This article discusses the project on capacity building for training of engineering and technical specialists via STEAM technologies at the Saginov Karaganda Technical University (STU) in Kazakhstan. The project, entitled “Capacity building of engineers innovative training via STEAM education” was supported by the fund under the "Research in the field of education and science for 2021-2023” priority of the Science Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No. AP092600338). The current research presented in this article addresses the issues of assessing the level of professional communication and collaboration skills among teaching staff. The article describes the identified communication gaps and recommendations in three areas of training, presents the key statements of the theory of communication and collaboration formulated on the basis of the results obtained within the integrated educational STEAM space, structured as the core of the STEAM education framework. Additionally, a list of competencies according to advanced STEAM approaches have been developed.

In the conditions of rapid changes taking place in the socio-economic life of Kazakhstan, much attention is paid to young people who are gradually taking active positions in the economic, political, and cultural spheres. Young people are aimed at developing and promoting their initiatives, mainly starting to implement them during the professional training. In these conditions, the socio-cultural potential of the youth acts as a combination of qualities and capabilities of the younger generation, formed under the influence of certain factors and a professionally oriented educational environment. From this perspective, we should determine these factors in accordance with the realities of modern times and youth's point of view. The purpose of the research was to determine the structure of significant indicators for youth's socio-cultural potential development in the context of professional education via the free-associative method. It was considered how the different categories of respondents react to the incentive words and phrases such as "youth", "youth's socio-cultural potential", "socio-cultural environment", and "crosscultural interaction". Interpretation of the obtained results allows us to divide associations based on keywords and the repeatability sums values of the mentions into groups that make up the semantic core for each definition. As a consequence, twenty cognitive paradigmatic signs with a positive connotation were identified. The scientific value and novelty of the work arrows in proving the possibility of using the free-associative method for the definition of the logical components of the concepts in accordance to the ideas of a certain social group about it.The main conclusions of the research confirm that the youth of Kazakhstan, as a social group, has a formed structure of associations regarding the role and status of youth in society and the development of socio-cultural potential, including in conditions of intercultural interaction. The practical significance of the results provides a base for the determination of the socio-cultural potential of youth indicators in the professional study field.