Kazakhstan’s future leaders attending U of R
Assel Uvaliyeva knew she wanted to come to Canada to study when an Internet search described the country as very stable, with a good education system. Now, Uvaliyeva and 11 other undergraduate and graduate students from Kazakhstan, are studying at the U of R.The 12 students have come to Canada to complete degrees in business administration, public administration, petroleum engineering and biology and are among those at the forefront of their government’s drive to improve the former Soviet Union Republic’s business and public service leadership.Uvaliyeva and the other students converse in English with little difficulty – English is considered a basic part of post-secondary education in Kazakhstan. She studied English and French, and hopes to earn a master’s of business administration to go along with a master’s of public administration.
Kazakhstan has adopted a policy of diversifying its economy away from reliance on the oil sector, foreign investment and foreign expertise. As part of that policy, each year the Kazakhstan government awards 3,000 scholarships to send its brightest students to universities around the world for further training. There are about 80 scholarship recipients in Canada, including those at the U of R.
The Kazakh students are living close to each other at the U of R’s Luther College and have settled nicely into campus life. “We like the faculty members,†says Uvaliyeva. “They are so helpful in class, and follow up with emails to make sure we understand.â€
We can expect to see more Kazakh students on campus as University officials are working closely to finalize an agreement with the Kazakhstan government that will bring more students to the U of R in the future.
For more information visit the University’s Office of International Cooperation and Development at: http://www.uregina.ca/international or the International Student Success Office at: http://www.uregina.ca/isso
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