ALMATY – Kazakhstan is shifting from one-off initiatives in international higher education to a systemic state strategy. Integration into the global education space is now viewed not as an image-building exercise but as a tool for economic growth, demographic resilience, and labor market development.
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Education as a driver of national development
Science and education featured prominently on the agenda of the recent National Kurultai in Kyzylorda. Rather than being discussed as a separate social sphere, they were framed as key long-term development factors. The government directly links the quality of education to economic competitiveness and Kazakhstan’s ability to retain and attract human capital.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has emphasized the strategic priority of improving the quality of education based on advanced international experience.
Authorities argue that integration into the global academic environment must produce tangible improvements in workforce training for both Kazakh and international students, reported the Kazinform news agency.
In this context, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education is steadily building a network of partnerships and branch campuses with foreign universities. These efforts are part of the national Concept for the Development of Higher Education and Science for 2023–2029, which focuses on specialist training, knowledge transfer, and the adoption of global best practices.
Education has become an economic issue
Kazakhstan’s higher education system serves more than 724,000 students, and demographic pressure is set to intensify. A record 446,000 children were born in 2021, and by 2040, the number of 18-year-olds is expected to double.
According to Kazinform, by 2029, higher education participation is targeted to reach 75%, up from about 66% today.
In 2025, the state funded 93,000 educational grants, with over 99% utilized. However, as enrollment grows, budgetary pressure is increasing. Authorities are therefore developing alternative mechanisms, including international campuses, attracting international students, and the voluntary education savings program Keleshek, which had opened over 92,000 accounts by January 2026.
The scale of international academic presence
Kazakhstan now hosts 33 foreign universities in various cooperation formats, representing countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, China, South Korea, Italy, Poland, Russia, and Uzbekistan.
These institutions offer 162 programs aligned with priority and high-demand sectors of the economy. Cooperation formats include branch campuses, franchises, global campuses, and academic consortia. Around 9,000 students study at active branches, supported by approximately 1,200 faculty members.
Regulatory reforms have made it easier to open foreign university branches, cutting approval times from 18 months to three. Since September 2025, new branches have begun operating in partnership with Arizona State University, Cardiff University, Coventry University, Woosong University, MGIMO, Marche Polytechnic University, and Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. Foreign partners must rank among the global top 250 to reduce the risk of low-quality collaborations.
Notably, about 80% of programs focus on technical disciplines, with the remainder in business, creative industries, and education, aligning international engagement with labor market needs.
Standards over branding
Experts stress that the presence of foreign universities alone does not guarantee quality improvements. The real impact comes when academic standards, modern curricula, transparent assessment, and a culture of academic integrity accompany the institutions.
Education management expert Gulshat Tussupova said in a comment to the Kazinform news agency that the decisive factor is not the university’s name but the substance of the educational process. The influence extends beyond individual campuses through joint programs and faculty development.
“A significant effect is achieved when academic standards, modern curricula, a transparent assessment system, and a culture of academic integrity are introduced alongside the university,” she said.
Miras Daulenov, president of Coventry University Kazakhstan, echoes this view, noting that international standards drive the development of updated programs in IT, engineering, and business, while equipping graduates with applied skills such as English proficiency, project experience, teamwork, and communication.
Domestic universities are also modernizing under competitive pressure, upgrading infrastructure, laboratories, libraries, and digital platforms, producing a broader systemic effect.
International education as an economic sector
Kazakhstan increasingly views international higher education as an economic driver. In 2025, more than 35,000 international students from 88 countries studied in Kazakhstan, with annual growth averaging 11%. The government aims to raise that figure to 100,000 by 2029.
Even with a conservative estimate of 1.5 million tenge (approximately US$2,985) to 2 million tenge (US$3,980) per year per student, the direct economic contribution is already around 70 billion tenge (US$139 million) per year, without considering the multiplier effect on housing, services, transportation, and employment.
Large-scale infrastructure projects are underway, including dedicated campuses for Cardiff University, Coventry University, MEPhI, and MGIMO. Regional governments are also involved, providing buildings, land, and grants, turning international higher education into a tool of regional development.
Labor market impact
The expansion of international programs produces two main effects – faster graduate integration into the labor market and stronger competition for high-achieving applicants.
According to Tussupova, the main advantage of graduates from international programs is not the volume of knowledge but the practical skill set they acquire.
“These students gain confident English proficiency, project experience, writing and argumentation skills, teamwork, and the ability to communicate effectively with employers,” she said.
International programs are also raising standards and intensifying competition for top students, as families and students increasingly evaluate education against global benchmarks.
Daulenov linked this shift to changing societal expectations.
“Today, education is measured not by domestic standards, but by international quality standards. Students now belong to a generation whose parents studied or worked abroad and participated in programs like Bolashak or Chevening. They have high exposure and expect more from Kazakh universities than students did 20–30 years ago,” he said.
This shift benefits the labor market by producing more skilled graduates with applied competencies, ready to meet the economy’s demands.
Kazakh students abroad: the reverse flow
Kazakhstan is also among the top countries globally in student mobility. UNESCO statistics show that in 2021, about 91,900 Kazakh students studied abroad, a number that remained at roughly 92,000 by 2025. Most students study abroad through direct enrollment, university grants, or international scholarships, rather than state programs.
Daulenov emphasized that top universities begin identifying talented students early, often through international competitions, and provide them with tailored educational pathways and career prospects.
To retain talent, Kazakh universities are encouraged to engage with students, forming a strategic approach to national human capital development.
Kazakhstan as a regional educational leader
Experts say Kazakhstan has carved out a premium segment of higher education in Central Asia. Tusupova noted that while neighboring countries like Uzbekistan also host foreign university branches, none of them match the level of institutions comparable to the Russell Group or other top global networks.
Kazakhstan is not only importing international education brands but also exporting its own programs. In the past three years, five Kazakh university branches have opened abroad, including Al-Farabi Kazakh National University in Bishkek, Gumilyov Eurasian National University in Osh and the joint IT Faculty of ENU in Dushanbe.
International recognition and impact
Kazakh universities are gaining visibility in global rankings. In QS Asia 2026, 44 Kazakh institutions were included, with 10 making their debut. Meanwhile, government support for studying abroad remains limited. Programs like Bolashak and intergovernmental quotas reach only a few hundred students annually, while the majority of the student flow is supported by international scholarships and grants such as Chevening, DAAD, Erasmus+, Fulbright, and others.
According to Tussupova, for many students, foreign university branches within Kazakhstan are a viable alternative to studying abroad, though some still pursue global opportunities for career development.
Today, the country hosts 33 international universities and 162 programs, forming new educational standards aligned with economic needs and addressing skill shortages. As a result, Kazakhstan’s integration into the global educational space is no longer symbolic — it is a strategic tool for strengthening human capital, raising graduate competencies, and enhancing the country’s scientific potential.
The article was originally published in Kazinform.
