ASTANA — Kazakhstan will open branches of eight foreign universities this year, Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek said at a June 20 press briefing at the Central Communications Service.
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According to Nurbek, the ministry plans to turn Kazakhstan into an academic hub in the Eurasian region. To do this, it is necessary to attract foreign solid brands to the country.
“Twenty-three academic partnerships were created and opened in just two years. Three more prestigious international university campuses will open in Kazakhstan. We have given permission to foreign universities in Kazakhstan to invest their money in the construction or purchase of a building and education in a foreign format. They work according to special government regulations. For example, De Montfort University in Almaty will graduate its first specialists next year. This British university will award a bachelor’s degree based on its own format and academic admissions policy,” he said.
The Coventry University campus, which covers an area of eight hectares, will open in Astana on Sept. 16. A campus of the Korean Woosong University will open in Turkistan. Graduates of these educational institutions, having received a foreign diploma, can work in these countries. Kazakhstan also plans to open branches of foreign workshops to train technical and engineering specialists.
According to Nurbek, more than 80,000 Kazakh students currently study at foreign universities.
“The largest number of students – over 60,000 – study in Russia. As part of the Bolashak Scholarship Program, over 1,000 students study worldwide, mainly in the United Kingdom, the European Union (EU) countries, and the United States. Our school graduates enter universities in Hong Kong and South Korea. Nearly 450 students are studying in Hong Kong and 1,000 students in South Korea,” said Nurbek.
