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Для цитирования: Aliyassova A.V., Chuikina A.S. Implementation of internationalization strategy in Innovative University of Eurasia // Grand Altai Research & Education / Nauka i obrazovanie Bol'sogo Altaa: сетевое издание». 2018. выпуск 2 (9). [Электронный ресурс] URL: http://rectors.altstu.ru/ru/periodical/archiv/2018/2/articles/3 1.pdf (Дата доступа: 22.10.2018 г.) DOI 10.25712/ASTU.2410-485X.2018.02.05
UDK 378.14
IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONALIZATION STRATEGY IN INNOVATIVE UNIVERSITY OF EURASIA
A.V. Aliyassova, A.S. Chuikina «Innovative University of Eurasia» LLP (Pavlodar, Republic of Kazakhstan)
nastja sh@mail.ru, jniasola@mail.ru
Internationalization as one of the most important modern trends in the development of higher education contributes to increasing the competitiveness of countries and regions. Higher education and science are becoming a global factor in social development and they are among the most important national and global priorities. Today, internationalization is a key factor for a competitive growth of a university.
Jane Knight - adjunct Professor of the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education in OISE (Ontario Institute for Studies in Education) of the University of Toronto -describes the Internationalization of higher education as «the process of integrating an international, intercultural and global dimension into the goals, teaching/learning, research and service functions of a university or higher education system. »
In the 21st century, as a result of globalization and internationalization, new tasks and goals are emerging for higher education: to prepare modern specialists, professionals who are able to work in the new current conditions in the process of globalization. Thus, high hopes are banked on higher education in training competent specialists both in world educational space and in Kazakhstan.
As the world becomes more interconnected, higher education institutions need to prepare and graduate global citizens with "21st century skills". As a result, today students apply for educational institutions that give them the best chance to be ready for international job market needs and requirements. Becoming a global citizen with those skills must not be a privilege to the certain group of people, but Kazakhstani universities need to make those internationalization skills available and accessible to all of their students. Thus, a University needs to start to work on internationalization at the local level. [1]
The internationalization of higher education is characterized by the level of academic mobility of students and staff, the internationalization of curricula and educational programs, the creation of regional and international network of university partners. The internationalization of university science is carried out through joint
scientific research in the framework of international programs, the export of educational services and scientific achievements. Integration and internationalization of research studies is carried out through joint research, international conferences and participation in them, the publication of research results in foreign journals, conducting research in the provision of international grants.
On March 2010, Kazakhstan officially joined the Bologna Declaration and became the 47th member of the European Higher Education Area and the first Central Asian state recognized as a full member of the European educational space. A number of important legislative measures and documents that should contribute to the integration of our education system into the European educational space were already taken [2].
First, there has been a transition to a three-tier system of education: Bachelor -Master - PhD, based on the principles of the Bologna Declaration. Second, the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) system has been adopted as the basis for the transfer of credit units during the academic mobility of students. As the practice shows, this system is an effective tool that facilitates the academic recognition of the period of study abroad and the growth of student's mobility. Nowadays, advanced technologies and training systems are being introduced into the educational process of higher education institutions; double-diploma education, distance learning is being implemented; the development of modular educational programs and syllabuses in accordance with Dublin descriptors is being implemented as well. Third, the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan allocates funds for academic mobility of teaching staff and students, universities themselves provide funds for academic mobility.
Constructive work on the implementation of the principles of the Bologna process is also carried out at the level of individual universities in Kazakhstan.
For that, it is necessary for the university to create and implement its own internationalization strategy.
The strategy of internationalization and academic mobility of the Innovative University of Eurasia (hereinafter referred to as InEU) for the period up to 2020 was approved by the rector of the university in December, 2012.
In the framework of the mission of InEU - Education via innovations and international partnership, competitiveness by knowledge and professionalism - the mission of internationalization and academic mobility of InEU is to increase the attractiveness of InEU through ensuring the quality of educational and research programs, further internationalization, achieving balanced mobility, developing a multicultural society.
In order to actively integrate into the international educational space the university has the following objectives:
- quality assurance of academic mobility;
- multilingual education implementation;
- expansion of relations with foreign partner universities and international organizations.
Academic mobility is the movement of students and teachers of higher
educational institutions for a certain period of time to another educational or scientific institution within or outside their own country for the purpose of learning or teaching.
Academic mobility in InEU is developing rapidly and every year more and more students and teachers of InEU go abroad to more distant foreign countries. InEU establishes relations with universities and has partnership relations with more than 90 foreign universities and organizations. Students and teachers of InEU travel for learning and teaching in such countries as Russia, Mongolia, Portugal, Romania, Poland, Hungary, China, the Netherlands, Germany, etc.
To improve and develop academic mobility, the university participates in different international projects, one of which is the project "PAWER" - Paving the way to interregional mobility and ensuring relevance, quality and equity of access.
This project is scheduled from 2016 to 2019, with duration of 3 years.
