discharge, as well as air temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, solar radiation and cloud cover, gaining practical experience in hydrometeorological observations under natural conditions.

During the internship, the students visited the cascade hydropower plant on the Ugam River, the Chimgan meteorological and avalanche station, and the Charvak Reservoir. Field trips to the mountainous areas of Chimgan, Amirsoy and Kungurbuka allowed the students to study the natural conditions of the area, terrain features, the hydrographic network and the physical-geographical characteristics of the study sites.

In addition, the students visited the Hydrometeorological Research Institute at the Central Asian University for Environmental and Climate Change Studies (Green University), as well as the Research Institute of Irrigation and Water Problems under the Ministry of Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan. During meetings with specialists, current issues of water resource management, hydrometeorological monitoring, irrigation and climate change adaptation were discussed. The students also became familiar with ongoing scientific research, laboratory equipment and promising directions for the development of the water sector in Central Asian countries.

Overall, the industrial internship helped the students consolidate their theoretical knowledge, develop practical skills in hydrological and meteorological observations, data processing and analysis, and gain valuable experience with hydrometeorological services, research institutes and water management organisations in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.