Aida Sagintayeva

Becoming Bologna Capable: Strategic Cooperation and Capacity Building in International Offices in Kazakhstani HEIs

This paper examines the roles and perspectives of International Office staff in universities in Kazakhstan, as they engage in internationalization of higher education within the framework of the Bologna Process. Drawing on data from document analysis, a national survey and in-depth interviews, the paper discusses the practices, strengths and challenges of International Offices, linking empirical data to theories on internationalization, institutional change, networks and capacity building. Main findings are that the International Offices play a role in the leadership of strategic cooperation at international, national and intra-institutional levels, and that they would have the potential to play a more major role given access to the capacity building and professional development opportunities they identify. The paper highlights tensions that need to be resolved in the division of responsibilities between Bologna Offices and International Offices at institutional level, and in the channels of communication between HEIs and the national Bologna Center.

Internationalizing Research in Kazakhstan Higher Education: A Case Study of Kazakhstan’s State Program of Industrial Innovative Development 2015 to 2019

This article describes the nature and impact of a major recent education policy aimed to transform higher education in Kazakhstan, the State Program of Industrial Innovative Development 2015 to 2019 (SPIID-2). This inquiry sought to understand and describe the role of internationalization of higher education in SPIID-2, and more specifically its role for developing university research. Kazakhstan’s industrial innovative development program promotes university–industry collaboration and universities’ international partnerships to enhance the role of the university in the economic development of the country, consistent with the imperatives and opportunities of the knowledge-based economy. The role of internationalization, particularly, involving international partner institutions, in this policy, contributes to quality assurance and informed decision making. Findings are based on content analysis of policy texts and interviews with university representatives.

Kazakhstan: Kazakhstan’s Bolashak Scholarship Program

Emerging economies has increasingly realized the connection between human capital investment and economic prosperity. They are looking at more advanced countries for best practices to reform the tertiary education system at home. Among the approaches is sending students to study abroad on governmentsponsored scholarships.

The Impact of Global University Rankings on Higher Education Management and Policy in Kazakhstan

This paper discusses the relevance of global ranking systems as a policy instrument of strategic planning, quality management and public accountability of higher education institutions (HEI) in Kazakhstan. Being one of the world’s fastest growing economies, Kazakhstan has set priorities on developing a knowledge-based society for global competition. Celebrating its 20th anniversary of independence from the former Soviet Union, the nation has become the first of five Central-Asian countries to introduce its higher education institutions in global rankings. Yet, there is little empirical work or theoretical treatment of the influence of global rankings on the government’s educational policy of Central Asian states. In addition, both the increasing impact of global and national rankings of HEIs in Kazakhstan and the government’s decision to motivate local academic institutions to take top tiers in global ranking systems prompt us to better understand how higher education institutions respond to the rankings.