The Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) travelled to Kazakhstan for four days in March, in an effort to forge stronger ties with Kazakhstan in the field of higher education.
The Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS) travelled to Kazakhstan for four days in March, in an effort to forge stronger ties with Kazakhstan in the field of higher education.
While promoting its initiatives and looking into potential opportunities during the visit, the agency hopes to strengthen collaboration and strategic partnerships with Kazakh officials. This change is anticipated to strengthen the two countries’ academic alliance and give students more options for studying abroad.
The Chairman of EMGS, Abdul Razak Ahmad, gave The Astana Times an exclusive interview in which he discussed the agency’s goals for strengthening ties with Kazakhstan. The goal of the Kazakh government is to transform Kazakhstan into a scientific society. ”
We were interested to learn about the country’s plans to revolutionise the engineering sciences and its ambitions to attract numerous foreign universities to establish campuses there. It takes courage to liberalise higher education. It shows a lot of promise”. According to Abdul Razak Ahmad, Central Asia will one day be the centre of knowledge, with Kazakhstan serving as that region’s knowledge hub.
EMGS was created under the Ministry of Higher Education to support foreign students attending Malaysian universities as well as language and training facilities. The organisation also works to advance education in Malaysia.
“We are interested in pursuing all types of collaborations with partners from any parts of the world in the area of education and scientific research. We are not just interested in bringing students to Malaysia. Therefore, the focus of EMGS is on how to effectively facilitate the globalisation of Malaysia’s higher education sector,” the speaker said.
Abdul Razak Ahmad noted that Malaysia has a particular strategic interest in Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan, in the area of education.
“Over the past 20 years, with the exception of the pandemic years, we have observed an increase in the number of Kazakh students year after year. However, we also want Malaysian students to study in Kazakhstan. Of course, we want more students to come.”
“We don’t have any students, which is unfortunate because we don’t fully comprehend your system. Change is necessary. We must conduct cooperative research. Kazakhstan is one of Malaysia’s core strategic interests because of its advancements in the natural sciences, mathematics, and physics.”
“These are significant fields where talent is in short supply. By working together with Kazakhstan, we will be able to send some excellent students from this field to Malaysia to study, and some of our brightest students may be able to pursue their studies in the pure sciences there as well,” he said.
The collaboration between Kazakhstan and Malaysia in higher education can also reach a strategic level through mobility, internships, and international research. Due to its long history in higher education, Malaysia is a significant travel destination.
It also serves as “the gateway for Kazakhstan to better understand the dynamics of Southeast Asia, the fastest growing region in Asia.” Malaysia also plans to establish a graduate visa programme for its foreign students, giving them the choice to carry on looking for employment, engage in internships, or work on a startup.
The Malaysian delegation held talks with the Kazakh Ministry of Science and Higher Education and the top management of the Center for International Programs in Astana.
“I find the Bolashak programme to be impressive. It provides Kazakhstan with a powerful impetus for the development of its human capital. The nation has a methodical approach to preparing for the needs of future talent. The centre considering sending more students to Malaysia is my only remaining hope. Sending students to the best universities in the world is now required.”
“However, many universities in Malaysia do not follow the Western rankings. It would be great for your officials to visit Malaysia in this regard to learn how we assess quality, to see the facilities we currently have, and to see how many other nations have recognised our universities. Our goal is to collaborate strategically with them, he said.
Abdul Razak Ahmad discussed the challenges in the education sector after the pandemic, such as access and equity, cost of education, participation of women in higher education, and financing. He suggested that the government must reinvent a new way of financing higher education.
Abdul Razak Ahmad believes that online education can never replace traditional learning, and that internationalization should focus on non-traditional countries such as India, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Central Asia. He encourages the government to be adventurous and send students to every part of the world, as they will learn something and bring new perspectives.