A total of 20 world’s leading universities have been invited to establish branch campuses in Kazakhstan. This year, eight branches will open not only in Almaty and Astana but also at regional educational institutions. According to the country’s Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek, the goal is to transform Kazakhstan into a major academic hub in the Eurasian region. This requires upgrading Kazakh universities to meet international standards. It bears noting that foreign university branches are either planned to be established or already operate in almost all regions of the country. For instance, a technical university specializing in metallurgy and computer engineering will be established in partnership with Canada in the Ulytau region.
«We have concluded agreements with foreign
universities. Our main goal is to elevate Kazakh educational
institutions to a global level which requires several conditions. The foremost
priority is the preparation of personnel. Also, it is essential to implement
academic research standards and ethics. All these elements must be gradually
integrated into local universities,» said Nurbek.
A vivid example of such collaboration is the
branch of the ancient Heriot-Watt University operating at Zhubanov Aktobe
Regional University. Following the agreement, efforts began here to
align and harmonize standards. The local partner university provides teachers with
training in foreign offices. Currently, 16 teachers are studying in Scotland.
It is worth noting that the Heriot-Watt University branch in the city of Aktobe
can accommodate up to 300 students annually.
«Our staff are being on the campus helping to
set up a new policy system, to create new teaching teams around English
language, physics, chemistry, and so forth. That’s going to accelerate
next year as we are moving to the second year and will be seeing staff’s
routine work on the campus supporting and working with staff from Zhubanov
University,» said Mark Biggs, Provost of Heriot-Watt University.