The goal and objective of the project is the strengthening interregional integration and cooperation through the development of reliable joint tools to strengthen the international dimension of higher education systems and its compatibility between the 4 regions and the European Higher Education Area; support for the modernization, accessibility and internationalization of 23 participant universities from 8 partner countries from 4 different regions.
Taking into account a number of advantages of mobility, such as the exchange of experience, knowledge, the formation of an individual learning path, access to full-fledged training courses and academic life at another university, and the possibility of quick employment, it is worth mentioning the difficulties of academic recognition of the credits received and evaluation upon completion of training.
By making Higher Education comparable across Europe, ECTS makes teaching and learning in Higher Education more transparent and facilitates the recognition of all studies. It aids curriculum design and quality assurance and allows for the transfer of learning experiences between different institutions, greater student mobility and more flexible routes to gain degrees.
ECTS is closely related to the modernization of Higher Education in Europe. In particular, it is a central tool in the Bologna Process which aims to make national systems more compatible. ECTS credits express the volume of learning based on the defined learning outcomes and their associated workload.
By making Higher Education comparable across Europe, ECTS makes teaching and learning in Higher Education more transparent and facilitates the recognition of all studies. It aids curriculum design and quality assurance and allows for the transfer of learning experiences between different institutions, greater student mobility and more flexible routes to gain degrees. ECTS credits reflect a certain amount of work, which is based on the expected learning outcomes and the associated workload.
The problem is that ECTS system and Kazakhstan's credit system has significant differences. In particular, InEU is often faced with such a problem as credit transfer, when students return from foreign countries with a transcript of the host university. The workload of an ECTS credit and an InEU credit varies. And there should be accurate and transparent system and process that provides this transfer.
The PAWER project is intended to solve this problem. Work of the project is assumed to share knowledge of the credit system used in each partner country, analyze the actual meaning of «credit» at each partner institution, and develop a «general concept» to determine «learning outcomes» and «workload». At the last meeting of the PAWER project participants in September, 2018 there was accepted a single credit transfer system that is expected will allow performing the transfer of the credits between participant universities safely.
Integration of English language into the higher education system in the Republic of Kazakhstan occupies a special and important place.
The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Nursultan Nazarbayev - was the first who voiced the idea of the trinity of languages (Kazakh, Russian and English) in Kazakhstan back in 2004. In 2007, in the President's message «New Kazakhstan in the new world» he suggested starting a step-by-step implementation of the cultural project «Trinity of Languages». This was the beginning of a new language policy in the Republic.
At the University level, in 2016 a «Road Map of trilingual education implementation in InEU» was accepted. In the framework of this road map the students and staff of the InEU gain more opportunities to learn English. On the base of the InEU there are English language courses both for students and for the university staff. Also, with the help of MES of the Republic of Kazakhstan the teaching staff members of the university annually attend the English language courses so they can teach their disciplines in English.
Also, the InEU offers 3 educational programs in English language; the disciplines in the field of Economics, management, information technologies are thought in English. To help students to learn profession-oriented English language such kind of a lesson as the independent work of a student with a teacher is thought with the help of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are free online courses available for anyone to enroll. MOOCs provide an affordable and flexible way to learn new skills, advance your career and deliver quality educational experiences at scale.
Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) first appeared on the horizon of higher education in 2008, with the launch of Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (CCK08) facilitated by George Siemens and Stephen Downes. At that time such projects as Coursera, Udacity and Udemy attracted the first investments. However, a number of open online courses were available before this date. [3]
The students of InEU for their individual work use such platforms as Coursera, Alison, Edx and etc. It is important to highlight the fact that such educational platforms significantly help to improve the English language. This is a fact that students of technical specialties and specialties with English language as a non-compulsory course receive a unique opportunity to learn English in the framework of their professional field. And this, as known, is one of the main factors of Kazakhstan's integration into the world community - trilingualism - equal competence in Kazakh, Russian and English languages. A receiving of education on such platforms undoubtedly opens great prospects for students in Kazakhstan. [4]
To sum up, it is important to note that Innovative University of Eurasia successfully integrates into the global world and the global educational space following approved regulatory documents aimed at the development of internationalization at the University level.
1. Access Knowledge. Access the World. Starter kit for internationalization // American Councils. - Washington, D.C., U.S.A., 2014
2. Aliyassova A.V., Chuikina A.S. Experience and problems of implementation the principles of the Bologna process in educational system in Kazakhstan// Implementation of PAWER project at partner universities in central Asia: material of regional workshop at S. Seifullin Kazakh Agrotechnical University. - Astana, 2018 -9-11 p.
3. Rodriguez, O., MOOCs and the AI-Stanford like courses: Two successful and distinct course formats for massive open online courses // European Journal of Open, Distance, and E-Learning. [electronic source] - 2012 URL: http://www. eurodl. org/materials/contrib/2012/Rodriguez.htm (access date: 14.11.2018)
4. Aliyassova A.V., Chuikina A.S. The phenomenon of Massive Open Online Courses MOOC// Language, Literature and History in the Modern Scientific Paradigm: the Conference Bulletin, IV International scientific conference - Pavlodar, 2018 - 144-147 p.
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