Madina Ashilova began her professional television journalism career as an editor at the republican television channel Khabar, where she worked from 2006 to 2013. In 2014, she became the chief editor of the Turan-TV channel. She has been the editor-in-chief, anchor and producer of the Almaty channel since 2016.

Madina is also the CEO of Almaty Nomad, an NGO which manages media, social and educational projects and establishes cooperation with government agencies and foreign foundations. She also conducts lectures and seminars on philosophy, cultural studies, religious studies and journalism as an associate professor at the Kazakh Ablai Khan University of International Relations and World Languages.

Madina holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in philosophy from Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, and a PhD from the graduate school of Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University. She also attended various university programs, including those offered by Peking University of Language and Culture (2008) and Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, the University of Georgia, USA (2017).

Her research as an AsiaGlobal Fellow will examine the role of women in Asia, and the influence of Asian traditions and the globalization process on the status of women, identifying trends and ways to strengthen the role of women in Asia.