The visits were to help participants to explore opportunities for establishing collaboration and partnerships between UK and Kazakhstani higher education institutions (HEIs), within the context of the Government of Kazakhstan’s Academic Mobility Strategy. The visits were organised by the British Council in collaboration with the Center for International Programs and the Centre for the Bologna Process and Academic Mobility.

A core aim of the Academic Mobility Strategy is that, by 2020, at least 20% of Kazakhstani university students should participate in some form of mobility in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), with a year-on-year increase of 50% in the number of students studying for part of their education in the EHEA. The development of sustainable partnerships with foreign universities and international organisations will be key to the realisation of this Strategy.

The outreach visits included meetings with the senior managers and international managers of leading technical and general universities, including Karaganda State and State Technical Universities, and the Eurasian National University in Astana,  we included representatives of other Kazakhstani universities in each location, not just those being visited. The visits also included briefings by the Center for International Programs and by the Centre for the Bologna Process and Academic Mobility.