Officials from the Republic of Kazakhstan and the University of Arizona Discuss Joint Initiatives in Higher Education
Nov. 10, 2021
Representatives from both government and education participated in talks aimed at strengthening and fostering collaboration between the University of Arizona and North Kazakhstan State University.
The delegation from Kazakhstan at Arizona Stadium, after touring the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab.jpg
November 10, 2021---The University of Arizona recently hosted two delegations from the Republic of Kazakhstan to explore a partnership to advance public higher education in Kazakhstan.
The first visit, on October 28, 2021 included Kazakhstan Ambassador Yerzhan Ashikbayev and the Consul General Azamat Abdraimov, of the Kazakhstan Consulate in San Francisco. The delegation met with state officials, including Governor Doug Ducey, and spent a full day at the University of Arizona exploring the campus and discussing partnership possibilities with university leadership and faculty.
“This partnership between the University of Arizona and the Republic of Kazakhstan is an opportunity to create a unique and robust model of excellence in higher education, and I am very excited for this collaboration,” said University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins. “I am looking forward to the completed project, which will showcase an internationally important university that will provide Kazakhstan’s young people and students from around the world with the skills, energy, creativity and innovation to fulfill their dreams.”
Kazakhstan is the world’s largest land-locked country and the 9th largest by land mass overall. The nation of 18.8 million people declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
The ambassador’s visit to Arizona was followed in early November by a visit to the University of Arizona by Vice Minister of Education & Science Kuanysh Yergaliyev, Kazakhstan’s Deputy Governor of North Kazakhstan Oblast Gani Nygymetov, Rector of North Kazakhstan University Yerlan Shulanov, and other key representatives from government and higher education.
The delegation toured the University of Arizona and met with campus and college leadership to discuss collaboration between the University of Arizona and North Kazakhstan State University (NKSU), a public university that sits near the country’s northern border with Russia.
During their visit the delegation met with over 40 university faculty and staff, including meetings with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Education, College of Engineering, Honors College, College of Humanities, College of Law, College of Medicine, College of Pharmacy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, College of Science, and the College of Social & Behavioral Sciences.
They also visited Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree Ring Research, the Bartlett Academic Success Center, the Student Success District and CATalyst Studio, the Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab, and the Health Sciences Innovation Building and Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center (ASTEC).
Delegation meeting with University of Arizona President Robert C. Robbins.
(L-R) Gani Nygymetov, Deputy Governor of North Kazakhstan Oblast; Hugh Hallman; Kuanysh Yergaliyev, Vice Minister of Education & Science; Robert C. Robbins, President, University of Arizona; Yerlan Shulanov, Rector of North Kazakhstan State University; Brent White, Vice President, Global Affairs; Dean, Global Education; Olzhas Khudaibergenov, Senior Director of CSI Group; Daniel Palm, Associate Vice President, Global Affairs
Photo: Arizona Global
Delegation meets with CESL Leadership.
L-R: Eric Swedlund, College of Humanities; Robert Côté, Director of the Center for English as a Second Language; Valentina Vinokurova, doctoral student in Second Language Teaching and Acquisition; John Leafgren, Head of the Department of Russian and Slavic Studies; Rustem Issabayev, First Secretary, Embassy of Kazakhstan; Gani Nygymetov, Deputy Governor of North Kazakhstan Oblast; Yerlan Shulanov, Rector of North Kazakhstan State University; A-P Durand, Dean, College of Humanities
Photo: Michelle Doggett, Senior Graphic Designer, College of Humanities
Kazakhstan delegation met with leadership in the Center for English as a Second Language (CESL).
L-R: Brent White, Vice President, Global Affairs; Dean, Global Education; A-P Durand, Dean, College of Humanities; Yerlan Shulanov, Rector of North Kazakhstan State University; Gani Nygymetov, Deputy Governor of North Kazakhstan Oblast; Rustem Issabayev, First Secretary, Embassy of Kazakhstan; Robert Côté, Director of the Center for English as a Second Language; Sumayya Granger, Associate Director of the Center for English as a Second Language
Photo: Michelle Doggett, Senior Graphic Designer, College of Humanities
Meeting with the College of Engineering, discussing collaboration in Kazakhstan.
L-R: David Hahn, Craig M. Berge Dean, College of Engineering; Yerlan Shulanov, Rector of North Kazakhstan State University; Gani Nygymetov, Deputy Governor of North Kazakhstan Oblast; Brent White, Vice President, Global Affairs; Dean, Global Education; Rustem Issabayev, First Secretary, Embassy of Kazakhstan; Jim Baygents, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering
Photo: Arizona Global
Students with Wilbur at the Welcome Party
Students with Wilbur at the Welcome Party
Winner of the Wildcat Raffle drawing
Students at the welcome party
Richard F. Caris Mirror Lab
L-R: Kuanysh Yergaliyev, Vice Minister of Education & Science; Yerlan Shulanov, Rector of North Kazakhstan State University; Dennis Zaritsky, Deputy Director, Steward Observatory; Professor, Astronomy; Astronomer, Steward Observatory; Member of the Graduate Faculty; Rustem Issabayev, First Secretary, Embassy of Kazakhstan; Gani Nygymetov, Deputy Governor of North Kazakhstan Oblast
Photo: Arizona Global
Simulation floor of Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center (ASTEC).
L-R: Dave Biffar, MS, CHSOS, Director of Operations, AZ Simulation Tech & Education Center; Brent White, Vice President, Global Affairs; Daniel Palm, Associate Vice President, Global Affairs; Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States; Angie Souza, Executive Director, Planning and Facilities
Photo: Arizona Global
Touring the new Student Success District and remodeled Bear Down Gym.
