As part of organizational arrangement, the university was made administratively independent from the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping announced what became the Belt and Road Initiative during a 7 September 2013 speech in a lecture theatre at the university.

In February 2020, BALEAP has affirmed full accreditation of NUFYP EAP program of NU Center for Preparatory Studies.

In July 2023, due to change in legislation, Nursultan Nazarbayev was removed from the office of the chair of the Supreme Board of Trustees.

[9][10] Most students undergo one-year intensive foundation course at the Center for Preparatory Studies before entering undergraduate programs.

Nazarbayev University Library subscribes to more than 60 databases providing access to hundreds of books, thousands of journals and millions of articles.

The Repository is an opportunity for faculty, researchers, and graduate students to increase the web visibility and citation count of articles and thesis.

Reference Librarians offer workshops, classroom instruction, and LibGuides to promote information literacy, technology, database training, citations, plagiarism, and much more.

The Library holds an annual seminar as a part of Eurasian Higher Education Leaders Forum (EHELF).