In this week's University's World News, I take a look at how higher education has changed in Kazakhstan. I think there are five big stories to tell about higher education in the Nazarbayev era, and that these will shape the legacy he leaves behind in the country.
No stranger to creating new universities, Kazakhstan's longstanding (and thus far only) president Nursultan Nazarbayev has already set up or led initiatives since founding KIMEP University in 1992. Now, building on the investment and early successes of the eponymous Nazarbayev University - which the president apparently did not ask to be named after himself - …
Summer 2018 is turning out to be a productive time for book publishing: in July, a chapter I wrote with Professor Creso Sá on scientific nationalism and scientific globalism was published; late August saw the publication of my new chapter with Dr Merli Tamtik called: Emerging global players: Building institutional legitimacy in universities in Estonia …
We live in an era of intense and growing international connections, but also in a world of significant positional differences between localities, states and regions. In this context, how can the idea of the world-class university be used by states to survive and succeed? What does this idea look like in states that are outside …
Continue reading New post on Europe of Knowledge blog on world-class universities
This is the second in an occasional series on the blog called New education research on Central Asia. In this series, I review new books/book chapters and journal articles written about education in Central Asia. My aims are to raise awareness of these new publications and offer a summary of the key points and my views on the piece. …
In print at last! My latest article - The policy challenges of creating a world-class university outside the global ‘core’ - which was published online in March, has finally found a home in a print edition of the journal it is published in. (There is usually a lag because publishers do their best to get online …
It's been rather quiet on the blog of late. Don't worry - I haven't run out of ideas to keep the blog going. On the contrary, I probably now have too many. I also have a LOT of new photos of universities to add to my photo gallery (see the bottom right part of the …
A small flurry of press stories recently (e.g. in University World News on 2 June, University World News on 4 May, The PIE News, Today.kz and ICEF Monitor) announced the arrival of a new partnership of higher education institutions, the Asian Universities' Alliance (AUA). Bringing together 15 universities from 14 countries, the AUA aims to promote academic mobility between institutions and countries …
Continue reading What does the Asian Universities’ Alliance mean for Central Asia?
After recent reports of unsanitary and unsafe living conditions at a Kazakh university in the western city of Atyrau comes a new report of questionable accommodation standards - but this time at the country's oldest (and one of its most prestigious) universities, Abay Kazakh Pedagogical University [ru]. Complaints have been made about the irregular supply of water, overcrowded dorm rooms …
Continue reading Bedbugs and overcrowding in Kazakh uni dorms
Intrigued by reforms to education in Kazakhstan, from the new trilingual education policy to greater steps towards decentralization of governance? Want to know what students at a new Kazakh university think about life on campus or the effectiveness of their institution's strategic plan? Curious to learn more about students' views on learning methods, from videoessays to critical thinking …
Continue reading New research from Central Asian university students