L-R: Dino Sakellar, Student Success District Project Manager; Rustem Issabayev, First Secretary, Embassy of Kazakhstan; Yerlan Shulanov, Rector of North Kazakhstan State University; Kuanysh Yergaliyev, Vice Minister of Education & Science; Gani Nygymetov, Deputy Governor of North Kazakhstan Oblast; Nina Bates, Director, Operations and Strategic Initiatives, Office of the Provost; Brent White, Vice President, Global Affairs; Daniel Palm, Associate Vice President, Global Affairs
Photo: Nina Bates, Office of the Provost
Touring and hearing about the scope and work of the Geosciences Department.
L-R: Barbara Carrapa, Department Head, Geosciences; Dr. David Dettman, Researcher, Geosciences; Gani Nygymetov, Deputy Governor of North Kazakhstan Oblast; Dr. Jay Quade, Professor, Geosciences; Brent White, Vice President, Global Affairs; Dean, Global Education; Yerlan Shulanov, Rector of North Kazakhstan State University; Rustem Issabayev, First Secretary, Embassy of Kazakhstan; Daniel Palm, Associate Vice President, Global Affairs
Photo: Arizona Global
Touring the Arizona Simulation Technology and Education Center (ASTEC) in the College of Health Sciences
L-R: David E. Biffar, MS, CHSOS-A, Director, Healthcare Simulation Operations; Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States; Daniel Palm, Associate Vice President, Global Affairs; Azamat Abdraimov, Consul General, Republic of Kazakhstan; Dalel Ismagulov, Counselor of Embassy; Daniel Vander Ploeg, Arizona Global
Photo: Arizona Global
Touring the University of Arizona Laboratory of Tree Ring Research, in front of a cross-section of giant sequoia.
L-R: Azamat Abdraimov, Consul General, Republic of Kazakhstan; Yerzhan Ashikbayev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to the United States; Brent White, Vice President, Global Affairs; Daniel Palm, Associate Vice President, Global Affairs; Dalel Ismagulov, Counselor of Embassy; David Frank, Director, Laboratory of Tree Ring Research; Zhanat Okassov, Deputy Military Attaché
Photo: Arizona Global
Touring the Worlds of Words in the College of Education.
L-R: Rustem Issabayev, First Secretary, Embassy of Kazakhstan; Iliana Reyes, Associate Dean, Academic Affairs and Community and Global Partnerships; Gary Rhodes - Center for the Study of Higher Education faculty; Mary Carol Combs, Professor, Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies; Yerlan Shulanov, Rector of North Kazakhstan State University; Gani Nygymetov, Deputy Governor of North Kazakhstan Oblast; Brent White, Vice President, Global Affairs; Dean, Global Education; Daniel Palm, Associate Vice President, Global Affairs
Photo: Arizona Global
UARIZONA+UPC Graduation Class of 2021. May 26, 2022.
UARIZONA+UPC Graduation Class of 2021. May 26, 2022.
UARIZONA+UPC Graduation Class of 2021. May 26, 2022.
UARIZONA+UPC Students at May 26 Graduation Ceremony in Lima, Peru.
UARIZONA+UPC students at May 26 Graduation Ceremony in Lima, Peru.
UARIZONA+UPC GRaduation Ceremony in Lima, Peru. May 26, 2022.
Talks focused on a potential capacity building collaboration with North Kazakhstan University to help it become a model of academic excellence for public universities throughout Kazakhstan. North Kazakhstan State University, a public university established in 1937, is one of the oldest educational institutions in the country. Located in Petropavl, a city of just over 200,000 people near the northern border with Russia, NKSU enrolls over 7000 students annually in bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs.
Given its strategic position in the north of the country, its location in an important agricultural region, and its long-standing recognition as one of the country’s top public universities, NKSU is strategically positioned to continue to grow its regional and national influence and to have a lasting positive economic and social impact on Kazakhstan. “The leadership of North Kazakhstan is committed to making this project between our two communities successful,” said Deputy Governor Nygymetov.
Together, Arizona and NKSU are undertaking what Rector Shulanov called “an ambitious project to develop a model of excellence for state universities in Kazakhstan, that focuses on capacity building in the areas of curriculum, research, and faculty development.”
“We are excited about the energy and momentum driving this developing partnership with North Kazakhstan State University,” said Arizona’s Vice President for Global Affairs and Dean of Global Education Brent White.
“Supporting ongoing curriculum, pedagogy and research development in Kazakhstan will utilize the historical strengths of our university, and create opportunities that will engage both institutions,” White said.
In a July 2021 visit to Kazakhstan, University of Arizona leadership met with the Head of State to discuss a strategic partnership. During these talks, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev stressed that Kazakhstan is committed to further developing its public universities to provide high-quality public education to students regardless of their economic ability to pay. He further stressed that the partnership between NKSU and the University of Arizona is of paramount importance for creating a model of excellence for public education in Kazakhstan.
Dialogue between the University of Arizona, the Kazakhstan Ministry of Education and NKSU about the contours of a partnership is ongoing.
“These visits,” said University of Arizona Provost Liesl Folks, “along with visits by University of Arizona leadership to Kazakhstan, signify a shared commitment by the Republic of Kazakhstan and the University of Arizona to empowering future generations of students and educators to be prepared to meet global challenges.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing this partnership develop, knowing that it will benefit both institutions and both nations as it evolves and grows future generations of students and faculty at both institutions,” Folks said.
Media contact:
Brent White
Vice President, Global Affairs
University of Arizona