Founder and President of Almaty Management University Assylbek Kozhakhmetov spoke at a webinar organized by the leading private university in Germany – Constructor University. The interviewer Isak Frumin, Head of the Observatory of Innovations in Higher Education at Constructor University, moderated the webinar.
This webinar was part of a global series of webinars about innovative universities. The series aims to inspire international higher education leaders with new ideas and serves as a platform where practitioners and academics can come together to discuss steps forward in this field. As the founder of the first private educational institution with a 35-year history, the ideologist and scientific editor of the monograph "In Search of an Effective Model of the Kazakh University" presented his view on "Education for a better future".
At the beginning of the webinar, Dr. Kozhakhmetov introduced the geographical and demographic context of Kazakhstan. Then he described the country's prospects: the expected population growth, which, of course, will become a driver of higher education.
"In the 21st century, universities have a global role to play. They act as drivers of changes in society and the economy in general and in the education system in particular. The activity of universities is reaching a new level: their interaction is necessary to achieve a synergistic effect through the impact on the economy, society, and the life of the country," the President of AlmaU writes in the monograph mentioned above.
"It is very important to get a higher education in Kazakhstan. Parents are ready to give the last money in their pocket for the child to receive a diploma," explained Assylbek.
"Since the establishment of the Almaty School of Management in 1988, AlmaU has come a long way. Then there was no stability at all: without our campus, without a stable flow of teachers and students, we continued to move forward. In 1996, we transformed into the International Academy of Business and opened MBA. Then, introduced bachelor's degrees in 2001, and the DBA program in 2005. In 2014, we received the status of a university as we reached 3,000 students" Assylbek Kozhakhmetov said at the webinar.
AlmaU President highlighted the Board of Trustees as an unusual form of collegial university management, especially for private universities. "20 years ago we created an elected collegiate body - Board of Trustees. Of course, for the first decade, we were just building a system. The Bard has been working successfully for the last 7-8 years and has a sufficient qualitative impact on our development."
Isak Frumin asked about benchmarking for innovation in business education. Asylbek Kozhakhmetov: "In the beginning, we took an example from Russia. We watched and researched how they build business education. Because it was very important for us to understand what business education is. Participation in the rankings allowed us to reach a new level and find answers to questions of interest. After Russia, we set a course for Europe and America. In January 2010, we, the only university in Kazakhstan, were awarded international accreditation – the European Institutional Accreditation of the International Association for Management Development in Dynamic Societies CEEMAN in the field of education. AlmaU is the only university in Central Asia that has been accredited three times by IQA CEEMAN. We have been members of the European Foundation for Management Development for more than 30 years. EFMD is recognized worldwide as the accreditation body for business schools, business school programs, and corporate universities. Over the past five years, we have been paying close attention to Asia, in particular to China. Because we haven't worked closely together before. Now we think that we know what Western education is like."
At the end of the webinar, the President of AlmaU spoke about the third mission of the university. "Of course, we are engaged in teaching students. But we must not forget about the impact. Therefore, AlmaU continues to implement various projects and events, which as a result will have a tangible impact on the development of society. As an example, an ice crossing through Balkhash – a project called "Uly Balqasgh Shaqyrady!". We have built Zeynep College in Lobanovo village of Aiyrtau district of North Kazakhstan region. We continuously train teachers in rural areas because we believe that the level of education should not vary depending on the region. "Syr qorgany – sekseyil" project has recently been completed. We gathered volunteers and planted 5,100 saplings of saxaul at the bottom of the dried-up Aral Sea. Since this year, our first-year students have been studying under the "Tolyq Adam" program which is designed to develop a person comprehensively, which helps to consciously approach learning and become a holistic person who not only cares about himself, but also cares about others."
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