A winner of the UK Royal Award for business development, now vice president of the British University in Egypt, prof. David Kirby became an honorary professor in Almaty Management University (ALMA University), formerly IAB.
Professor David Kirby has forty years of experience as a teacher, trainer, researcher and consultant in the field of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, both in the UK and internationally, and is the initiator of entrepreneurial education in the United Kingdom.
ALMA University has held a dedication ceremony of David Kirby to an honorary professor of the university. The candidacy of Mr. Kirby was unanimously approved by the members of the Academic Council. Prior to the election procedure, guest’s meetings were held with the staff of the ALMA University, the students and the audience where the professor talked about what is entrepreneurial university, how they appeared in UK, shared his vision of how to develop entrepreneurship education in Kazakhstan.
Answering the question about Entrepreneurial University, the honorary Professor told: "I think every university in every country, including Kazakhstan, must see itself as a business enterprise. The world is changing very fast, so universities cannot remain as they are, they should be changed, both public and private enterprises. Universities must not only follow the modern trends, they must create it because they are a catalyst for economic and social development ".
Sharing his impressions from staying in our country, Mr. Kirby said: "Generally, Kazakhstan has still insufficient knowledge and understanding of how to create new companies and enterprises. You are at the very beginning of this process. And of course, the people here underestimate the role of universities in the process. The importance of education should be higher. Its significance is critical for the future economic and social development. "
David Kirby came to Kazakhstan on ALMA University (formerly IAB) invitation to take part in the VI Economic Forum of national business "Expert-200-Kazakhstan", where Almaty Management University acted as the exclusive educational partner.
Background information
Professor David Kirby is the Winner of the Royal Award for Enterprise Development. Vice President (Research, Enterprise and Community Service) of Vodafone Business Administration at the British University in Egypt, which he joined in 2007 as a Dean of the Business Administration Faculty, Economics and Political Science.
Prior to joining the British University, he served as Professor of Entrepreneurship and the Deputy Head of the School of Management at the University of Surrey, where he presented the University Research Park, which was the predecessor of the incubator, developed training programs for entrepreneurship to postgraduate and undergraduate students, including new specialties in business, IT and Technology.
His career is related to research, teaching and leadership at the University of Liverpool, Wales and Middlesex, respectively, and in the Manchester Business School and Durham, as well as an invited guest in Scandinavia and South Africa.
Currently Professor Kirby holder of the professor’s title in the University of South Australia and Tehran, and the invited head of Loughborough and Reading Universities in the United Kingdom.
David has forty years of experience as a teacher, trainer, researcher and consultant in the field of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, both in the UK and internationally, and he was the initiator of entrepreneurial education in the United Kingdom.
D. Kirby ex - Director of the British Institute of Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the Association of Business Schools.
He held senior positions in government agencies, including the working group of the Educational Department and Training, on closer collaboration with the Universities of small businesses.
As a result of personal research, he published 150 journal articles and 18 books and monographs, including "Entrepreneurship» (McGraw-Hill, 2003). His current research focuses on entrepreneurial education and innovation and on the entrepreneurial universities, he directs the "Global Entrepreneurship Monitor" research project in Egypt.
D. Kirby - Editor of «Emerald» magazine: «Entrepreneurship, Business and Community; Periodic Near East Edition» (Emerald Journal "Education, Business and Society; Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues").