Kazakhstan’s higher education minister urges greater attention to Central Asia

Sayasat Nurbek, minister of science and higher education of Kazakhstan, gives a keynote speech for the International Association of University Presidents 60th Anniversary and Semi-Annual Meeting at the Westin Josun Seoul, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Jhoo Dong-chan

With Korean universities facing enrollment struggles due to a sharp decline in the nation’s college-age population caused by low birthrates, young talent from Central Asia may offer a solution, according to Kazakhstan’s education minister.

Sayasat Nurbek, minister of science and higher education of Kazakhstan, noted that the region is experiencing the fastest demographic growth outside of Africa, adding that its ambitious young students could help address the challenges faced by aging societies like Korea and Japan.

“Demographic growth is not happening in Southeast Asia anymore. Korea is a good example, or a bad example, of that demographic decline. Japan has been aging for decades. It also happens in China much faster than they expected,” he said during his keynote speech for the International Association of University Presidents 60th Anniversary and Semi-Annual Meeting at Westin Josun Hotel in Seoul, Tuesday.

“More babies are born in this region than anywhere except Africa, but it has a much lower child mortality rate and a much higher overall lifetime expense.”

He stressed that Kazakhstan records half a million babies born annually, Uzbekistan almost 1 million babies and Pakistan 5 million babies, while India has 35 million babies every year.

“We need to capture this trend as fast as we can,” Nurbek said.

He claimed that the Central Asian country has strong ethnic ties with Korean descendants, providing a great future source of students for Korean universities.

“We have these Korean heroes with a strong historical background. During the Stalin era, more than 150,000 Koreans were displaced and forcibly relocated from areas near the present North Korean border to Kazakhstan. They are now one of the largest ethnic groups in Kazakhstan. They have this direct link with here (Korea),” he said.

The 44-year-old minister mentioned that the country sends students to Seoul National University of Science and Technology (SeoulTech) under a scholarship program.

“We give about 100 public scholarships every year (to SeoulTech) as a host institution,” Nurbek said.

“Woosong University is a private university, which is another new (partnership) model. We have given them the biggest spot (for its international campus) in the downtown area (in Turkestan, Kazakhstan).”

According to a recent report, 100 Kazakhstani students study under the dual degree partnership with SeoulTech. These students are enrolled in state-funded educational grants. They are reportedly majoring in computer science, information systems, cybersecurity and software engineering.

Woosong University has also officially opened Woosong University Kazakhstan in the city of Turkestan, with support from the Kazakhstani government. The campus focuses mainly on technology-oriented disciplines such as artificial intelligence, big data and software engineering. The courses are taught in English by international faculty members.